What's Going On, Where'd He Go, And Who are These Guys?

 This is the Weekly study guide for the Thursday Bible Study Group meeting November 18 to study Acts, Chapter 1. Hopefully, you've had a chance to read the whole book of Acts, at least once. If not, do that. 

After you've read the entire book, read through Chapter 1 carefully. Think through what Luke thinks is important. Try to imagine you are Theophilus, and imagine what he might think of this beginning. It may help to read the last chapter of Luke's Gospel.

As you read, jot down questions, and make notes to bring to the meeting. The Holy Spirit, having inspired these words, wants to illuminate our hearts and minds to understand them. It's so important to Him, that He preserved these words above all others on this planet, more than the words of any other culture. Consider what you read as that important.

Once you've gone through with a commentary or your study Bible notes. Make any adjustments to your questions and notes. Once you've done that, go back through with the few questions below:

• In Luke 1:3, Luke refers to Theophilus as “most excellent”, an honorific term he reserves for Roman governmental officials. That reference is missing here, in verse 1. Why do you think Luke would not feel the need for the honorific reference in his “second work”?
• In verse 3, Jesus speaks of the Kingdom of God, and in verse 6, the disciples ask about the Kingdom of Israel. Considering that Luke is a Gentile, and probably writing this for Gentiles, why do you think he chose this wording difference? Consider how new Gentile believers might have read and understood it, what do you think it meant to them?
• The term “baptism”/”baptize” occurs 26 times in the NASB translation of Acts. Only here is it used as “baptism of/in/by the Holy Spirit” in all of Acts. Prior to this, only John the Baptist uses the term to refer to Jesus, comparing his baptism (with water) and Jesus’ (with the Holy Spirit and fire). What do you think baptism of/by/in the Holy Spirit means? And how do you think it is like, or unlike, being baptized in water?
• Why the angels? Were the disciples there so long, it was necessary for an angelic appearance to move them along? The term means “messenger”, so consider their message. Why do you think that message was so important?
• Peter quotes Psalm 69 and 109 to explain that Judas needed to be replaced. Consider the context of the verses he uses (Psalm 69:25, Psalm 109:8). Why do you think those verses told Peter that Judas was to be replaced by someone else? 

Remember to bring your questions and notes to the group to share, and be ready to hear from others.

See you Thursday!

Road Map for our Journey Through Acts

It seems like forever since I've posted to this page, and it was surreal to review some of the last entries. In our Bible study group, we have decided to go through Acts, stopping to read the letter of Paul where we think it may have been written, and returning to Acts. Many of them are considered "Prison Epistles" meaning they were written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Those would covered after we finish Acts.

Below is a brief outline of how Acts and the Epistles of Paul may correlate:

1. Acts 1 through 14 - Up through Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, but before the council in Jerusalem.
2. Galatians (written from Antioch)
3. Acts 15 through 18:17
4. Thessalonians (both) (written from Corinth)
5. Acts 18:18 through 19
6. Corinthians (both) (written from Ephesus)
7. Acts 20:1-3, and Romans (written from Corinth)
8. Acts 20:4 through Acts 28
9. Prison Epistles: Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Timothy (both), and Titus.

This outline is one I've come up with after looking through Reading God's Word: A Chronological Daily Bible by George H. Guthrie. I've deviated slightly where I thought it made more sense.

Another good resource online is at one of my favorite online Bible study resource sites, The Blue Letter Bible. There I found another timeline for Acts and the other New Testament writing:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt02.cfm

Now, regarding an approach to studying Acts (or any Bible passage), I have my opinions, and I hold them strongly. You are obviously permitted to follow whatever approach you like. My basic approach is as follows:

1. Read it for yourself first. Make your own notes, jot down your own questions.
2. Read it again and revise your notes/questions.
3. Now read other stuff, study Bible notes, commentaries, whatever.
4. Revise your notes/questions based off further reading/opinions.
5. Come ready to discuss and share your experience (notes and questions).

I have my reasons for this approach, but it is partly rooted in a foundational distrust for commentaries and study notes. I don't really trust a particular translation entirely, and will use several.

So, to prepare for our study, I highly recommend reading through as much of Acts as you can in a single sitting. I urge you to set aside time to push through as much as possible at a time. This provides the best overview of the book, enabling you to see it more as a whole than to get lost in its parts. We will get into the details, I promise.

You may also want to have access to a few different translations as we go through our study. I recommend trying very diverse translations, but to try and stick to translations, not paraphrased Bibles. I still consider paraphrases as Bibles, it's just they obscure the word choices of translators. If you want to spot places where rendering the Greek or Hebrew into English was especially difficult, use diverse translations. The benefit is the insight into the range of possible meaning of passages.

There are a number of "introductions" to the book of Acts available online. As I explained above, I encourage you to read through it at least once before looking at an introduction. The link/URL below has a few from which to choose (just scroll down to Acts). Try starting with the bottom one and work your way up.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/resources/intros.cfm

I will bring a timeline I found on my bookshelf, and we can share other resources we've found to help set the stage and tone for Acts. I'm not planning on starting into the text this coming week, but we may.

I hope to see you all there!

Blessings upon you all!