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When Jesus left earth and returned to heaven He left two things: instructions and a promise. The instructions were to spread the Gospel. And the promise was the Holy Spirit. And this is where the Book of Acts begins. In this verse-by-verse study, we'll see the birth of the church, the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the Good News of Jesus Christ spread out from Jerusalem like a wildfire. In this, part one of our study of Acts, we'll cover in detail the first 12 chapters

Week 1 Acts 1 Day 1 READ Acts 1:1-2 In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. The human author of the book of Acts is Luke, also known as “the physician.” The first book to which he refers is the Gospel of Luke. Acts picks up where Luke ends and is like volume II of what Luke is writing. Little is known a

Week 2 Acts 1 Day 1 READ Acts 1:10-11 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!” While the apostles were staring into the skies as Jesus disappeared, angels appeared to them. They were told that Jesus had been taken into

Week 3 Acts 1, 2 Day 1 READ Acts 1:20 20 Peter continued, “This was written in the book of Psalms, where it says, ‘Let his home become desolate, with no one living in it.’ It also says, ‘Let someone else take his position.’” The passages Peter referred to in the Psalms are 69:25 and 109:8. Although the name “Judas” is not mentioned in those verses, Peter—a religious Jew in his unsaved days—would have known the Old Testament well and thought the statements here applie

Week 4 Acts 2 Day 1 READ Acts 2:3-4 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Again, it does not say there was actual fire but that it looked like it. The word “tongues” can be used of the organ in the mouth or of one’s language, such as in “What is your mother tongue?” Here it is refer

Week 5 Acts 2 Day 1 READ Acts 2:13-15 13 But others in the crowd ridiculed them, saying, “They’re just drunk, that’s all!” 14 Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd, “Listen carefully, all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem! Make no mistake about this. 15 These people are not drunk, as some of you are assuming. Nine o’clock in the morning is much too early for that. Although some in the crowd wondered what all

Week 6 Acts 2 Day 1 READ Acts 2:26-28 26 “No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. 27 For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. 28 You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.” As Peter was preaching on the Day of Pentecost, he continued quoting what David wrote in the Psalms. In verse 27, the word “dead” is the Greek word hades, which

Week 7 Acts 2 Day 1 READ Acts 2:38 38 Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. When the people asked what they must do; this is Peter’s answer. The word “repent” means “to change one’s mind.” They needed to change their mind about the Messiah and their sins and “turn to God.” Peter added that they should be bap

Week 8 Acts 3 Day 1 READ Acts 3:1-3 3 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money. The scene switches now from the Day of Pentecost

Week 9 Acts 3 Day 1 READ Acts 3:14-15 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact! Peter continues to preach to the unbelieving Jewish people. He makes it clear that evil people rejected this “holy, righteous one.” Whereas Jesus was innocent they wanted a murderer released instead and Jesus to be crucified. Peter referred

Week 10 Acts 3, 4 Day 1 READ Acts 3:24-25 24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’” Peter continues with his speech to the unbelieving nation of Israel. He had told them of Moses statement, “Anyone who will not listen to that Pr

Week 11 Acts 4 Day 1 READ Acts 4:8-9 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9 are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed?” Peter was emboldened because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He put the Jewish elite leaders on the spot by asking them a question: Were they wanting to persecute him and John for doing something good? Or was it they

Week 12 Acts 4 Day 1 READ Acts 4:17-18 17 But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18 So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. The religious authorities put Peter and John outside of the room so they could discuss what to do with them. The authorities could not deny the lame man had been healed, but they came up with a

Week 13 Acts 4 Day 1 READ Acts 4:27-28 27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. Believers continued to pray and remind God how He spoke through David about rulers opposing Him. Then they made it specific to their time. They

Week 14 Acts 4, 5 Day 1 READ Acts 4:36-37 36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles. Having just said many were selling property and giving to the poor, the text goes on to give this example. Barnabas was an excellent example of one who had a heart for God and people.

Week 15 Acts 5 Day 1 READ Acts 5:9-10 9 And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” 10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Ananias was already dead for lying to God, now Peter talks to his

Week 16 Acts 5 Day 1 READ Acts 5:21 21 So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council—the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. Peter and John were doing as the angel instructed them. They began teaching in the temple. As apostles they had spent three years with the r

Week 17 Acts 5 Day 1 READ Acts 5:29-30 29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. Believers are told to obey the government (see Romans 13:1-5). This passage in Acts 5, however, makes the case for civil disobedience when the government wants you to do something God does not. The apostles were told never to speak again i

Week 18 Acts 5, 6 Day 1 READ Acts 5:40 40 The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. Gamaliel had presented the possibility that this movement might come to nothing or if it was of God the religious leaders might be found fighting against God. He suggested they let the apostles go. Even though letting them go, they beat them first. Again they

Week 19 Acts 6 Day 1 READ Acts 6:7 7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too. This verse is worth dwelling on more. Notice the three items: 1) the message continued to spread; 2) the number of believers in Jerusalem greatly increased; and 3) many Jewish priests were converted. All of this resulted from the apostles being emboldened by the Holy Spirit to announce t

Week 20 Acts 7 Day 1 READ Acts 7:1 7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” Stephen was accused by liars of being against the temple and the law of Moses. Could this be true? The high priest wanted to know. This gave Stephen the opportunity to review Old Testament history. He did this by using the only Bible the Hebrews knew at the time. Stephen summarized the key events leading to the appearance of the Messiah and then pointedly made an a

Week 21 Acts 7 Day 1 READ Acts 7:11-13 11 “But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. 12 Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some. 13 The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh.” Stephen continues telling about Joseph serving in the highest office under the Pharaoh of Egypt. The famine brought

Week 22 Acts 7 Day 1 READ Acts 7:26-29 26 “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’ 27 “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. 28 ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian

Week 23 Acts 7 Day 1 READ Acts 7:39-40 39 “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. 40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’” Stephen continues telling the highest court about their Jewish ancestors. God had sent them human saviors in both Joseph and Moses and they had rejected them. In fact, while Moses was on the mounta