Acts of the Apostles – Discover and apply the principles, power and passion of the Early Church for today.
The excitement of Jesus’ birth followed by a powerful public ministry ends tragically. We read, near the end of the gospels, of how this Savior...this King of Kings...is killed. Think of how this must’ve impacted followers of Christ who thought Jesus was going to fix their world. Instead, their Savior...is dead.
Now what do His followers do? They’re devastated. They feel like they bought into a scam. They’ve been taken. Even though He claimed He’d come back, they doubted. After all, who could do that? Then to everyone’s surprise He does come back...ALIVE!
NOW they’re thinking there is no way they can lose. This guy just got up off the mat. Even more, He just dug himself out of a grave. THIS IS POWER! Then we read those famous words:
Matthew 28:16-20 (NIV)
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The Gospels told us all about the birth...the life of Jesus...miracle after miracle...eventually His death...but they end on a happy note...His resurrection. If the Gospels are PART I, then Acts is the sequel nestled between these great books and many letters about the early church. (Rome, Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus...etc...)
This is a very important book, the book that fills the gaps between this life and the work of the church – between the Cross and His Coming. We’re going to see some incredible stories. It starts in the little town of Jerusalem, but by the end it will spread out to the entire known world.
It’s not just “their” story, IT’S YOUR STORY!