Dig In:
Passage: Acts 1
Dig Deeper:
Chapter Summary
v1-3 - Acts is the sequel to the book of Luke. Like the gospel, it's addressed to Theophilus (a name which means one who loves God). Luke gives a short recap of his first 'episode' before picking up the story of what happened after Jesus' resurrection.
v4-8 - Jesus instructs His disciples to wait until they are "baptized with the Holy Spirit (v5)," which probably sounded really odd to them at the time. The disciples (now called 'apostles' which literally means: 'sent') still think that Jesus' mission is to win freedom from Rome for Israel, but Jesus goes on to correct their misunderstanding and lays out their mission to be His witnesses all over the world (v8 - a mission that has been handed down to us as as well).
v9-11 - As soon as Jesus finishes describing the apostles' mission, He disappears, leaving the apostles stunned and confused.
v12-14 - The apostles follow Jesus command to return to Jerusalem and wait. The spend their time "joined together constantly in prayer (v14)."
v15-26 - I always have to chuckle a little bit when reading this passage that the very first official action of the Church was to hold an administrative meeting. Notice that Peter is speaking as the group's leader. Far from just a set of meeting minutes, these verses illustrate how important have a group of Godly men designated to lead the church is.
Old Testament References - Add even more value to your daily Bible reading by reading a related passage from the Old Testament
Psalm 41
Discuss:
Use the comment box below to discuss one or more of these questions. For every comment or reply you post, you will receive an entry for this month's prize.
The disciples were still thinking that Jesus was going to immediately establish His kingdom after Jesus rose. How was this mindset shortsighted? What are some ways that people even today misunderstand the purpose of Christianity?
Does Jesus' reply to the disciples in v7 frustrate or comfort you, and why?
Follow the AAA Prayer Pattern:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God our Father has set all things by His own authority (v7)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be able to recognize and align with the Holy Spirit's power which has come into you (v8)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Watch the week 2 video - The REAL God sermon series
