Mar 5, 2023
Acts 1:1-11
Pre-Flight Instructions
Introductory thoughts on Acts…
a) Focus moves from Peter to Paul as spokesman
b) To Jerusalem, from Jerusalem- it moves from Jerusalem to the geo-
political centers of the world at the time…Rome
c) Came to Jews, now Gospel pivots to Gentiles
d Miracles establish a platform for the Gospel.
e) God is intentional in everything He does.
1. Jesus’ life and ministry was balanced, v. 1
2. The resurrection of Jesus was a historically verifiable reality, v. 3
The resurrection does four things…
a) demonstrate Jesus’ victory over death
b) proves that Jesus was divine
c) validates the teaching of Jesus
d) testifies that Jesus’ atoning work was accepted by God as sufficient
3. Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God, v. 3-7
4. God tells His story through people, v. 8
a) Peter
b) James
c) Thomas
5. The ministry of Jesus ends with a reminder, v. 9-11
a) The ascension leaves no doubt about what happened
b) The ascension leaves no doubt about what will happen
“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
-I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Mental worship…
1. This morning we talked about sensationalism, intellectualism and balance. Which are you more prone to?
2. How often do you think and talk about the resurrection?
3. How big is the Gospel you share and who is at the center of it?
4. Who was the first person who saw who you were going to be?
5. What will you think about most as a result of what you heard today?