U R Locked In @ First

Hey all you guys,

These are the notes from our “You Asked For It” series. I hope these help. Formatting is a little off, but content is there. If you have any questions, click comment and post them there or email me

The Good Book What’s It All About?

Introduction:

To this day we find it almost impossible to think of the Christian faith without the Bible. It is the foundation of Christianity’s evangelism, its teaching, its worship, and its morality. When we look back over Christian history, we find few—if any—decisions more basic than those made during the first three centuries surrounding the formation of the Bible. The scriptures served not only as the inspiration for believers facing martyrdom, but as supreme standard for the churches threatened by heresy. If catholic Christianity was orthodox, the Bible made it so, for the constant test of any teaching was, what do the scriptures say?

What is the bible?

The word “Bible” comes from the Greek “biblia” which means “books”

The Bible is a collection of 66 books, broken up into two distinct sections. The Old Testament and the New Testament.

In the ancient world a “testament,” or more often a “covenant,” was the term for special relationship between two parties. Occasionally we still speak of a “marriage covenant,” which binds husband and wife to each other.

Used in the Bible, the term stands for the special relationship between God and man, initiated and sustained by the grace of the Lord God. So the Old Testament contains the books that tell the story of the Jews and their ancient worship of God.

The Old Testament contains 39 books

The Old Testament is broken down into three sections

The Torah or Law

Rules of conduct, worship; the beginning of Israel as a nation

The Prophets

History of the uniting of the 12 tribes; God’s prophecies

The Writings

History, poetry, and song; wisdom for living; philosophy

The New Testament contains 27 books

The New Testament is broken down into four sections

Gospels

The story of Christ; His teachings; foundation of the N.T.

Acts

Story of the early Christian church – how its missionaries (esp. Peter and Paul) spread Christianity throughout the known world.

Epistles

Letters to churches and people – most written by Paul.

Revelation

John’s vision of a great struggle between Christ’s Church and Satan; the final victory of the Kingdom of God.

The bible was written by inspired men

i.e. God filled them with the Spirit to accurately understand and communicate His message of salvation for men of All Times; they wrote the Words according to the customs and styles of their own times.

The Bibles tells the story of creation and redemption. It speaks of the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.

Who wrote the bible?

The Jewish Scriptures

The Story of God’s agreement with Abraham, and a history of Abraham’s descendants’ struggles to form a nation of faithful worshippers.

The Jewish Scriptures were written and collected over a period of 1000 years.

1100 BC

Traditions of the tribes of Israel were written down, after centuries of being passed from generation to generation by word of mouth.

Some of those writings began to be recognized as Sacred – the word of God expressed through the words of particular men, but speaking to men of every time and place.

400 BC

Books of the Law (rules for guiding one’s life according to God’s will), Prophets (encouraging Israel back to God’s path), most of the Writings (poems, maxims, history, etc.) were standardized.

3^rd to 1^st century BC

Old Testament was translated into Greek for Jewish colonists. This version, called the Septuagint, contained the Old Testament books esteemed by Jews of Palestine and of the Dispersion. The Christian Old Testament canon was formed from it.

98 AD

At Jamnia, certain Jewish rabbis (Pharisees) established criteria for determining sacred character of books:

Antiquity (not after 400 BC)

Restricted to Hebrew language

Moral character of contents.

The New Testament

The Christian scriptures are the basis of the Christian faith; the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His message to mankind; stories about missionary activities of Christ’s followers and their letters of encouragement to new Christian converts.

The first Christians used the Old Testament (Christ’s Bible) as their Bible; later they also wrote and used their own scriptures

Books of the New Testament complete the Old Testament – provide guidelines for organization of the church, its moral teachings, definitions of beliefs.

The books of the New Testament written to fill new needs – to answer questions Christian converts were asking about Christ and his teachings, to fight against heresies (false teachings).

Paul’s Epistles (letters) used in public worship – read before congregations as sermons.

95 AD – Epistles collected, became standard part of public worship (alone with Acts).

Epistles written by other Apostles (such as James, Peter, John, Jude) also read at public worship.

100 – 105 AD

These letters added to Paul’s one collection

65 – 100 AD – Oral tradition of Christ, written in the Gospels (Good News) – accounts of basically the same events by four men of the era – and widely used by Christian community.

150 AD – Gospels gathered together, standardized.

180 AD – Gospels, Epistles combined into one collection as statement of Christian belief, source of faith.

Why is the Bible Important?

The word for the special place these books occupy in Christianity is canon. The term from the Greek language originally meant “a measuring rod” or, as we might say, “ruler.” It was a standard for judging something straight. So the idea transferred to a list of books that constituted the standard or “rule” of the churches. These were the books read publicly in the congregations because they had a special authority of God upon them.

Because what it has to say profoundly influences humanity

History – The bible has influenced the course of Western civilization – its political development; its great works of literature; its ideas about truth, justice, the purpose of living. The Bible continues to influence the world today, making world civilization more humane.

People – To Christians and Jews, the Bible is their Holy Book – a source of their religious belief; the truth revealed by God; a set of laws for living according to God’s plan’ a basis of their worship’ a historical document about the development of their religion.

For everyone – The Bible can be:

A source of personal inspiration and religious insight.

A Guide for living a just and loving life.

An answer to the questions everyone asks about life.

All The Notes From This Section, Again Come The ESV Study Bible…

Chapter 2

The Coming of the Holy Spirit:

2:1 – The day of Pentecost was the second of the annual harvest festivals, coming 50 days after Passover (ESV). This is important because it gives us a time frame of when this had happened in relationship to when Jesus ascended into heaven, as mentioned in chapter 1.

2:2 – 4 – The Holy Spirit, our main character, shows up here, in chapter two, to the sound of a mighty rushing wind, in the appearance of a giant tongue set on fire. Now these were not literal flames (for Luke says “as of”) but looked enough like fire that this was the best description that he could give. “Fire” in the Old Testament often indicates the presence of God, especially in his burning holiness and purity (ESV)… The term filled with the Holy Spirit is a fulfillment of what Jesus promised, by saying that he would send the comforter. According to the ESV commentators, “This (phrase) does not mean that the Holy Spirit was completely inactive prior to this time (for the Spirit of God was active in the world from Gen. 1:2 onward), but now the Spirit was coming to people in a new, more powerful way, signifying the beginning of the new covenant age (the time from Christ’s death until he returns at some time in the future)” (ESV).

The Fellowship of the Believers (AKA The Start of the Early Church):

2:42 – 47 – This passage gives us a look into what the early church was doing, as a group of people gathered together in the name of Jesus. This is very important for us to remember because it helps to teach us that the “Church” is not the building, but it is the people who are gathered together in the name of Jesus in side of that building.

What the early church did was…

• Devoted themselves to the apostles teaching
• This was, is, and continues to be the Gospel Message of Jesus Christ
• Devoted themselves to the fellowship
• This was, is, and continues to be the meeting together in the name of Jesus Christ
• Devoted themselves to the breaking of bread
• This refers to the act of Communion
• Devoted themselves to the prayers
• These focus on seeking God for all things, at all times, and in a righteous, God honoring way.

As a result of their devotion to God…

• Awe came upon every soul
• Awe refers to reverent fear
• Many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles
• Wonders and signs refer to the miracles being done by the apostles in the name of Jesus Christ
• All who believed were gathered together
• They were meeting together, more than just once a week for a few hours, they loved the company of the other people in their group and as a result spend all of their time together
• They had all things in common
• They shared what they had, sometimes very little, with other people in their group who had needs.
• They were selling their possessions and belonging & then distributing the proceeds to all, as they had need.
• When this group knew that someone was hurting for money, they sold something they owned and gave the money to that person.
• Day by day, they gathered together in the homes of each other and were breaking bread and receiving food
• They were doing this with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people

The end result of the early church doing all of these things was…

• The Lord was adding people to their group day by day.
• People, who had never heard about God were being told, and placing their faith in Him. This was, and is still something that God cares very much about.

All of this is very important for us, today, to know and understand. This is the basis of out Christian faith. The example of the early church, should, remind us of how powerful our God is, and how He alone is worthy of all of our time and praise.

We need to understand that gathering together as Christians isn’t something that we do just once a week. It is something that we should be doing on a daily basis.

For this first Chapter I will be working out of the ESV Study Bible and using the commentary that accompanies Acts. The ESV Bible is copyrighted 2008 by Crossways Bibles.

Verse 1-5

1: We find that in this first line, the book is addressed to Theophilus. Theophilus is the same person that the book of Luke is addressed to, and it has been believed that both books, Luke & Acts, where written by Luke, the Physician who traveled with the apostle Paul.

2: The book of Luke dealt with the life of Jesus up-until he was taken up into Heaven, and Acts picks up from there and goes through the time of Paul in Rome.

3: The term “Many Proofs” refers to his appearing multiple times to his disciples as a means of strengthening their faith (ESV). It was in this 40 day period that Jesus performed more miracles and preached about the coming of God’s Kingdom. “The “Kingdom of God” means not an earthly political or military kingdom but the present spiritually directed reign of God, gradually transforming individual lives and entire cultures through the power of the Holy Spirit” (ESV).

4-5: The Promise of the Father, spoken of in verse 4, refers to the Holy Spirit spoken of in verse 5. Being baptized with the Holy Spirit was the sign that they were being brought into the Christian family, or in other words, being adopted by God as his children. This was, and still is, a very big deal. Being marked by the Holy Spirit is our deposit for salvation and redemption from all of out wrong doing.

Verses 6-11

6: A very early, and important, theme of the Jewish People is The Restoration of Israel. What the Jews of Jesus’ time believed is that when God sent the Messiah, he would restore Israel to a Super Powerful Nation, and that they would overcome the oppression of those who persecuted them. So the question, “Will you restore the kingdom of Israel?” is a loaded question for Jesus. Those who asked Jesus this question, “were probably still expecting the restoratio nof a military and political kingdom that would drive out the Roman armies and restore national sovereignty to Israel, as had happened numerous time in the OT” (ESV). But the problem with this is that they were missing the heart of the message of the Messianic Reign, that God would dwell within them, via the Holy Spirit (See Jeremiah 31:33). The real point was that Jesus brought about the redemption of the Israelite people (and for us today) by dieing for them.

8: Jesus is telling his followers that once the Holy Spirit comes into their hearts (lives), they would be changed and charged with a new task for life. The early believers, after receiving the Spirit were called to bring the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus to those who didn’t know about him. They were to start at home (Jerusalem), then go to their neighbors (Judea and Samaria), and then go to the rest of the world (Ends of the Earth). This commandment is still in effect for us today. When we have been moved by the Spirit of God, we are to go to those closest to our immediate family, then neighbors, then everyone else. We, as Paul says, has a special role, either to plant the seed of the Good News, Water the Seed, or Nurture the Seed, but God alone can make it grow. God can work through us all, so long as we have opened our hearts to the Holy Spirit, invited Him in, and allow him to sit on the throne of heart as God alone.

9: “Elsewhere in Scripture a cloud is often associated with a manifestation of God’s presence. This was not an ordinary rain cloud but the cloud of glory that surrounds the very presence of God” (ESV). What we need to understand is that the presence of God came before them and took Jesus up into heaven. The Apostles and disciplines watched as this happened.

10: Who are these two “men” wearing white robes? These were not men but angels in the form of a human, wearing white robes, which are a sign of God’s pureness.

11: The key to this last phrase is that “Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” In other words, Jesus will return just as he left, and you can count on it. The fact of the matter is that Jesus did leave and return to heaven. He didn’t die and stay in the ground, no he died, was risen from the dead, spent 40 days with his people, and then ascended back to heaven to be seated at the right hand of Father God. Christ is still going strong in heaven, looking after us, and he will return for us.

Hey Youth @ First Students These Few Posts Are For You!!!!!

The next few weeks we are going to be working through the book of Acts, and I am going to use this site as a way for you to get more information, ask questions, etc. So check this site out every now and then for information about Acts, in addition to other biblical issues.

For This Post We Are Going To Focus On:

1. Author:

The book of Acts opens with, “Dear Theophilus, In my first book I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). What we can infer from this statement is that this is a continuation from the book of Luke, as Luke was address to Theophilus also (Luke 1:3).

Who was Luke? According to Professor Ken Schenck, “Luke was a physician who sometimes accompanied the Apostle Paul (cf. Col. 4:14, 2 Tim. 4:11)” (Schenck, 129). Schenck goes on to say that, “The church has traditionally believed that Luke was a Gentile; in fact, the only non-Jewish writer in the New Testament (cf. Col. 4:11-14).

2. Audience:

The book of Acts was addressed to a person by the name of Theophilus, which means “Lover of God.” This name is very uncommon in the ancient world and some have suggested that it was a way for the author to dedicate his work to the patron who sponsored and funded this this work. What we need to know is that even though it was addressed to one person in particular, it was meant for all of us. It is a great way for us to know what went on in the early church’s beginnings.

3. Purpose:

According to Ken Schneck “The Gospel of Luke, the author tells us, was about all the things that Jesus began to do and teach. The implication is that Jesus continues to do and teach in Acts as well.” Schneck goes on to say that “Acts emphasizes even more the importance of prayer in the life of the early Christians and the centrality of the Holy Spirit” (202).

4. What We Need To Know:

The book of Acts stresses that the most important thing for Christians to be reminded of, the true Gospel, is that Jesus was raised from the dead. The central theme and most important thing to know is that the Resurrection becomes the heart and soul of the Gospel. For us today, we need to understand that being a Christian means that we fully believe in the Resurrection of Jesus.

Thanks for checking this out everyone, and be on the look out for more soon.

Blessings