Key Verses and Themes in Acts

Verse

Theme

Acts 1:6 When they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Christian life occurs in a community oriented with a vocation for the kingdom of God

Acts 1:8 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The Christian community is oriented to witness of God’s kingdom in daily life.

Acts 2:17-21 In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day … Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Christian life is participation in God’s new world

Acts 2:40 And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

Christian life is participation in God’s new world

Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers … All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need … And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 3:6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 4:18-21 So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.” … All of them praised God for what had happened.

God is sovereign over systems of power

Acts 4:25-26 It is you who said by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant: “Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers have gathered together against the Lord and against his Messiah.”

God is sovereign over systems of power

Acts 4:32-38 Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. There was a Levite … [who] sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 5:1-11 But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?” … Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died … And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 5:27-32 When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority … And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”

God is sovereign over systems of power

Acts 6:1-7 Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.” … The number of the disciples increased greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 8:18-24 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God’s gift with money … ” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 8:26-40 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” … Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch … [who] had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” … Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him …

Power, status, and resources are not substitutes for a relationship with God

Acts 9:36-43 Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity. At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs … Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive. This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord …

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 9:43 Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 10:24 The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 11:27-30 At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius. The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea; this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 12:20-23 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!” And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

All authority comes from God

God is sovereign over systems of power

Acts 13:1-3 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Discernment of particular vocation is done within the Christian community

Acts 13:50 But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.

The Christian life brings confrontation with the powerful

Acts 16:11-15 We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony … The Lord opened [Lydia’s] heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 16:16-24 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling. While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities …

The gospel liberates from evil manifest in oppressive economic practices

Acts 17:12 Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing.

The church has economic diversity

Acts 18:3-4 Because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 19:19 A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.

Some particular vocations are inimical to the Gospel

Acts 19:23-41 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way. A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, “ … this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods …” When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city was filled with the confusion; and people rushed together to the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travel companions … When the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “… we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” When he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

The Christian life brings confrontation with the powerful

Acts 20:33-35 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 21:8 The next day we left and came to Caesarea; and we went into the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the seven, and stayed with him.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community

Acts 27:11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

Power, status, and resources are to be used for the sake of the community