Fresh

By Rob Buckingham

Rob Buckingham experienced a dramatic conversion from atheism to Christianity in his late teens and early twenties. Since then, he has been devoted to following Jesus and helping others do the same.

 

 

Rob has been inv

• Language: English
• Publisher: GENESIS PUBLISHING HOUSE
• Release date: Oct 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798988615408

Book preview

WEEK 1

Acts 1-4

The Jewish feast of Weeks was called Pentecost by Greek-speaking Jews because it was always celebrated fifty days after Firstfruits, (now known as Easter or Resurrection Sunday). It’s one of three main feasts in the Hebrew calendar–that’s why so many Jews from other regions and countries were in town.

The Feast of Pentecost was the anniversary of the giving of The Law at Mount Sinai and is considered to be the birthday of ancient Israel. Following that event, 3000 Israelites died. One thousand four hundred years later on the same day, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Jewish people at Mount Zion, and on that day, the birthday of the church, 3000 were saved.

It’s possible that the 120 disciples were gathered for prayer in one of the large rooms in the Temple that were available for public use. The Temple Plaza was about the size of six football fields and could accommodate thousands of people. Three times a year – at the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles – Jerusalem’s population would swell from about 80,000 to well over 250,000 people.

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples through sounds like wind and flames like fire, they began to speak in languages they’d never learned. A crowd gathered to find out from where the sounds were coming.

On closer inspection people, who’d assembled from different nations for this feast, heard the praises of God in their languages. When the crowd had gathered and calmed down, Peter stood up to preach the church’s first sermon.

And so, the church was born. The word Church comes from the Greek word "Ekklesia" a word that Jesus and the New Testament writers borrowed from the language of the day. It was a political term referring to an assembly of citizens who were called together for a particular purpose (usually a political gathering). The church then is an assembly, gathering, or congregation of those whose citizenship is in Heaven, called together for God’s Kingdom.

Luke wrote his Gospel and the Book of Acts to a man named Theophilus, whom Luke calls most excellent, – a term used when addressing government officials. Many Bible scholars believe that Theophilus was a Roman political figure that was probably a new convert. Luke writes to instruct him further and give him certainty and a perfect understanding of his faith. Luke, a medical doctor, wrote the book of Acts in the early ‘70s, but it details the church’s history from 30 to 62 CE. It contains quite a lot of medical language as well as legal defence. Some believe Luke wrote the book to show the innocence of Christians so that they should enjoy protection from persecution. The book also demonstrates the links Christianity has to Judaism as well as the unstoppable nature of the church.

WEEK 2

Acts 5-8

This section of Acts starts with the rather sobering story of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. Some of the people, who’d travelled from various parts of the world for Pentecost, had remained in Jerusalem after acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. These people likely had temporary accommodation, and little or no work, and so were extremely poor. To address this situation, some believers who had more than they needed, sold a property and gave the proceeds to the apostles who would distribute them to those in need.

Those who sold real estate did so as part of a voluntary act. There was no command, pressure, or expectation, making Ananias and Sapphira’s act of embezzlement and deception pointless. However, they persisted in lying to the Holy Spirit thus blaspheming him.

God acts quickly against their scheme of attacking Jesus’ fledgling church from the inside – an action paralleled in the Hebrew Scriptures concerning Achan’s sin in Joshua chapter seven.

Acts 5 also speaks of the church’s continued practice of getting together in large celebrations as well as small groups. All the believers – thousands of them – met in the part of the Temple Court known as Solomon’s Colonnade: A covered area that was popular for public lectures and discussions. They also met in small groups in each other’s homes. These gatherings included the ingredients found in most church meetings today: prayer, teaching, worship and communion. In their homes, they would also eat together.

In Acts 5:34 we’re introduced to a man named Gamaliel, a prominent doctor of Jewish law and teacher of Saul who later became the Apostle Paul. Just like Jesus did at the age of 12, Saul would have sat at Gamaliel’s feet, along with the other doctors of the law, hearing them teach and asking questions. The teachers would sit on high chairs so the students would be at their masters’ feet.

Gamaliel was the son of Simeon – possibly the Simeon mentioned in Luke 2:25-35 who recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah. Gamaliel was also the grandson of Hillel, the representative of the best school of the Pharisees.

Acts 6 introduces the church’s first internal problem. Growth always brings challenges, and correctly handling them is most important. The apostles handle it well by appointing team leadership to help them with the work of the ministry. The people choose the leaders, and the Apostles give them their authority.

The events of Acts chapters 5 to 8 occur between 30 and 32. In this section of Acts, we see an increase in persecution against the church – first against its leaders. The apostles are arrested and imprisoned, but overnight an angel releases them and tells them to preach the gospel. Upon hearing this, the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests…were perplexed, wondering where it would all end.Of course, today we know the answer to this question. On day one the church grew to over 3000. Today it is over 3 billion!

After Stephen had become the first martyr, persecution broke out against the entire church. As a result, believers in Jerusalem scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, and they gossiped the Gospel wherever they went.

Acts 8:27-39 tells the fascinating story of the conversion of a Eunuch. The Holy Spirit led Philip away from the crowds of people who were being transformed by the gospel in Samaria to bring salvation to one man in the desert. The Eunuch was an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means Queen of the Ethiopians").

One fascinating thing about this story is that No eunuch is to enter the congregation of God (Deuteronomy 23:1). This man was probably disappointed when he had gone to Jerusalem to worship. It’s likely he wasn’t admitted to the Temple, and so was now heading home sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. What follows is a discourse between the eunuch and Phillip in which Philip…told him the good news about Jesus. The eunuch is then baptised and then went on his way rejoicing–no longer barred from the presence of God, but warmly welcomed by God’s love and grace, just as was prophesied by Isaiah: don’t let the eunuchs say, ‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’ For this is what the LORD says: I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me. I will give them — within the walls of my house — a memorial and a name far greater than sons and daughters could give. For the name I give them is an everlasting one. It will never disappear! (Isaiah 56:3-5 NLT)

WEEK 3

Acts 9-12

The events of Acts chapters nine to twelve cover a large number of years, from the conversion of Saul on the Damascus Road somewhere between 33 and 36, and the death of King Herod Agrippa the first in 44 CE.

In chapter nine, Saul heads for Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there...he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. The Way was a common term in Bible days for any group that thought it alone followed the correct path of God. The first-century church referred to itself as the Way because Jesus had declared himself to be the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Saul’s conversion ends his prejudice against the followers of Jesus. An assassination attempt on Saul’s life causes him to flee from Damascus to Jerusalem where, thanks to Barnabas, he meets the Apostles Peter and James. When his life is again threatened, he departs Jerusalem for his hometown of Tarsus – a wealthy city well known for its great schools of learning. Tarsus was situated in modern-day Turkey not far from the Mediterranean Coast.

The narrative then returns its attention to Peter who was traveling around the country preaching the Gospel and performing miracles. Peter came to Lydda, Sharon, and Joppa – part of modern-day Tel Aviv.

Acts 10 focuses on a man named Cornelius – a Gentile centurion described as a God-fearer, meaning he related to Judaism but wasn’t circumcised. He was generous to the poor and prayed to God. As a centurion, he was not allowed to marry and so his household would have included servants and slaves.

The story told in Acts 10 is proof that God will get the gospel to anyone who shows a heart towards him and those in need. The story also demonstrates that God has abolished the Old Testament food rules, but more important than that, through the cross of Jesus, God has cleansedALLpeople. Jewish Christians are no longer to view non-Jews as unclean or evil.

Acts 11 details the depth of animosity that existed between Jews and Gentiles in the first century. Some Jewish believers were critical of Peter because he went into a Gentile’s home and ate with them – something that was strictly forbidden by Jewish Law. Some Christians today still struggle to keep company with certain people groups, but God makes it clear – as did Jesus by the people He associated with–that we are called to Love our neighbour as our self!

By 41 CE some of the believers who’d been scattered by persecution had travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Antioch in Syria was the third largest city of the day (after Rome and Alexandria) and had a population of about 500,000 people. Barnabas was sent from Jerusalem to pastor the new church in Antioch. Shortly afterward he travelled the challenging 160km journey to Tarsus to bring Saul onto the ministry team of the Antioch church. The disciples of Jesus were first nicknamed Christians by the pagan population of Antioch. According to the Bible Background Commentary, Antiochans were known for making fun of people, but Christians in the second century decided to adopt the title with pride. No one would have guessed how long the name would last!

Acts 12 records the death of the first of The Twelve Apostles–James, the brother of John, by King Herod Agrippa the First. James was martyred exactly fourteen years to the day after Jesus’ crucifixion.

Acts 12 concludes in 44 CE with the untimely death of King Herod from intestinal worms – a fact also attested to by Josephus, the Roman-Jewish historian. He records, A severe pain arose in his belly, striking with a most violent intensity. Accordingly, he was carried into the palace. And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age and in the seventh year of his reign.

WEEK 4

Acts 13-15

From this point on Paul rather than Peter dominates the Book of Acts. Acts 13 starts with insight into a leadership team meeting of a first-century church – the church at Antioch. New Testament leadership is always a team with a senior leader: In this case – Barnabas with four others – Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul. Simeon’s nickname was Niger which means black or dark. This word eventually became a derogatory term for black people, but in the first century, it was a term of endearment. Simeon is the same person as Simon, the man who was forced to carry Jesus’ cross (Matthew 27:32). He was from Cyrene on the North African coast.

During the leadership meeting, one of the team receives a prophetic word from the Holy Spirit that now is the right time for Barnabas and Saul to start their apostolic ministry of planting churches. Seventeen years of preparation time had gone into both men to lead them to this point. God is rarely in a hurry!

Notice in Acts 13 that Luke starts referring to Saul by his Roman name Paul, a name to which the Gentiles, whom Paul was to reach out to with the Gospel, would be more accustomed. This first apostolic mission by Paul and Barnabas started in 47 CE and lasted two years, during which time they planted four churches. John Mark started the journey with them as their helper but soon became a hindrance and left them when the going got tough.

Their first stop was an obvious choice – Barnabas’ homeland, the Island of Cyprus. The first convert on the Island was the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, the highest-ranking Roman official of Cyprus.

After about four months Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark sailed to the port of Perga. It’s likely that one of the three shipwrecks Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 11 occurred on this trip. That, along with dangers from robbers and sickness, proved too much for the young John Mark and so he left.

From Perga, Paul and Barnabas made the dangerous trip up the mountain roads to Pisidian Antioch, where they spent four months preaching the gospel in the synagogue and planting a church. Paul’s habit in the early days of his church-planting ministry was to always go to the Synagogue first. He would preach the Gospel to the Jews, and Gentile believers in God, and a few would believe the Gospel, especially gentile men who were attracted to Judaism but were put off by circumcision.Invariably, the Jewish religious leaders became jealous of Paul’s success, which led to them persecuting him (as is the case in Chapter thirteen). Paul and Barnabas were ousted from the region and headed Southeast to Iconium, which was one of the largest cities in the Roman province of Galatia, situated on a major road that led to Ephesus in the west. Going to Iconium was a strategic move as travellers would hear the gospel and spread it wherever they went. When their lives were threatened – which was an illegal act – once again Paul and Barnabas leave and head to two towns nearby – Lystra and Derbe – and preach the good news to the surrounding country.

The healing of a lame man led to the planting of a church in Lystra. Notice that when Paul looked at this man he saw that he had faith to be healed. Faith is something that is visible. As a result of the miracle, the people thought that Barnabas and Paul were the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. There was a local legend that these gods had once visited Lystra, but at that time only two people had been hospitable to them. Because of this, a flood destroyed the rest of the population. The locals obviously didn’t want to make the same mistake again, and so they went out of their way to be hospitable – much to the horror of the apostles who tear their clothes – an act that Jewish people were required to do when they heard the blasphemy. In Acts 14, it’s fascinating to see how quickly the people changed their minds about the apostles. One minute they are gods; the next minute they stone Paul. The fact that Paul got up and walked strongly suggests that a miracle had occurred.

Although not mentioned in this part of Acts, Paul met a young man on his visit to Lystra who would later become like a son to him. Timothy, who eventually became the leader of the church in Ephesus, met Paul and witnessed his sufferings. In 2 Timothy 3:10-11 Paul writes, But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance. You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it.

After establishing a large church in Derbe the apostles retraced their steps back through Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch, strengthening the churches and appointing leadership teams with prayer and fasting. They then headed towards the coast and preached the gospel in Perga, then the port of Attalia. They then sailed back to Antioch in Syria where they gathered the church and gave a