Acts: Being Christians Where We Live

A Bible study or sermon series outline

Churches preparing to seek new pastoral leadership often conduct a church-wide mission study. Typically this involves looking with curiosity at the congregation’s heritage and its current context. Sometimes surprises are unearthed in the process. Rooting the experience in Scripture is always helpful. Here’s an idea for how-to do so.

An exploration of the Book of Acts can be a helpful tool as it affords glimpses of the tumultuous ministries of Christianity’s earliest architects of the church. Luke’s account of their harrowing journeys, personal grit, lively debates, and stunning disagreements helps readers live in the tension of their own experience of church life. Creating space for this tension to produce meaningful dialogue is the work of interim ministry.

An introduction to the study of Acts: for hundreds of years now, there has been debate regarding what Acts is about. The traditional title, The Acts of the Apostles, leads one to believe that the Apostles are the main characters. However, a better title for this book may be The Acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the main character in Acts, to the point where some have claimed that Acts is the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.

Geography is very important in Acts. In verse 1:8, Jesus says that his earliest followers will receive the Holy Spirit and be witnesses "to Jerusalem, all of Judea, Samaria and the ends of the Earth." From that point on, the book narrates the spread of the Word of God, through Jesus' followers, to Jerusalem in the early chapters, then to the rest of Judea in chapters 5, 6 and 7, and then Samaria in chapter 8. Also in chapter 8, one of Jesus' followers named Phillip has an encounter with an Ethiopian official. Acts closes with Paul arriving in Rome. Many early readers of Acts would have considered Rome and Ethiopia to be the ends of the Earth.

So, what is Acts about? The book of Acts is about the Holy Spirit spreading the Word of God to the ends of the earth. It is about us becoming a part of that work. Acts shows us the work of the Holy Spirit through the power of narrative. It tells us stories that, when combined, add up to a greater story. This book invites us to join that story, so that we might be witnesses to the work of the Holy Spirit in our context today. As we see Jesus' early followers go from city to city, we witness the Word of God taking root in different cultures, amongst different peoples, ethnicities, socio-economic realities, and spreading to encompass all types of people. It never quite looks the same from one city to another.

Organizing your study/series on Acts by city may be a helpful way to highlight your context’s unique features. As you study the encounters of the Word of God with different cities in the book of Acts may your vision be changed, so that the Word of God may take root in your community and, in response to the Word of God, welcome all types of people.

Just as Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples, may we also be inspired to participate in carrying the good news of God's kingdom to the nations of the world, beginning right where we live.

Outline for a sermon series in Acts in 9 weeks (2019):

Acts 16:1-5 Because of those in Derbe and Iconium, Acts 16:11-15 A Certain Woman of Philippi Named Lydia, Acts 28:1-10 Unusual Kindness on this Island of Malta, Acts 11:19-26 The Church in Antioch: Faithful to The Lord with Steadfast Devotion, Acts 13:1-12 Seeing and Believing On Cypress, Acts 14:8-18 Filling You With Food and Your Hearts with Joy in Lystra and Derbe, Acts 17:16-34 Christianity for the Oppressed, Acts 27:9-11, 18-22, 22-26 When We Did Not Choose to Live Here, culminating with the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:22-29 The Consent of the Whole Church.

Resources for study of the Book of Acts:

Videos The Bible Project on Acts   

Books: The King Jesus Gospel: the Original Good News Revisited by Scot McKnight (2016), Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel: Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts by Matt Skinner (2015), Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright (2018)

Commentaries: Acts: The Gospel of the Spirit by Justo Gonzalez, The Mission of God by Christopher J. H. Wright, The Acts of the Apostles: a Socio-Rhetorical Commentary by Ben Worthington, Christian Community in History: Historical Ecclesiology by Roger Haight, S.J., The IVP Women’s Bible Commentary Kroeger & Evans eds, A History of Christianity: Readings in the History of the Church by Ray C. Petty, ed.

Podcasts ~ what would you recommend?

This content was first taught as a Sunday School class in 2017 in the context of a church mission study. It has also proved useful during the time a PNC was active in 2019. It became a sermon series with the help of Rev. Dr. Jon Saur and seminarian Haley Ballast.

This post is the fourth in a series on sermon ideas for interim ministry and was shared with e~subscribers. Feel free to adapt this series as suits the context where you live and follow Christ today.

Additional voices are needed and your comments and recommendations are welcome. Thanks for being part of this e-news community.

Godspeed to you my e~friends,

Shari