November 28, 2023

#306 The Acts, Chapter 8

55 minutes

In Acts 8, persecution pushes the early church out of Jerusalem in fulfillment of Acts 1:8, the Gospel dissolves a centuries-old division between Jerusalem and Samaria, and an official from an African empire comes to Christ. In sum, this chapter emphasizes (1) the upside-down nature of God’s kingdom as the Gospel goes first to outcasts and (2) its power as it overcomes long-standing ethnic, cultural and even political divisions.

Big Idea: The early church carried the gospel throughout the known world in approximately 30 years and transformed an empire in 3 centuries. Now the church seems intimidated, uncertain amidst swift cultural changes. So, what did the early Christians, commanded by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit, do that we are not doing? Here are their Acts, and may they inspire our own.

Outline:

A Tragic Expansion

A Kingdom Reunited

A Rich Outcast

Key Takeaways:

Why both men and women were integral to the early church.

Rest in the rest of the story. How God used the tragic death of Stephen and even Saul’s persecution to further the gospel, and why we should also rest in God’s eternal plan–even if we cannot fully understand it now.

The history of the Jerusalem-Samaria division and how the gospel dissolved it.

The sobering story of Simon, who appears to convert but cannot give up his identity as a magician-celebrity.

A brief history of Cush and how God specifically led the eunuch to passages that spoke to his station and need for Christ.

How Acts 8 focuses on ministry to outcasts and why we should as well.

The post #306 The Acts, Chapter 8 first appeared on The Good Citizen Project.

...more