Week 1 - Bold
This week in summary| Day 1 : Summary | Acts 1 |
| Day 2 : The Spirit of God | Acts 2 |
| Day 3 : Dependant | Acts 3-4 |
| Day 4 : Blessing | Acts 5-6 |
| Day 5 : Faith with Feet | Acts 7 |
Summary
Acts Chapters 1-7
In the book of Acts, Luke continues where he left off in the biography of Jesus. Luke records the early years of the growth of Jesus’ movement across the Roman Empire. He begins this new chapter of Jesus’ Kingdom with a farewell scene between Jesus and his followers before Jesus ascends. He left the Kingdom in their hands. He told them to continue following his commands and announce the good news everywhere they go, baptizing and making more disciples of all groups of people.
Jesus left, but he didn’t leave them on their own. He promised to send the Spirit of God to lead and guide them as they continued to follow all of their king’s commands. Luke gave us a sneak preview of this Holy Spirit of God in Jesus’ biography, but now the Holy Spirit will take center stage as this Kingdom from Heaven grows across the earth.
In the opening chapters of the book of Acts we're introduced to the Holy Spirit in a new way. In former times, He empowered various individuals for a short time and came and went at will. The prophet Joel, however, predicted—by that same Holy Spirit—a time when He would be poured out on all who believe. When Jesus came, He spoke of that gift, and in Acts we see it—or, rather, Him—poured out in the new way. The gift—that is, the Holy Spirit—is said to be for all who believe—leaving none who believe who are without Him. The evidence of His presence in the lives of those who first received Him is seen in various ways: some spoke in languages they'd never learned, proclaiming Christ to those who heard. Others worked miracles, and, as Paul's letters will detail, there are many other gifts of the Spirit—but each gift is given as a manifestation of the Spirit for the building up of the body of Christ—both numerically and developmentally. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen in the changed lives of those how have Him operating in their lives. That is, a change in character takes place in which it becomes evident—night and day—the person is a different person than before.
Numerically, we can witness the early congregation—the church—growing after some or other major miraculous event. Later on, we'll see some emphasis shift away from the miraculous—though still quite present—and shift more towards the spoken word.
Developmentally, we see the church growing as the Holy Spirit encourages them through daily, not-so-miraculous living. We observe that in the former volume Luke the physician wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up into heaven. We can infer that means that Jesus continued to “do and teach” after He was in heaven, but the nature of how He does so changes drastically. He will now do so through His servants by means of the Holy Spirit. We read how the early congregation was generous and sharing. They were a unique kind of people who truly knew how to sacrifice for one another. We read about how though there were problems, they were met in decisive—sometimes even a little scary—ways.
The Spirit of God
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;” The Spirit of God has many names to help us understand how God interacts with us directly. Here are a few of them:
- The Spirit
- The Spirit of God
- The Breath of God
- The Spirit of the Father
- The Holy Spirit
- The Holy Ghost
- The Eternal Spirit
- The Spirit of the Holy one
- The Breath of the Almighty
- The Spirit of Holiness
- The Spirit of Truth
- The Spirit of Glory
- The Spirit of the LORD
- The Seven Spirits of God
- The Spirit of Jesus
- The Spirit of Christ
- The Spirit of Life
- The Spirit of Wisdom
- The Spirit of Understanding
- The Sprit of Counsel
- The Sprit of Strength
- The Spirit of Grace
- The Sprit of Supplication
- The Spirit of Knowledge
- The Sprit of Fear of the LORD
- The Spirit of Adoption
- The Guarantee of our inheritance
- The Comforter
- The Witness
- The Helper
- The Teacher
The Spirit is like
- a dove,
- breath,
- wind,
- fire,
- water,
- ceremonial oil,
- voice,
- gift,
- power
A simple understanding: the Spirit is the part of God that meets us most directly affecting us from the inside. The Spirit of God lives in some people. We will learn more as we read Acts.
Who has the Spirit of God living in them?
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How did they receive?
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Dependent
Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven
The poor in spirit, who feel accepted by God and understand their reliance on God for everything.
The Beatitudes, sometimes called the beautiful attitudes come from a sermon brought by Jesus known as the Sermon On The Mount. The portion of this sermon is directed at His disciples. In Matthew 5 beginning with verse 1 we read: Jesus went up on a mountain side and sat down, His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them. Teaching His disciples is one of the main things Jesus came to earth to do. He taught His disciples and now because His words were recorded for us, we may also learn from Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Blessed here means happy. Happy, someone that is poor? We normally do not link poor and happy together. But Jesus is looking past the obvious to what is real. Jesus is big on that.
Strong people don’t think they have needs. People with great wealth also may feel they have no needs. But as we have all seen in this life, money and wealth may not last forever and the strength of our bodies has limits and lessens over time. So what Jesus is saying here is that the pathway to real happiness is not through us or what we can do, but something else.
Jesus said that the poor in spirit will receive the kingdom of Heaven. This is not a kingdom that can be taken by force or purchased with money. The kingdom of heaven is gained by submitting to its King, Jesus. Someone that is poor in spirit submits because they know they have no other choice and because they believe in and trust the king. Jesus is the king and Jesus is the key to the kingdom. To enter in one need only bow before Him and allow Him to change them from the inside out. Being poor in spirit is almost completely about knowing you cannot do this on your own, and so you don’t even try.
Blessing Your Neighbors
Pray with your Family - Remember your neighbors by name during mealtime and bedtime prayers.
Prayer Walk - Walk by yourself or with family, roommates, and other neighbors who are believers. Pray over each home by name as you pass and ask God for opportunities with your neighbors.
Ask Open-ended Questions - How long have you lived here? What line of work are you in? What do you do for fun?
Ask Follow-up Questions - How did that test go? Are you feeling better? How was your vacation?
Enjoy a Meal Together - Invite a neighbor (or two) for a BBQ, order in Pizza, or have everyone bring a dessert to share.
Celebrate Special Occasions and Holidays - Bake cupcakes for birthdays. Send a casserole to new parents. Deliver Christmas cookies.
Serve While You’re Outside - Turn lawn chores into opportunities to serve: Mow lawns, water yards, etc.
Serve In Times of Need - Visit when a neighbor passes away or has a baby. Deliver flowers or a gift. Coordinate meals with other neighbors.
Share Commonalities - Hobbies such as golf, book club, bunko night, or a running/fitness group can all bring people together.
Socialize and Make Holidays Special - Enjoy recreational areas. Participate in yard sales and BBQs. Attend holiday parties.
Faith with Feet
There’s a healthy progression when it comes to the Bible: Reading leads to understanding, believing and doing. So based on what you’ve read this week. What should you be doing? We will come up with an action plan each week based on what we’ve read. The following are some questions that will help you to develop action steps based on the text you read this week:
What have you learned about God’s heart & values?
How did people follow God’s instructions?
What changes took place to society?
What parts of this story might apply to you?
Why is this story important for someone like you?
Based on this week’s reading, What do you believe God wants you to do?
This week I choose to obey God by
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