Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Acts”
Acts 8:4 Those who fled Jerusalem were not well-trained theologians, pastors, apostles or missionaries. Those who spread the message of Jesus were ordinary Christians fleeing for their lives. You don’t have to be a trained and consecrated pastor to preach. The vast majority of people who become Christians don’t become Christians because they heard a great sermon by a trained …
Acts 8:1 Stephen’s death was only the beginning of the persecution. This was the first persecution of Christians as a whole. Suffering and persecution is something that Christians throughout the ages have suffered and something we must learn to handle with love and forgiveness. In 1956, in the reality-based film End of the Spear, five missionaries go to the Waodani …
Acts 6:1 Until Acts 5 and 6, the first church has held together. They have been persecuted, brought before the Great Council and scourged, but they have held together as “one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). But now the honeymoon is over and the first internal divisions are beginning within the Church. If the devil fails to stop the …
Acts 3:1 Today’s division between Judaism and Christianity did not exist in the same way this early in history. The first Christians were Jews and continued with their Jewish culture and religiosity as long as it did not clash with the new covenant (Gal 2:11-14). For example, the first Christians often gathered in the temple (Acts 2:46). Normally, many Jews …
Acts 2:42 Pentecost began with the disciples praying to God, continued with them being filled with the Spirit, which in turn led to Peter preaching about the crucified Jesus, which in turn led to 3000 being saved, which in turn led to this. What an amazing day! The apostles were commissioned by Jesus to teach what Jesus has commanded (Matthew …
Acts 2:14 Peter was often the spokesman for the disciples (Matthew 19:27). There is a big difference between Peter before and after he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Before he didn’t even dare to confess his faith in front of a little girl, now he confesses publicly in front of all Jerusalem (Mark 14:66-68). In the same way, we …
Acts 2:1 Pentecost was one of the three great pilgrimage festivals when all Jewish men went up to Jerusalem. Pentecost is also known as the “Feast of Weeks” because the feast took place 7 weeks (50 days) after Passover. The name “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word “pentekoste” which means “50”. Pentecost was also called the “harvest festival”. Because the …
Acts 1:12 In the Gospels, we see the disciples quarrelling with each other (Luke 22:24) and fighting against Jesus (Mark 8:32). Now, instead, the disciples are obedient, united and praying together, three very good qualities for a Christian congregation. Acts 1:16 Peter has long been the president of the disciples (Matthew 19:27) and Jesus had even appointed him as shepherd …
Acts 1:6 The Jewish people, and thus Jesus’ disciples, expected that when the Messiah came, he would deliver Israel from the Romans and become king over Israel (Luke 19:11, Luke 24:21, John 6:15). The first time Jesus came to earth, he came to suffer and die for humanity (Mark 10:45). When Jesus comes back a second time, he will reign …
Acts 1:1 Luke was a physician and one of Paul’s co-workers on his missionary journeys (Colossians 4:14) and authored both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles (Luke 1:1-4). In the Gospel of Luke, Luke wrote what Jesus did here on earth; in Acts, Luke writes what Jesus continues to do through his disciples. What Luke describes …