As we strive to Know His Word more deeply in 2018, we’ll be reading the Bible together in sections. Our hope is that together we will see how each book of the Bible fits into the overarching story of Scripture. On the first day of each month, we’ll walk through a new biblical genre together. This month, we’ll be looking at the Book of Acts.
This past month as we’ve read through the Gospels, we’ve been introduced to a few flawed people who followed Christ. These men and women ate with Jesus, heard His stories, saw Him heal and preach, and literally walked with Him from town to town. When Jesus died and rose again, He came and ate with these followers. He gave them instructions and the promise of a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who would be with them always.
Acts is the continuation of this story. Luke wrote Acts, providing his signature attention to detail to the events that unfolded right after Jesus ascended into heaven. Acts tells the story of the first church—the acts of the apostles, these brand new Christians navigating the world without being able to see and hear and touch their Savior. Acts also introduces a few new people to Scripture. In Acts we see the conversion and transformation of Paul.
By reading Acts, we get a front-row seat to lessons on evangelism, church, faith, and hope from the people who were some of the first to carry the good news of Christ to the nations. We see the gospel proclaimed, believed, and lived out. We learn how the first church came to be and what it looked like to be tied to a community of people with only faith in common. We get the background on relationships we’ll see at play in the rest of the New Testament, learning of people like Lydia and Mark and Barnabas. And we see the Holy Spirit at work in it all.
We love how the CSB Study Bible talks about the contribution of Acts to the rest of Scripture:
The Book of Acts ties the other books of the New Testament together. It does so by first providing “the rest of the story” to the Gospels. The gospel and the message of the kingdom of God did not end with Jesus’ ascension to heaven forty days after his resurrection but continued on in the lives of His followers. Acts shows us how the words and promises of Jesus were carried out by the apostles and other believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. Second, the Book of Acts gives us the context for much of the rest of the New Testament, especially the letters Paul wrote to the churches he had helped establish during his missionary journeys.
We read the Book of Acts to learn how to live in the tension of the already and not yet. Jesus has already come to save us but has not yet come again. Acts describes the first people to live in this tension. We read Acts to know we’re not alone, to see how to navigate faith in a tumultuous time, and to witness the acts of the first believers. We read Acts to witness our God who never leaves us alone or without help.
And now, here’s a PDF of the August reading plan to print!
We would love to hear what you’re learning as we read through His Word together. Share on social media with the hashtag #KnowHisWord18, so we can learn together! We’ve also included an image below, featuring a verse we’ll read this month, perfect for Instagram.