Acts of Apostles in the Early Church 

How do should you study Acts?

First you observe -- What does the passage say to you?

Then you interpret -- What does the passage mean to you?

Lastly you apply -- How does the truth of scripture affect your life?

Some of the "how" and "why" questions will take creative thinking, even prayer, to answer. Some are opinion questions without clear-cut right answers. These will lend themselves to discussions and side studies.

Don't let your study become an exercise of knowledge only. Treat the passage as God's Word, and stay in conversation with Him as you study.

It's important to write down your answers. The act of writing clarifies your thinking and helps you to remember key ideas.

Meditating on verses is an option in lessons. Its purpose is to let biblical truth sink into your inner convictions so you will be able to act on this truth as a natural way of life.

If you write down a verse or passage that challenges or encourages you, and reflect on it often for a week or more, you will find it beginning to affect your motives and actions. We forget quickly what we read once; we remember what we ponder.

When you find a significant verse or passage, you might copy it onto a card to keep with you. Set aside five minutes daily to think about what the passage might mean in your life.

Recite the verse or passage over to yourself, exploring nits meaning. Then, return to it as often as you can during your day, for a brief review. You will soon find it coming to mind spontaneously.

For group study, of four to ten people, you can adapt these quidelines as you you see fit. They will suit a range of group types, such as home Bible studies, growth and youth groups, and business groups.

(Adapted from the LifeChange Series published by NavPress)

 Guidelines for discovering and applying the message of Acts

1. Read Acts in the light of Luke's Purpose

Luke is writing about the climax of God's redemptive acts in history. As in Old Testament history and the Gospels, what God has done occupies center stage in Acts. God's saving acts always have implications for our response. But in Scripture the starting point of instruction on right behavior is not a list of our duties, but a declaration of God's saving achievement, bringing us into a relationship of favor with him.

2. Read Acts in the light of the New Testament Epistles

As he records "the things that have been fulfilled among us," Luke also makes sense of these events, indicating their significance as an interpreter guided by the Spirit of Christ. Nevertheless, the very fact that he communicates this significance through historical narrative has both advantages and limitations. One advantage is Luke demonstrates the interface between God's salvation and the details of history, but he also shows how different the Christian faith is from religions rooted in mysticism.  One limitaton is that historical narrative gives us only indirect theological explanations -- through placement of material, recounting of sermons, and verbal allusions to the Old Testament.

3. Read Acts in light of the Old Testament

The prominence of the Old Testament in the speeches and sermons of Acts is obvious to any reader of the Bible. But Luke's debt to the OT goes deeper than citicing passages in sermons. He has embedded echoes of Hebrew ways of speaking, quietly reinforcing the message that he is writing in the tradition of prophetic history, bearing witness to the climax of that tradition in the work of the Messiah. Moreover, the connection between Acts and the OT is more than a matter of words and grammar -- we see OT themes (the Spirit, the servant, holy judgment, dispersion, persecution) brought to light in a new way in the presence of the risen Lord.

4. Read Acts in light of Luke's first volume

The brief prologue of Acts draws together Luke's two volumes, summing up the content of the third Gospel even as it turns our vision toward what is to come. Likewise, the Gospel closes with Jesus' prophetic interpretation of the Scriptures, a statement that anticipates the drama that unfolds in Acts (Luke 24:46-49). Parallels between Luke's gospel and Acts abound. For example, in the Gospel, Jesus receives the Spirit when anointed in his baptism to proclaim good news; in Acts, the church receives the Spirit from the glorified Jesus and declares the wonders of God.

5. Read Acts in the light of its structure

Luke is at home with the written word, and his skill in the use of language is evident. In order to get his message--God's message through him--we must pay attention to the way in which this craftsman has put his books together. Are there overarching themes to guide us through the flow of incidents we find in Acts? Is there a framework, a structure, to help us see how one section leads to the next?

(Source: Adapted from "The Message of Acts" by Dennis Johnson)