Exciting History in the Book of Acts

If you follow the Lifting Her Voice Podcast – and I hope you do – you know we are starting a new section today!  The Old Testament has twelve books of History, but the New Testament has only one – The Book of Acts, also known as The Acts of the Apostles. 

Please don’t do what I did when I was younger.  I always dreaded reading Acts because I thought it was boring!  What was I thinking?!  Don’t miss the exciting history in the Book of Acts!

Real People

You’ll meet real people who have no idea what they’re doing but the Church grows in spite of that.  Kind of like today!  Acts is like a jigsaw puzzle for which Jesus only constructed the frame. With each of its 28 chapters, you will add pieces to the puzzle and soon begin to see a picture forming. 

The power of the Holy Spirit was working in ways that had not been seen before or since.  Now it’s the disciples performing the miracles.  That rag-tag group of coarse fishermen, rascals and ne’er do wells were on fire to bring Christianity to the world.  Coincidentally, there is a moment in Acts when it may have looked like the apostles were actually on fire! 

You will also meet Paul in this book.  Raised a Pharisee (one of those religious leaders we’ve been criticizing for the last four chapters), Paul actually started out as a self-appointed destroyer of The Way, which is how people of the time referred to Christianity.  Believers were first called Christians in a harbor town in modern day Turkey called Antioch, and you’ll read that in Acts too. 

This is the story of the beginning of Jesus’ Church, His precious Bride.  You’ll want to bookmark your Biblical map so you can trace Paul’s three missionary journeys and locate places where the church was scattered, all so the Gospel could be known to the ends of the earth. 

Gospel Connection

As we begin, notice the receiver of this letter is again Theophilus, so we know that the author is our friend Luke.  Remember that Luke was not one of the twelve apostles.  He was an historian and personal physician to Paul and accompanied him on several of his missionary journeys.  This included the trip to Jerusalem where he had access to many eyewitnesses to Jesus’ ministry. 

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the Lifting Her Voice Podcast…you don’t want to miss a minute! You can also listen at the Lifting Her Voice website to catch all the exciting history in the Book of Acts!

So much will make sense now that you’ve read the Gospels. And, simultaneously, the Gospels will make more sense as you read Acts!