Introduction to the Acts of the Apostles Here we have the book in the New Testament
that tells us what happened to Jesus' followers after he returned to heaven.
It is called the Acts of the Apostles because of the actions the apostles took,
and it has also been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit because it teaches about
the coming and work of God's Spirit after Jesus' resurrection.
The book is often simply referred to as Acts.
Starting with the time of the resurrection of Jesus, the book of Acts goes on to tell
the story of the remarkable next thirty years of the early Church's ministry in
the first century world.
After Jesus returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit, who came and
ignited a flame of faith that would spread to the world, continuing to burn steadily
in the hearts of his people today.
Acts records how the Holy Spirit came and formed Jesus' followers into a new
organism called the Church.
Empowered by the Spirit, a small number of disciples carried the flame of faith
across the Roman Empire.
They preached, taught, healed, and demonstrated Christ's love in
synagogues, homes, markets, and courtrooms, and on streets, hills,
ships, and roads.
Wherever God sent them, people's lives and the course of history changed.
The Apostle Peter takes the lead in the first half of Acts, which includes the
crucial events that extended the gospel to the Gentiles.
The second half of the book features the Apostle Paul and his missionary travels.
Paul wrote many letters to the new churches formed during this period of
growth, which are preserved for us in the New Testament.
Most believe that around A.D.
63, Luke, the writer of the Gospel of Luke, also wrote Acts as a sequel to
continue documenting the important events and issues during this transitional period
between Christ's departure and the establishment of the faith.
In fact, the initial verses of Acts refer back to the introduction in Luke's Gospel
account.
As you listen, keep in mind the last words of Jesus to his disciples that Luke quotes
in Acts 1, verse 8, which serve in effect as an outline of the book of Acts.
Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall
be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.