Tuesday – Acts 6
Wednesday – Acts 7
Thursday – Acts 8
Friday – Acts 9
Week-end – Catch Up and Reflection
Monday, February 5 – Acts 10
This week we cover some of the best known passages of the book of Acts. We see the early church begin to take shape, and we see some of the major characters of Acts introduced. The major theological concerns of the author of Luke/Acts are put forward as well.
ACTS 6 – The church has to face “growing pains.” The disciples can no longer do their job of teaching and preaching while attending to the growing needs of the congregation. We find the church being led by the Holy Spirit to create another category of leadership; and deacons are created. The man Stephen is introduced – full of power and Spirit – along with six others. But the attention soon falls to Stephen who becomes the target of those who appose the Gospel.
ACTS 7 – Here we find Stephen’s sermon – one of the longest in the New Testament. It ends on a prophetic note, and he calls the religious establishment “stiff-necked,” “uncircumcised in heart and mind,” and forever opposing the Holy Spirit. He is put to death – a foreshadowing of the church’s future – and a young man named Saul is introduced as watching all of this and approving the murder of Stephen.
ACTS 8 – This chapter is a collection of events caused by the Holy Spirit. The story of a man named Simon is told – a man who wanted the power of the Holy Spirit for himself. Phillip’s story of evangelizing an Ethiopian in the dessert is recorded here as well. These events lead to the greatest conversion experience of all, recorded in chapter 9.
ACTS 9 – Here is the familiar story of the young man Saul struck by God’s power, and by a call from Jesus Christ himself. The young man’s name becomes Paul, and he will be one of the major characters of Acts as well as the author of much of the New Testament. Later Paul will write that in this moment of meeting Jesus Christ his life turns around – his world turns around – and he becomes an Apostle as surely as those who walked the earth with Jesus before his death and resurrection. Paul holds out the possibility that those who never met Jesus in his earthly life can still have a passionate relationship with the Risen Christ.
ACTS 10 – While the early believers try to sort out what to do with Paul, Peter’s story continues. He is faced with disturbing dreams and visions concerning God’s openness toward Gentiles, and he is called to minister to one such Gentile, the faithful Cornelius. This foreshadows a major theme of the Book of Acts; the Gospel being shared with the Gentile world, and the lack of appreciation for this call from many Jewish Christian leaders – especially those in Jerusalem.
