- The history of the Christian Church is more worthy of our notice than the revolutions of an empire. The Church of Christ has been the object of God’s special providence since the world began and every step of its progression cannot but evidence the power, wisdom, and goodness of God. And its history in the book of Acts in particular is the history of the accomplishment of a long series of prophecies, the history of the transition from the old to the new covenant, the history of the execution of a plan to which all the other parts of the divine administration are subservient, for the Church is the central concern of divine providence, the ordained soul-saving and sanctifying station of God on earth.
- As we begin our Sunday School class on this book, I encourage you to study attentively and read widely. The history of the first age of the Christian Church is “splendid, because it is miraculous; edifying, as it records many noble examples of faith, charity, patience, and zeal; and it arrests the attention and touches the heart, by displaying the triumph of the gospel over the combined malice and wisdom of the world” (Dick).
- I’d like to recommend several resources on the book of Acts that I’ve found helpful. You may want to purchase some of these for more in-depth study on your own or a few of you may want to do a group study together. Either way, I encourage you to read. It goes without saying that we must be reading God’s Word, as it’s the primary means of grace; but it greatly contributes to our growth in faith and practice when we read good Christian literature as well. So I recommend the following books for your use:
Thematic Studies
- The Message of Acts (a thematic study)–Dennis Johnson
- Lectures on the Acts of the Apostles–John Dick
- Paul the Preacher–John Eadie
- Signs of the Apostles–Walter Chantry
Commentaries
- Let’s Study Acts–Dennis Johnson
- The Book of the Acts–F. F. Bruce
- Acts: New Testament Commentary–Simon Kistemaker
- The Message of Acts: John Stott
- The Acts of the Apostles Explained–J. A. Alexander
- A Commentary on Acts–Matthew Henry
Sermons
- Acts: An Expositional Commentary–James Boice
- Acts: Reformed Expository Commentary: Derek Thomas
- Acts: The Church Afire–R. Kent Hughes
- Sermons on Acts, Chapters 1-7–John Calvin