Book of Acts Bible Study

Day 1- It's All about the Power

2min

The book of Acts is the sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Both books were written by Luke to a man named Theophilus to give an accurate account of the historical events before (Luke) and after (Acts) the death and resurrection of Jesus. In this passage, Luke is restating the Great Commission challenge that Jesus gave at the end of Luke when He commanded His disciples to spread the gospel throughout "Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth."

Day 2 - The Church Begins

8min

The events of this chapter change the disciples – and all future believers – forever! Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18 "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." In Acts 2 the building the Church begins. What Jesus called his "Church" is the worldwide body of true followers of Jesus who are permanently indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for Him and spread His gospel message to the ends of the earth. The Church was a new thing that began when the Holy Spirit came to live in this tiny band of followers. This was a HUGE event! Previously the Holy Spirit only temporarily empowered chosen people (kings, prophets and a few others). From this time forward all true followers of Jesus are given this privilege permanently!

Day 3 - Fruitfulness

3min

This passage is a great example of Acts 1:8 being fulfilled. In chapter three, Peter and John healed a beggar who had been crippled for years. In chapter four, the Holy Spirit uses this healing in a powerful way to reach out to the entire city of Jerusalem.

Day 4 - Power with God and Power with Men

1min

Peter and John had been arrested and threatened, but the Holy Spirit gave them courage to stand strong and they chose to witness boldly before the leaders of the country. They were released and immediately returned to the group of believers to share all that had happened. Then they all prayed.

Day 5 - "Doing Time" for Jesus!

7min

God blessed the disciples during those early days with great "signs" of His presence in their lives: Acts 5:1-11 — A couple who lied publicly to God were struck dead by God!

Day 6 - Divine Appointments

3min

Three great leaders in Acts are Peter, who led the outreach among the Jews, Paul who led the outreach to the Gentiles, and Philip who helped the transition from one to the other in Acts 8. Philip is the least known, but he was the first to leave Jerusalem to take the gospel to non-Jews. He first shared with an African and he did so without actually going to Africa. He was led by God to a special encounter, what we call a divine appointment, with an Ethiopian who had visited Jerusalem "to worship" (8:27).

Day 7 - Paul's Story

6min

In your opinion, who is the greatest opponent of Christianity in the world today? The answer in the time of ACTS was "Saul of Tarsus," the same man we refer to today as the Apostle Paul! He was a leader at the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr for Christ. Later in life he wrote,

Day 8 - The Gospel to the Gentiles

7min

The events of this chapter mark another huge step for God's Kingdom.There was a lot of racial/religious/cultural tension between the Jews who had hundreds of rules and the non-Jews or Gentiles. The Jews had rules about what is clean or "holy" (like the Temple, certain foods and animals, etc.) and what is unclean or defiled (like certain other foods and animals, dead bodies, certain diseases, and anyone who touched these things which included many Jews and certainly all non-Jews). Now God told Peter to enter the "unclean" house of an "unclean" man and share Jesus with him.

Day 9 - Broad Sowing and Multiplication

9min

Acts 13 records the first half of Paul’s first missionary journey. The Holy Spirit calls Paul and Barnabas to take the gospel to new places so they travel to Cyprus and several cities in what is now Turkey. A close look at their actions reveals several strategies that we can also employ.

Day 10 - Discipleship

7min

Find a map of Paul and Barnabas's first journey. They started the trip in Antioch and ended their trip in Derbe (14:20), roughly 200 miles by land from where they began. But instead of closing the circle, they retrace the route over 400 miles by land and then back across 400 miles of Mediterranean Sea. Why? Verse 22 says they went back through the cities they had already visited to "strengthen the disciples and encourage them to remain true to the faith." Their goal was never just to preach the gospel and then go elsewhere but to "follow-up" with those who responded and teach them to be multiplying disciples.

Day 11 - Connecting to the Culture

4min

Here Luke gives us a record of Paul’s interaction with a pluralistic group in Athens who know nothing about Jesus. This group was much like our modern cultures today. Athens was a city full of idols, empty gods made of wood or stone or gold who should not steal praise from the one true living God. Paul preaches in the synagogue but also in the marketplace.

Day 12 - Launching Movements

7min

Paul goes to Ephesus and finds a group that had been baptized by John the Baptist but had not remained in the Holy Land long enough to hear about Jesus. So he baptizes them in the name of Jesus. He also spoke in the synagogue and soon had many followers, but some opposition too. So he began teaching them in a school for two years (v.10). Verse 10b makes an amazing statement: "...so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks." The population at the time is estimated at about 2 million people. How many people do you think Paul personally talked to in those two years? 100 people? 1,000? 5,000?