Week One ~ BibleWise Group Lesson and Homework for the Book of Acts

Dear Friends,

I want to take this time to thank you for studying alongside me to discover what God wants us to know from the Book of Acts.

I have written a study on the Book of Acts that can be found on my blog underneaththethreads.blogspot.com .I will be handing out study sheets for you to put in your loose leaf notebooks. But, if you miss a class then you can read the Class lesson for the day and get caught up. I will post each week’s group lesson and my notes for it. I will also post all 5 lessons for the week. You can make comments or even ask questions on the blog site.

This study will consist of five studies a week and one lesson from me with discussion time on Wednesdays. It’s my desire that you spend time in the Word on your own with not too much commentary on my part.

Everyday that you get into the Word please pray first. Ask God to reveal a new truth to you everyday. Learn to use cross references to help clarify what you read. Use Bible dictionaries and commentaries that you can either purchase or get free online at biblegateway.com and oneplace.com. Learn about the culture and history of biblical times by going to followtherabbi.com , bible-history.com or bibleplaces.com. It really makes the Word come alive when you can learn about the period you are studying. Though these aren’t really needed as you study, they do help you put things into historical perspective.

The main thing is that the Holy Spirit is our guide and our teacher. Time in prayer is essential. Sometimes writing out your prayers is beneficial to staying on tract. If you’re like me you can get distracted when you study and pray. (I call that the “Shiny Object Syndrome” or “S.O.S.” for short.)

There will be various questions throughout the lessons where you will be asked to “make it relevant” or “make it personal”. “Make it Relevant” is where you can apply it to today’s world. In other words, if someone were to ask you what that particular passage means to people of today, how would you explain it. “Make it Personal” is where you apply the scripture directly to how it relates on a personal level to you. Before answering this question be sure to stop, pray and ask God to reveal this to you. He’s more than willing and able. At the end of the discussion questions, located at the end of the week, I ask you to write out something God has revealed to you, as you studied, in the form of a prayer. This is to reinforce your knowledge and give thanks to the true Teacher ~ Jesus.

It is my prayer that you and I will learn more truth about our beloved Jesus in a relaxed setting where we can be honest and open about questions we may have. He wants us to know Him more and more. Truth is freedom and Jesus is the Truth that leads to our freedom.

I’m looking forward to my time with you.

His Forever,

Carrie

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“What’s Next”

Let’s read Acts 1:1-5 

We’ve all wondered what’s next in life? What do wonder is next in your life?

I like to call Acts the _____________ book.

The Book of Acts is...

Written by__________

What was the author’s occupation?

Was he a Gentile or a Jew?

Is about ____________

Who did he write the Book of Acts to?

Luke was so interested in Jesus and His time on earth that he wrote a detailed account in his first book ___________ and his next book ____________.

He used his gifts to ______________________.

What are you doing with the knowledge you have? Do you share it with others? Do you share your Christian faith with others in such a way as to point them to Jesus? Are you curious like Dr. Luke? 

Take a moment to answer these questions.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1 Corinthians 15:5-8 tells us...

Jesus appeared to ____________________________________________________

He walked the earth after His resurrection for __________ days.

Let's turn our focus to the words of Jesus found in Acts 1:4-5. 

What did Jesus tell His followers to do?

What was the gift God would send them?

How would they know it was the real thing?

What did Jesus remind them about John the Baptist?

Luke 3:16 

God is always______________. 

He never breaks His____________. 

"What is your Jerusalem?" What has the Lord told you to wait for? Are you waiting? Or, are you pushing for God's timetable to move?

Isaiah 48:17 (NLT) This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.”

Psalm 130:5 (NLT) I pray to God—my life a prayer— and wait for what he'll say and do.

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Lesson One

"No Distractions"

Read Acts 1:6-11 What question did the disciples ask the Lord?

What was His answer? 


What did Jesus tell the disciples about what would happen and what He wanted them to do? 

Make it relevant to you: 

I can't imagine how I would react to the resurrected Jesus, having just eaten a meal with me, giving me some things He wants me to do, seeing Him lifted up in the sky and eventually disappearing. It would take two men dressed in white to close my mouth and get my attention back here on earth. These men have been through a lot in the last couple of months. Let's give them a break. They were a tad bit distracted.

The Disciples were Jewish through-and through. They believed that the Messiah was sent to be a Savior for Israel. But their view of "Messiah" was one of a military defender. He would be one who would firmly reestablish Israel as a nation, defending her from all other nations. So the disciples still weren't sure that He wasn't going to set up His Kingdom now. This is the verse the Jewish Nation bases their belief of "Messiah" then and now:

Read Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NLT) What aspects of the Messiah are found in this verse? 

If you look at the question that the disciples asked, then you would see that they weren't thinking along the same lines as Jesus. They wanted to know when His Kingdom would be set up. He was telling them that they would receive the power of God through the Holy Spirit indwelling them. You see Jesus had already defeated the foe who wanted them dead. He defeated Satan and death itself. They were focused on the here and now like the threat of other nations. Jesus' focus is always eternal and He has already defeated our foes.

Now don't be looking down on the disciples. We aren't any different. Our focus is generally on what's happening to us now and how God is going to get us through it. 

What do you find yourself thinking about in the here and now instead of what has been given to us that is truly eternal? 

Why is it that what God has placed within each believer ~ the powerful Holy Spirit ~ an awesome gift He has given us? 

 I forget. I really do forget all too often that the gift of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me is a phenomenal thing and nothing on earth can match it. What we have dwelling within us is God's Kingdom already here. It is here in our hearts and will one day be set up on the earth fully renewed.

Jesus gently redirects the disciples to what's important. He said, "The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know." He tells them what IS important: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you..." 

Jesus gently redirects us to what is important. Everyday we focus on what's wrong instead of what's right. We can't control the government, the news, our family issues,.... But, we do have the power to overcome them and focus on what matters. What matters is that Jesus has not left us alone to fend for ourselves. He has given the gift of God in our souls ~ the promised Holy Spirit of God Himself.

Read 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. Who enables us to stand firm in Christ? What has He commissioned us to do? (See Matt. 28:18-20)

How has He identified us? 

What does that guarantee for us? 

Like the disciples, our heads need to come down from the distraction of the clouds and what may happen next. Rather, we should concentrate on what has been given to us to defeat the distractions and problems that we face daily. Let's place our eyes on Him and what He has placed within us.

Read Hebrews 12:2a. Make it personal and apply it to your life today. 

Let's keep our eyes on Jesus and trust that He has given us the power to focus on what really matters ~ the defeat of sin and death. 

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Lesson Two

"The Next Step"

Read Acts 1:12-14 How far did the apostles have to walk? See if you can find out how far a Sabbath’s Day walk was. 

Who was present? 

What were that constantly united doing? 

Make it relevant to you:

I remember that right after my mother passed away our family wanted to be together all the time. It was probably the grief we shared but it was also the memories of Mom that we wanted to talk about. We all had a common link and that was our relationship to her.

Jesus' mother Mary, his brothers, some of the women who followed Him and the remaining disciples had gathered in the upstairs room of the place they were staying. It was the place where those who had grieved the loss of their beloved Rabbi, son, brother and Lord met. Now they were no longer grieving because Jesus had proved Himself to be alive. He proved Himself Lord. He had walked the earth for forty days after His death and resurrection and now had risen to sit at the right hand of God. Presently, those close to Jesus united in prayer constantly waiting for the next step.

What was this next step? 

How would they know what that next step was? 

Are you currently waiting for the next step in your life? Describe what you are waiting on the Lord about: 

These dear people met together, held as one because of their common bond ~ "The Risen Christ." This same bond binds us together. He is the scarlet thread that wraps our hearts as one. Jesus had told the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait. As they were waiting for this promised gift they remained in constant prayer.

The next step is always prayer. Some may think prayer is just a pat answer to the question of "What now?" It's not. It's the essential first step in our lives of faith. Not only are we to pray alone, we are to pray together.

Read Romans 12:12. What are we to rejoice in? 

What are we to be patient in? 

What should we keep on doing? 

Prayer is our response to God. It is preparing for His will. The Greek words for "joined together constantly" (used in verse 14) is "eimi proskartereo" and means "to be present, to join, to be ready." Personal and solitary prayer is essential to knowing what God wants our next step to be. We must be ready to move when God says go. Our hearts must be in tune with His heart and willing to follow His plan.

Read Colossians 4:2. What are we to be devoted to? 

What should our minds and hearts be? 

Make it personal and apply it to your life today. 

When we fall on our knees and acknowledge God and wait on Him, we are moving in the right direction. It is the position God wants us in because it tells Him that we are paying attention to Him and really want to know what His will is.

Those huddled together in prayer in this upstairs room patiently and faithfully waited on Him. And God answered their prayers in a big way. He wants us unified as believers, always wanting His perfect plan. Stay tuned to find out their next step.

Prayer is ALWAYS the first next step.

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Lesson Three

"Hero or Savior"

Read Acts 1:15-26. When Peter stood up to address the people, how many were gathered there? 


What did he tell them about Judas? 

Why do you think Peter brought up the topic of Judas? 

What were the qualifications to be one of the 12?

God knows each of us inside and out so why do you think they drew lots? 

Make this relevant to you: 

This portion of scripture is one most people read only to get through to the next part. Maybe because it has a sad end to a life that had walked alongside Jesus. It also has the subject of casting lots to make a decision. (Why is this in the Bible?)  How can either one of these issues be relevant to our lives? I've thought the same things and have come to believe wholeheartedly that every part of scripture is relevant. (See 2 Timothy 3:15-17 )Today I'm going to try to put a few thoughts together about these two often skimmed-over passages.

This lesson will divided into two days because of the content we need to study. So first let's look at Judas. He was a follower of Jesus and put himself in charge of the treasury of the "talmidim" the followers of "Rabbi Jeshua" ~ Jesus. 

Read John 12:2-8. What did Mary do? 

What was Judas’ response? 

Did Judas really care about how the money was spent? 


Why?

How did Jesus reply to Judas? 

Judas was never sold out for Jesus and Jesus knew it. He knew that Judas would never have Him in His heart. He followed Him as a student of His but not as a believer. He called Jesus "Rabbi" (teacher) but never called Him "Lord" (Master). Judas was a zealot who thought that the Messiah should be a military victor over the nations that held Israel down. 

I read an interesting theory about Judas that he was trying to get Jesus to fight when the Priest sent for Jesus to be arrested. (That the World May Know/ Follow the Rabbi.) For me that fits the scenario but it is not the point. The point is that Judas never really saw who Jesus really was until it was too late.

Jesus knew Judas' heart and taught him and loved him just like He did the other disciples. Judas saw the miracles and heard the teaching but never heard it from the standpoint of one who wanted to follow Jesus. He wanted to stand behind a victorious military leader for Israel. Instead, Jesus was on earth to beat our deadliest foe... DEATH.

This made me think about how I view Jesus. Is He my "Savior" or do I want Him to be my "Hero?" At first glance you may be thinking that these are one and the same. I use these two terms to make a point. "Savior" is one who is supernaturally superior over the darkness of sin and death and all the fears I face. "Hero" is one who rescues me from the daily enemies I face. Do I see Him as a knight-in-shining-armor who rescues me from the wrongs of this life? (He does but not always the way I think He should or as quickly as I think He should.) Or do I see Him as my Savior who rescues me from the outcome of my sins which leads to death? Jesus is so much more than our human minds can comprehend. He is MORE!

Ultimately Jesus is victorious over all things. However, sometimes our everyday enemies seem to get the better of us. Does that mean Jesus isn't victorious? Does it mean that He doesn't care what happens to us? No, it means that this world is a failing, sinful place that one day will be replaced by the perfect Kingdom our Savior will bring.

Read John 16:32-33. Why did Jesus say, “Take heart”? 

For a time (3 days)  it looked like the evil in the world had triumphed. The disciples and all those who followed Jesus thought that they were defeated. (There are many times when I think that I've lost the battle too.) And yet three days later Jesus proved that wrong. They got to see Him resurrected. Judas killed himself before he could see Redemption's King alive again. 

You see, it's how we view Jesus that matters. Do you see Him as "Savior" or just another "Hero?" My prayer is that Jesus will open our eyes to see Him more and more as He really is. He is God victorious!!

Read I John 5:4-5. How do we achieve victory?

Who wins the battle against the world? 

Make it personal: 

Is He your "Savior" or are you justing hoping for a "Hero?"

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Lesson Four

"Determined Steps"

In the last Study we focused on Judas and how He never really accepted Jesus as His Lord. He only saw Him as a "Rabbi." Judas desperately wanted Jesus to be more of a military conquerer and never understood  what Jesus came to earth to do. He died before He could see the resurrected Jesus. Who knows what would have happened if He had.

Today we move forward in the second half of Acts 1:15-26 and observe what happened next.

Read Acts:1:21-26. Describe again why they drew lots. ____________________

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There were 120 people present during this meeting. There had been 12 disciples and now since Judas had betrayed Jesus and killed himself. his spot needed to be filled. This was very important. Two men were considered because they had been with Jesus from the beginning. (Justus and Matthias) They followed Jesus from His baptism to His resurrection.

The first thing they did was pray. They acknowledged that God knew the hearts of these two men and believed that God would show them who He wanted as a replacement for Judas. Now this gets me: "Then they cast lots." (Anyone else confused by this?)

Why in the world did they cast lots? To understand this we need to look at the history behind casting lots. It was common in the Old Testament and in the customs of the people of Jesus' time. 

Leviticus 16:8. What did they cast lots for? _____________________________

Joshua 18:10. Where did Joshua cast lots? ______________________________

Proverbs 18:18. What can casting lots do? ______________________________ 

So why did the disciples resort to casting lots, flipping a coin, etc.? Before they were filled with the Holy Spirit the Israelites would cast lots and believed God would bless the decision. This is why they prayed first. Notice that the promised Holy Spirit had not descended into man's hearts yet and they responded the way they had always made hard decisions. 

We will see in the next chapter that the Holy Spirit comes and indwells the Believer. It will no longer be necessary to rely on outside signs to hear God's voice. He speaks directly to us.

God knew where each disciple was spiritually and knew they were casting lots by faith and by tradition and so He directed them once again through this outside means. Soon things would change because the Holy Spirit would indwell each believer.

How do you know you are hearing the will of God?_______________________

__________________________________________________________________

Do you wait until you know for sure? Why or why not?___________________

__________________________________________________________________

 Do you act on faith that God will honor your efforts and lead you in His will?

Explain. ___________________________________________________________ 

God does indeed know our motives behind each action, just as He knew the disciples' hearts and answered them through the casting of the lots, directing them to choose Mathias.

Read Acts 17:30. What did God overlook in earlier times? _________________

What does He command everyone everywhere to do? _____________________

__________________________________________________________________

How is this scripture relevant to our lesson today? _______________________

__________________________________________________________________

Make it personal: ___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________ 

Remember how we learned about "The Next Step?" The next step is always prayer and seeking God's will. The second step is waiting on Him. The third step is stepping out in faith that God will give us His direction.

Proverbs 16:17 (NLT) We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

I think that it all comes down to this. We should first pray and seek God about which steps He desires for us to take. We wait on Him and respond by stepping out in faith. He knows our true motives and acts accordingly. We must lay our wills down for His. We must search the reasons and motives of our actions. Most importantly we must act in faith. Hopefully, this helps us as we truly seek to follow our Leader Jesus. 

May the Lord determine your steps and may your heart be 

responsive to His perfect will.

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Lesson Five

"Words to Speak"

Read Acts 2:1-4. Summarize in your own words what took place in these four verses. ____________________________________________________________

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Imagine yourself there on the Temple Mount when the Holy Spirit descended. What would you feel like? ___________________________________________

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Pentecost, what does that mean to you? Do you understand the significance of it? The Bible tells of the three main feasts (celebrations) that each Hebrew was expected to attend in Jerusalem. The first was “Passover” (Pesach), remembering how God had freed the Israelites from death and from their slavery to Egypt. Jesus was crucified and resurrected over the Passover week.  He freed mankind from the grips of death and from the slavery to sin. The second, was “Pentecost” (Shavuot) and the third was “Sukkot” (Tabernacles). followtherabbi.com

Read read the Exodus 12:21 and John 1:29 and compare the two. What significance do you find there?________________________________________

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Now, it was Pentecost (Shavuot), 50 days after Passover. The faithful gathered on the Temple Mount to worship and to celebrate. It is here that the disciples and followers of Jesus met. Most folks think they were still in the upper room but because they were Jews they would be at the required festival of Pentecost located on the Temple Mount. Here thousands of people were present from many nations. Many languages were spoken. 

Biblical scholars think the followers of Jesus met on the great Southern Steps of the Temple Mount or in the massive outdoor malls that Herod built. The importance of where they were is that many people were around to witness this great event. People of many languages.

"As the offerings were presented and the sacrifices were made, portions of the Bible were read. According to Jewish history, those portions were Exodus 19:20 (the story of God's presentation of the Torah, including the Ten Commandments, to Moses on Mount Sinai) and Ezekiel 1:2 (Ezekiel's vision of God appearing in fire and wind). The fact that these activities occurred around 9:00 in the morning had great significance for the celebration the year Jesus died and was raised." (See Follow the Rabbi ~ Ray Vander Laan) 

Now that we have a little history behind this time and celebration (and there is tons more), we can almost see where the followers of Jesus were when the Holy Spirit descended and entered those who believe in Jesus. So it would be logical His followers would meet here on Pentecost after the morning sacrifices. 

God appeared to  Moses and Ezekiel in fire and wind. Now He was appearing in the same way but the difference is that the presence of God alighted on each believer and remained. His Spirit didn't just rest on them, it entered into them. It now enabled each believer to speak in many languages so that the people celebrating Pentecost could understand the Gospel in their native tongue.

God hasn't changed the rules about the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. We are still capable to share the good news of our Savior Jesus. He places us all in areas where we can touch lives we encounter. Why do we ever doubt that He will enable us? Just like Moses who claimed he couldn't speak well and was provided with a speaker (his brother Aaron) we too are provided with a speaker, the Holy Spirit of God.

Make it personal ~ Has God ever used you to speak on His behalf? Do you feel like He could use you? Are you willing? ________________________________

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We will continue on with this amazing story, true in every aspect, in our next study. Now by faith go out and use your gift to bring others to Him.

God will give you the words when you don’t know what to say.

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Discussion Questions

First Group Lesson   (The one I give at class)

What are you doing with the knowledge you have? Do you share it with others? Do you share your Christian faith with others in such a way as to point them to Jesus? Are you curious like Dr. Luke?

Let's turn our focus to the words of Jesus found in Acts 1:4-5. During a meal that Jesus shared with the remaining disciples He ordered them to stay in Jerusalem until God the Father sent a special gift to them. What was this gift? How would they know that it was the real thing?

Do you ever wonder what's around the corner? Explain.

God is always faithful. He never breaks His word. We may think that He does when things don't go as we've prayed for them to go. The disciples were commanded to "stay in Jerusalem." The question I pose to you today is this, "What is your Jerusalem?" What has the Lord told you to wait for? Are you waiting? Or, are you pushing for God's timetable to move?

LessonOne

Our focus is generally on what's happening to us now and how God is going to get us through it. Do you find yourself thinking about the here and now instead of what has been given to us that is truly eternal? 

What do you find yourself thinking about in the here and now instead of what has been given to us that is truly eternal? 

Read 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. Why is it that what God has placed within each believer ~ the powerful Holy Spirit ~ is an awesome gift He has given us?

Lesson Two

 Read Acts 1:12-14 and answer the following: What do you think was the next step for the followers of Jesus? How would they know what that next step was? Are you currently waiting for the next step in your life? Or are you just walking around in circles?

  

Read Romans 12:12. What three things are found in this verse? And why are they important?

Read Colossians 4:2. What does this verse say we are to do? Why is personal and solitary prayer essential to knowing what God wants our next step to be? 

Lesson Three

Judas was never sold out for Jesus. He followed Him as a student of His but not as a believer. He called Jesus "Rabbi" (teacher) but never called Him "Lord" (Master). What do you think is the difference between calling Jesus “Lord” or “Rabbi”?

Ultimately Jesus is victorious over all things. However, sometimes our everyday enemies seem to get the better of us. Does that mean Jesus isn't victorious? Does it mean that He doesn't care what happens to us?

Now it’s time for you to dig into scripture a little on your own. Find a verse or verses that talk about how Jesus or God cares for you. Be ready to share and bless others in discussion time.

Lesson Four

Look up the following passages and describe the use of “casting lots.” 

Leviticus 16:8

Joshua 18:10

Proverbs 18:18

Why don’t we need to “cast lots” today? Explain.

How do you know you are hearing the will of God? Do you wait until you know for sure? Do you act on faith that God will honor your efforts and lead you in His will?

Read Proverbs 16:17. Why is this passage important to remember?

Lesson Five

What are the three main feasts held in Jerusalem that the Faithful were required to attend?

2. God appeared to  Moses and Ezekiel in fire and wind. How is that like the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended.

Are you willing to speak on behalf of the Lord Jesus? Why or why not?

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What is something new that God has taught you through this week of Study and Prayer? What do you need to focus on in your life? Make it a prayer:   _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________