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January 3, 2023
Acts recounts how the Spirit was at work through the early church, propelling the Gospel outwards and preparing people inwardly to receive the good news. In this 14-part series, we’ll pick up from Acts 10 and continue to Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel in Rome. As followers of Jesus, we’ll particularly consider how we share in the continuing Spirit-driven work of the Gospel going outward, beginning with our daily frontlines.
Author & Context: Acts is unique in the New Testament as it’s part of a two-volume set: Luke-Acts. Luke’s intention (the author of both books) is for the two books to be received as complementary parts, together accounting for how the Gospel (i.e., the Good News that Jesus is the risen Lord of all) goes out into the world. Whilst Luke focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (with the Good News going out from Galilee to Jerusalem), Acts focuses on how the Spirit is at work, through the life and witness of the early church (with the Good News going out from Jerusalem to Rome—the ‘ends of the earth’).
Date: Acts covers a period of more than 30 years (from the resurrection of Jesus to the imprisonment of Paul in Rome).
Genre and Structure: The book of acts is historical narrative. Broadly, the structure of Acts can be considered in three ‘movements’ of the Gospel’s outward progression.
In this series, we’ll begin with the transition from movement 1 to 2. This immediately follows Paul’s conversion and describes Peter’s realisation that the Gospel is for all people.
Previous Series: For sermons and small group resources on Acts 1-9, you can access a prior series at: https://www.stbarts.com.au/sermon-series/acts
