A. Written by Luke

1. See notes on the gospel of Luke - A

2. Acts is a continuation of Luke - the two overlap (Lk. 24:49-52; Acts 1:4-12)

B. Written probably between 61-64 A. D.

C. Contains 1007 verses divided into 28 chapters

D. Purpose of Acts

1. Tells the history of the early church - its growth, its persecution, and how it dealt with various problems

2. Tells the work of some of the apostles

3. Tells the work of the Holy Spirit

4. Serves as a bridge between the gospels and the epistles. Without Acts there would be a huge gap between the two. We would not know many important things about the church.

5. Shows us how people lived Christianity

E. Principle characters:

• All the apostles (1 - 2)
• Peter and John (3 - 4)
• All the apostles (5)
• Stephen (6 - 7)
• Philip (8)
• Paul (9)
• Peter (10-12)
• Paul (13 - 28)

F. There are 19 references to miracles

G. There are 23 references to prayer

H. Sermons recorded: Peter ( chp. 2, 3, 4, 10); Stephen (7); Philip (8) Paul (9, 13, 17, 22, 26)

A. Christ's ascension, church established, its early growth

1. Ascension, choosing of Matthias (1)

2. Coming of the Holy Spirit, church established (2)

3. First miracle, Peter and John arrested, Christian benevolence (3 - 4)

4. Ananias and Sapphira, growth of the church, apostles arrested (5)

5. The seven appointed, Stephen's arrest and death, church scattered (6 - 8:4)

B. Gospel spread through Judea and Samaria

1. Labor's of Philip (8:5-40)

2. Saul's conversion and early labors (9:1-31)

3. Peter's labors in Judea, Cornelius converted (9:32 - 10:48)
4. P:eter's defense, the church in Antioch (11)

5. James killed, Peter imprisoned, death of Herod (12)

C. Paul's missionary tours and controversy at Jerusalem

1. Tour one (13 - 14)

2. Controversy in Jerusalem (15:1-35)

3. Tour two (15:36 - 18:22)

3. Tour three (18:23 - 21:16)

D. Paul's arrest and imprisonment, voyage to Rome, his prison labors

         1. Paul arrested in Jerusalem (21:17 - 23:35)
         2. Paul imprisoned in Caesarea (24 - 26:32)
         3. Paul's voyage to Rome (27 - 28:16)

         4. Prison labors of Paul (28:17-31)