Acts: Lesson 1

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 1-2

If you are looking for the beginning of this study you can start HERE with the brief introduction. At the bottom of that introduction will be the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. For this study the English Standard Version is the translation that is being utilized and you can read it online HERE or pick up the copy of your choice from Amazon or your local book store. I find THIS EDITION to be useful for deeper study and annotation.

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Death & Resurrection, Repentance & Faith, Community & Fellowship

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. According to Luke, how long did Jesus spend with his disciples after his resurrection and for what purpose?

2. What did Jesus order his disciples to do and not do?

3. What question did the disciples ask Jesus before he was taken “out of their sight” and how did Jesus answer it?

4. What did the two men (angels) tell the disciples about Jesus’ future return?

5. Where were the disciples staying and about how many were there?

6. What became of Judas Iscariot (who betrayed Jesus)?

7. What qualifications did Peter put forward as requirements for candidates to take Judas’ place as an apostle?

8. How did they determine who should take Judas’ place and who was selected?

9. What supernatural occurrences took place when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples?

10. What was it that “amazed and perplexed” the people who had gathered for the feast in Jerusalem?

11. What prophet did Peter quote to demonstrate that the Scriptures foretold of the coming of the Holy Spirit?

12. After Peter preached the gospel what was the response of the hearers and what did Peter instruct them to do?

13. Who did Peter say “the promise” of the gospel was for?

14. The believers “devoted themselves” to what practices?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why did the Holy Spirit come upon the believers when he did? Why not while Jesus was still with them?

2. Why is it important that the “two men” told the disciples that Jesus “will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven”?

3. Why was the criteria, which Peter gave for apostolic candidacy, important?

4. What might be inferred about the people who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost given that many of them came from a great distance to be there?

5. What is the Spirit given gift of “tongues”? What is its purpose?

6. How did Peter’s quoting a Psalm of David prove that the Messiah must be raised from the dead?

7. Why is baptism, along with repentance, an important part of having a right response to the gospel? 

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. Was Peter right to encourage the disciples to select another apostle to fill Judas’ spot? What might be some arguments in favor or against this decision? 

2. The text says, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” How can the death of Jesus be a part of God’s “definite plan” while still being able to hold accountable “lawless men” for their actions? How ought we to understand the relationship between foreknowledge and predestination?

3. Should Christian live today in the same way we see them living in Acts 2:42-47? Make distinctions as necessary but explain your answer carefully. 

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Isaiah 40:6-8 and Psalm 33:11. In light of these passages, why should Christians under the New Covenant still carefully study the teachings of the Old Testament? What in our current reading suggests the continued value of the Old Testament Scriptures in the Christian life?

2. Read Romans 6:1-14. What does baptism do for the Christian and why is it so important? Can a person be a Christian and not be baptized?