Introduction On the Day of Pentecost, the Lord's disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit. And when a crowd gathered to see what was happening, Peter explained that the Risen and Ascended Lord Jesus Christ had sent his Spirit upon them in order to fulfil the promise God had made through the OT prophet Joel … Continue reading Acts 10(34–48) →

Introduction On the Day of Pentecost, which we read about in Acts 2, the Lord Jesus, from his throne in heaven, poured out his Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem. And afterwards, to explain what had happened, Peter quoted from the Old Testament prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out … Continue reading Acts 10(01–33) →

Summary: Opening We've been working our way through the book of Acts for several weeks now. This is, in fact, the 17th study on this book. And, in case there are some who have missed the previous 16 studies, let me summarise briefly what we've seen already. The book began with the Lord instructing his … Continue reading Acts 09(32–43) →

Introduction Acts 9 verse 31, which we'll get to in a few minutes, marks the end of a major section of the book of Acts which began in chapter 6 and verse 8. Up until Acts 6:8 the focus was on what was happening in Jerusalem. So, we had the Lord's ascension; the Day of … Continue reading Acts 09(19b–31) →

Introduction At the beginning of Acts 8 we read how Saul began to persecute the church. And, as a result, all except the apostles were scattered through Judea and Samaria. And wherever they went, they preached the word of God. And so Luke tells us of what happened when Philip the Evangelist went to a … Continue reading Acts 09(01–19a) →

Introduction At the beginning of chapter 8 we read how Saul began to persecute the church. So all except the apostles were scattered through Judea and Samaria. And wherever they went, they preached the word of God. And so Luke tells us of what happened when Philip the Evangelist went to a city of Samaria. … Continue reading Acts 08(25–40) →

Introduction In verses 1 to 8 of chapter 8 we saw how, despite Saul's best efforts to destroy the church, the church continued to grow as those who were scattered because of the persecution in Jerusalem preached the gospel wherever they went. And so, one of the lessons we learned is that God is able … Continue reading Acts 08(09–24) →

Introduction At the end of chapter 6 Luke tells us that Stephen was arrested. And in chapter 7 we have his speech to the Sanhedrin which culminates in his accusation that they're just like their forefathers were: Your forefathers used to resist the Holy Spirit -- and so have you. Your forefathers killed the Lord's … Continue reading Acts 08(01–08) →

Introduction In chapter 5 we had the story of Ananias and Sapphira who tried to lie to the Holy Spirit and were immediately struck down. And we also read how Peter and John were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin looked set to kill them until one of them suggested that they just … Continue reading Acts 06–07 →

Introduction At the end of chapter 4 we read how the believers shared their possessions with one another so that there were no needy persons among them. And Luke names Joseph (better known as Barnabas) who sold a field and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet so that it could be … Continue reading Acts 05(17–42) →