Acts of The Apostles (#1)

Acts 1:1-26

Sermon by Pastor Sylvia Chan

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A bridge between the Gospel accounts and the preaching of the Gospel in all the earth

Today we begin to study the book of Acts, an important book. What is this book about and why is it important?

The life and the teaching of the Lord Jesus were recorded in the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. After the Lord had been crucified and then resurrected from the dead, he appeared to his disciples and gave them the commission to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. The disciples then carried out the Lord’s commands, and their activities are recorded in the book of Acts. Therefore Acts is a bridge between the Gospel accounts of the Lord Jesus Christ and the preaching of the Gospel after the Lord’s resurrection.

The Lord Jesus commanded the apostles to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father

^ESV Acts 1:1-8 In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Act 1:1-8 ESV)