Acts of the Apostles

1
Acts of the Apostles

• Accession of Jesus
• Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
• Birth of the Church

2
Background

• Author
• Luke
• Theophilus
• Sequel to Gospel of Luke
• Key Characters
• Holy Spirit
• Peter
• Saul-Paul
• Church

3
Background

• Outline derived from Acts 16-8
• Jerusalem
• Holy Spirits movement through Jerusalem
• 1-7
• Judea and Samaria
• Philips preaching
• Saul and Barnabas
• 8-9
• Ends of the Earth
• Across geographic and ethnic barriers

4
Background

• Focus
• Legitimizing the Christian movement
• Not a gentile cult
• Not a illegitimate Jewish uprising
• Rhetorical tools
• relating to the skill of using language
  effectively and persuasively
• Sociology of Religion
• Legitimacy comes from three areas
• Tradition
• Function
• Charismatic

5
Background

• Luke writes with a purpose
• Authenticating Movement
• Prove validity of Christianity to Jews and
  Gentiles
• By linking to the Old Testament
• By Showing it work and growing
• Highlighting supernatural events

6
Group

• Read over Acts chapter 2 looking for examples of
  Lukes use of
• Traditional
• Functional
• Charismatic
• Evidence to legitimize the Christian movement for
  his readers
• Be prepared to discuss your findings

7
Background

• Focus Continued
• Document the birth of the Church
• People, practices and problems

8
Acts 16-11

• Ascension of Jesus
• Remember Jesus teaching on the Holy Spirit
• Jn. 1425-26 164-15
• Disciples still confused
• Restore the kingdom to Israel
• Power source
• Holy Spirit
• Purpose
• Witness of Jesus Christ
• Location
• Here, there and everywhere
• Into the clouds
• Why you still hanging around, go do what He told
  you

9
Acts

• Coming of the Holy Spirit
• Pentecost
• Sounds
• Sights
• Sermons

10
Acts

• Birth of the Church
• Repent and be Baptized
• Actions of the Church
• 3000 and more added every day

11
Acts

• Ministry of Peter 3-4
• Healing
• Preaching
• Persecution (12)
• Arrested
• Priest, Sadducees and Captain of the Temple
• People still believe
• Angels break them out

12
Acts

• Ministry of Peter continued
• Filled with Holy Spirit
• Dumbfounded the leaders
• Unlikely leader
• Uneducated
• Young church prays for boldness

13
Peters Vision

• Goes to Cornelius house (10)
• Preaches
• Understands that gospel is for Jews and Gentiles
• Outpouring of the Holy Spirit
• Leaves to find Paul and teaches in Antioch with
  him for a year.

14
Peters Vision

• Cornelius
• God fearer and Jewish Sympathizer
• Vision from God
• Peter
• Hungry
• Falls in a trance
• Sees animals
• Nothing is unclean that God makes clean

15
Acts

• Times get tough
• Trouble from with in
• Ananias and Sapphira
• Troubles from the outside
• Persecution
• Obey God over man
• Stephen
• Preaches
• Tradition, Function and Charismatic backing

16
Acts

• Saul (9)
• Coat holder
• Murderer
• Unlikely Leader
• Road to Damascus
• Prayer of Ananias
• Disciples disapproval
• Barnabas and Saul
• Preaches

17
Unlikely Apostle

• Saul
• Pursues Christians to quench movement
• Threatens
• Murder
• Prison
• Sauls background
• Right family, right upbringing, right schooling

18
Saul/Pauls Background

• Philipians34-6
•  If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put
  confidence in the flesh, I have more circumcised
  on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of
  the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews in
  regard to the law, a Pharisee as for zeal,
  persecuting the church as for legalistic
  righteousness, faultless.

19
What's the Problem?

• Judaism
• Centuries under the Law
• Ethnic as well as religious
• Segregation and sectarian
• Gospel universal
• Questions
• What do you do with Gentiles?
• Must they become Jews?
• What do you do with the law?

20
Whats the Problem?

• Roman Government
• Empirical Cult
• Governments integration with religion
• Philosophers

21
Great Divide

• Circumcision group complain 15
• Gentiles must be circumcised and obey all the law
• Pauls opposition

22
Jerusalem Council (1522-29)

• Reps sent out with official position of the
  disciples.
• It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not
  to burden you with anything beyond the following
  requirements 29You are to abstain from food
  sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of
  strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You
  will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
• Jerusalem Council