The Book of Acts: November 2008

A Samaritan is...

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary -
Samaritans--the name given to the new and mixed inhabitants whom Esarhaddon (B.C. 677), the king of Assyria, brought from Babylon and other places and settled in the cities of Samaria, instead of the original inhabitants whom Sargon (B.C. 721) had removed into captivity (2 Kings 17:24; comp. Ezra 4:2, 9, 10). These strangers (comp. Luke 17:18) amalgamated with the Jews still remaining in the land, and gradually abandoned their old idolatry and adopted partly the Jewish religion. After the return from the Captivity, the Jews in Jerusalem refused to allow them to take part with them in rebuilding the temple, and hence sprang up an open enmity between them. They erected a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, which was, however, destroyed by a Jewish king (B.C. 130). They then built another at Shechem. The bitter enmity between the Jews and Samaritans continued in the time of our Lord: the Jews had "no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9; comp. Luke 9:52, 53). Our Lord was in contempt called "a Samaritan" (John 8:48). Many of the Samaritans early embraced the gospel (John 4:5-42; Acts 8:25; 9:31; 15:3). Of these Samaritans there still remains a small population of about one hundred and sixty, who all reside in Shechem, where they carefully observe the religious customs of their fathers. They are the "smallest and oldest sect in the world."

"Word for the Day"- Repentance

RepentanceRe*pent"ance\ (r[-e]*p[e^]nt"ans), n. [F. repentance.]

The act of repenting, or the state of being penitent; sorrow for what one has done or omitted to do; especially, contrition for sin. --Chaucer.

Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation. --2. Cor. vii. 20.

Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God. --Hammond.

Repentance is the relinquishment of any practice from the conviction that it has offended God. Sorrow, fear, and anxiety are properly not parts, but adjuncts, of repentance; yet they are too closely connected with it to be easily separated. --Rambler.

Syn: Contrition; regret; penitence; contriteness; compunction.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
dictionary.com

"Word for the Day"- Sanhedrin / Sadducee

San·hed·rin

(sān-hěd'rĭn, -hē'drĭn, sän-) n.

The highest judicial and ecclesiastical council of the ancient Jewish nation, composed of from 70 to 72 members.
[Hebrew sanhedrîn, from Greek sunedrion, council, from sunedros, sitting in council : sun-, syn- + hedrā, seat; see sed- in Indo-European roots.]

Sad·du·cee

–noun Judaism.
a member of a Palestinian sect, consisting mainly of priests and aristocrats, that flourished from the 1st century b.c. to the 1st century a.d. and differed from the Pharisees chiefly in its literal interpretation of the Bible, rejection of oral laws and traditions, and denial of an afterlife and the coming of the Messiah.

[Origin: bef. 1000; ME sadducees (pl.), OE saddūcéas < LL saddūcaeī < Gk saddoukaǐoi < Heb ṣədhūqī adherent of Zadok]

http://www.dictionary.com

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Acts 9:1-31

Acts 9:1-31 (first part of Chapter nine only)
Saul’s conversion to the one and only Paul…
Read Acts 9:1-19
V1-6 Saul’s traveling to Damascus to persecute more Christians. After he falls to the road, what reoccurring thing does God ask him to do?
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V7-14 Ananias’s vision. Go and fulfill Paul’s vision….this was obviously tough for Ananias the prophet.
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V15-16
Who was Paul chosen to speak with?
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What does verse 16 mean, explain in your own words…
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V17-19 Is there some significance to Paul having the scales on his eyes, (not being able to see what was really there)?
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Read Acts 9:20-31
V20 “At once Paul began to preach that Christ was the Son of God.” Do you find this odd?
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V22 “Paul grew more and more Powerful”…Powerful how???
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V26-28 Barnabas!! With other mentions of Barnabas in early chapters, what can we conclude further about this man??
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V29-30 He debated?? Will this be Paul’s style from now on?
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V31-32 “A time of peace, Living in Fear” ?? see 5:11
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Next week ---The remaining chapter, including Dorcas 

Acts 8:26-40

Read Acts 8:26-40

Acts 8:26
An Angel said go, Philip went!
Acts 8:27-30
If you were to describe this event in your own words, what specific points, details, and actions would you list? Who is this person in the chariot? Where was he going and why? Yes, it is odd.
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V30-31
What question did Philip ask about Isaiah? How did the eunuch respond (what was his statement?)
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V39-40
Philip is taken else where.
What was the whole purpose of this little event?
Assuming that everything in the Bible has some final purpose, what is the purpose of this passage?
How have we learned from it?
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Would you help a person asking questions, no matter how odd?
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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Acts 8:1-25

Acts 8:1-40

Read Acts 8:1-8 The result of persecution…..

Acts 8:1-3
“On that very day”…
Why did all of church scatter?
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I Tim 1:13-15 (Paul’s action)
Was this a good scatter or a bad scatter? Acts 11:19-…
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Why did the apostles stay behind?
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How could they without being harassed? Acts 5:13
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Acts 8:4-8 Another First in Acts

V 4
What were the people who scattered motivation for preaching the word?
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Philip was the first missionary named in scripture, he was later the first one who was called an evangelical, see Acts 21:8.
What is significance of his trip to Samaria? Who were the Samaritans? <<>>
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Read Acts 8:9-25

Acts 8:9-13
Who followed who??
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Based on Simon’s actions in THESE verses, how can we describe him?
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Acts 8:14-17
Peter and John show up, why?
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V16 They had JUST been baptized into the name…wasn’t this enough? Why did Peter and John have to lay hands on them?
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Do we need apostles or church leaders to lay hands on us today?
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Did the people realize there was a Holy Spirit? See Acts 18:24-28
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Note to self---read from Macarthur’s v16-17.

Acts 8:18-26
Is Simon still the same as he was in the beginning?
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Does V24 indicate that he may have had some turn in his thinking about what can be bought for money, or is he just scared of the ramifications of what he has done?
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How can we apply this to our daily lives, what can we take with us???
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Sunday, November 9, 2008

Acts 7:1-60

Acts 7:1-60

Read Acts 7:1-50

Acts 7:1-50, Stephen’s speech
Are these charges true?
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This entire speech by Stephen focuses on OT history, and specifically how it groups with Moses.
What was the reason for the speech to go in this direction?
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See Acts 6:11.

Read Acts 7:51-60

What’s an uncircumcised heart and ear (v51)?
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Resist the Holy Spirit? How can the Holy Spirit be resisted?
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!! Killing the prophets that predicted the coming of Christ (v52)-(Mt 5:12). And the killing of Christ…?
Why is man (religious man) so dead set upon the coming of Christ, or the acceptance that the Christ fulfilled the prophecy???
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Acts 7:54-60
When Stephen looked up into heaven, and the men came after him (v57) why did cover their ears?
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Acts 7:58- First sign of Paul in the Bible
Stoning Stephen Lev 24:16- Blasphemy

Gamaliel--Acts 5:34

The author of Acts of the Apostles, introduces Gamaliel as a Pharisee and celebrated scholar of the Mosaic Law [15]. In this passage, Saint Peter and the other apostles are described as being prosecuted by the Sanhedrin for continuing to preach the Gospel, despite the Jewish authorities having previously prohibited it; the passage describes Gamaliel as presenting an argument against killing the apostles, reminding the Sanhedrin about previous revolts, which had been based on beliefs that individuals such as Theudas and Judas of Galilee were the prophesied messiah. According to acts, his authority with his contemporaries was so great that they accepted his advice, regardless of how unwelcome it was; Gamaliel's concluding argument to them had been that:
if [the Gospel] be of men, it will come to naught, but if it be of God, ye will not be able to overthrow it; lest perhaps ye be found even to fight against God[16].
The Book of Acts later goes on to describe Paul of Tarsus recounting that he was educated at the feet of Gamaliel about Jewish religious law[17], although no details are given about which teachings Paul adopted from Gamaliel - and hence how much Gamaliel influenced aspects of Christianity. However, there is no other record of Gamaliel ever having taught in public[1], although the Talmud does describe Gamaliel as teaching a student who displayed impudence in learning, which a few scholars identify as a possible reference to Paul[18]. Helmut Koester, Professor of Divinity and of Ecclesiastical History at Harvard University, is doubtful that Paul studied under this famous rabbi, arguing that there is a marked contrast in the tolerance that Gamaliel is said to have expressed about Christianity, in contrast to the "murderous rage" against Christians that Paul is described as having prior to his conversion[19].

Luke Who

Who was Acts written by?-
These are a few of the explanations people have used to give Luke credit as the author to the Book of Acts;
Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts were written to Theophilus (Lk 1:3 & Acts 1:1).
In Acts 1:1 the writer also references his previous book "The former account I made...".
It was common for ancient writers to continue their works...volume II of Luke's writing is what occurred in Acts, while volume I was the gospel of Luke.
When was Acts written?-
Most commentaries indicate that Acts was written between 63-70 AD..... Who was Luke?-
Luke was a personal friend and travel companion to Paul (Yes, thee Paul).
Luke was a physician (Col 4:14) some say he was Paul's personal doctor which would make sense.
Luke was only mentioned three times in the Bible, Col 4:14, Phm 1:24, II Tim 4:11.
As far as we know, Luke was the only Gentile writer of an entire book in The Bible. It can be assumed that Nebuchadnezzar wrote Daniel 4 (Stan).
Luke's Writing Style-
If you're used to reading technical manuals (or Moby Dick) Luke and Acts will sound familiar. Luke writes in the style of a good technician and brings life to the page that few books of the Bible do. From the beginning of Acts with the ascension of Christ through the early disagreements of the church and ending with a "pirate like" ship wreck on the island of Malta where Paul talks with the natives the book of Acts is hard to put down.
As we go through this study I want to stay the course of expository learning, however there are many topical areas such as these (Luke Who?) that I want us to venture down to better understand the day and time of this writing.
Guided by The Way- rich

The Book of Acts

Just Some Angels in the Bible

A Samaritan is...

"Word for the Day"- Repentance

"Word for the Day"- Sanhedrin / Sadducee

Regularly Plagiarized References and Resources

Key Words and Characters-

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Monday- Jan. 26- Acts Chapter 13