Page 29 - New Testament Survey Student Textbook

Acts 6:8-9:31 – These sets of verses end with a very powerful statement which should be our prayer,
that we may be at “peace” [even in the face of death], and that we may “walk in the fear of the Lord and
in the comfort of the Holy Spirit” all the days of our lives.

Acts 9:32-12:24 – Here Luke highlight on the power of the gospel. When we read of the conversion of
Soul, we realize that no one under the sun is too hard to break, too far to be found, and too lost to be
saved.” The last verse ends that “God’s message continued to grow and it continued to spread.”
Through this verse, we realized that to be part of the mission of God on earth is a privilege and an honor
because God will still spread His fame with or without us.

Acts 12:25-16:5 – Here Luke transitions nicely from Peter, to Barnabas, and finally to Paul’s ministries.
The Jerusalem council displayed great spiritual maturity in the way they handled the case on the
requirements for salvation. What was so moving in all this is the last verse when it says, “So, the
Christians became stronger in the faith and more people joined the churches daily.” We need to be
asking God to be creating more opportunities for us to grow stronger in the faith and be a vessel for His
usage in drawing many to Himself.

Acts 16:6-19:20 – In these verses we see the expansion of Paul’s ministry and Luke’s usage of first-
person language in some places. It is quite interesting to see the gospel finally touching European soil at
Philippi! Here Luke says “In this manner, the Lord’s message continued to increase in power and it
spread widely.” This implies that the Gospel is unstoppable and powerful than any man! We should
need the gospel to be increasing in power in our ministries.

Acts 19:21-28:31 – In this last set of verses we see Paul reaching Rome, in prison. But Luke ends with the
words of victory saying Paul was “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus
Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.” May the Lord grant us boldness at every level of our
lives and in all circumstance to proclaim His Word and expand His Kingdom in Jesus’ name!
In what ways is your life currently misaligned with the self-sacrificial model of Acts? What can you do to
realign your priorities with Jesus’ priorities?

Is it ever difficult for you to accept as believers’ people who make you feel uncomfortable—because of
baggage you may be carrying? What path forward does Acts suggest? How can you enact in your own life
the careful, discerning love and hospitality demonstrated by the early church?

External pressures, trials, and suffering served as a catalyst for the spread of the gospel. Are there external
forces pressing in on your life? How does Acts provide a model for your response? In light of reading Acts,
how will you respond to these pressures today?

In what ways do you sense a need for acts of the Spirit in your life? In light of your study of Acts, what is
your path forward toward the kind of Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered ministry experienced and practiced
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by the early church?

Atmosphere:

69 Barry, J. D. et al

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