Lesson 7 : Book of Acts – Church History
Lesson 7 : Book of Acts – Church History
Book : Acts
Specific Objectives
By the end of this session, the student will be able to:
- Name the second division of the New Testament
- Tell the book of the second division of the New Testament
- Tell why the book was called Book of Acts
- Recite the memory verse
Bible Reference
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
Joshua 1:8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Words to Remember
- Apostle – comes from the Greek word “apostollos” or “one sent forth” as an ambassador of the Gospel
- Acts – the process of doing or performing something
- Power– the ability to do or act; capability of doing or accomplishing something; the possession of control or command over others
- Holy Spirit– is God’s power in action, His active force; sometimes called the Holy Ghost.
- Witness– a person who is able to attest as to what took place (something seen, heard,
- or experienced).
Pre-Session Activity
Greet the children as they arrive. Make certain that you know their names. As they arrive, have each child joins in a circle or around a table. Play a game, sing a song or give them activity to introduce the new lesson.
- Beginners : Early church coloring page
(Alternatively for young children, birthday theme is the best way to teach how the church started. Draw a large birthday cake and pre-cut candle shapes, party hat and streamers. Explain that today everyone will celebrate because today is the birthday of the church. Let’s find out why.) - Primary : Church to Freedom Maze
- Intermediate: Peter – Hidden Words Puzzle
LESSON PROPER
- PREPARATION and MOTIVATION
Teacher, review the students on what they have learned so far about the Bible.
(Make sure that all students will be able to answer all the questions correctly) -
- What are the two primary divisions of the Bible? (Old & New Testament)
- How many books the Bible consists of? (66 books)
- How many books the Old Testament consists of? (39 books)
- How many books the New Testament consists of? (27 books)
- What is the first division of the New Testament? (Gospel Books)
- Name the Gospel Books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
- How many of the Gospel Books detail the birth of Jesus? (Four)
- Tell how Jesus was presented in each Gospel Books
Matthew – Jesus is the Messiah
Mark – Jesus is the Servant of God
Luke – Jesus is the Son of Man
John – Jesus is the Son of GodTeacher: Last week we learned about the Gospel Books. Today, we will learn about the second division or the fifth book of the New Testament called ACTS. The Book of ACTS talks about what happened AFTER Jesus died, and AFTER He rose again. It talks about what Jesus said just before He went to heaven and the instructions He gave to His followers. The book of ACTS talks about how the first church was started
- INTRODUCTION
Acts is a sequel to the Book of Luke. It is titled “Acts” to emphasize that this book records the “Acts of the Apostles through the work of the Holy Spirit”. Luke wrote the book of Acts to record how believers were empowered by the Holy Spirit, worked to spread the Gospel of Christ, and are a model for the future church.The book of Acts is also the history of the birth, the founding, and the spread of the Church from Jerusalem to Rome. It also records the transition of the Church from being almost exclusively a Jewish institution into becoming a Gentile and an international institution. Consequently, it records the transition of Christianity from a Jewish religion into an international faith. The Gospel of salvation is for all because Jesus Christ is the Lord of all.The Book of Acts contains twenty-eight chapters. Of these chapters, the first twelve report events between the time of Jesus’ last meeting with His disciples and the beginning of Paul’s work as a Christian missionary. The remaining sixteen chapters describe Paul’s activities, beginning with his mission to the church at Antioch and ending with an account of his residence in Rome as a prisoner of the Roman government.The church is Jesus Christ’s worldwide “enterprise.” He prophesied that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). The Book of Acts tells us how His church began in Jerusalem and spread to the ends of the earth.
- LESSON
Bible Story: The Birth of the Church on Pentecost
Scripture: Acts 2:1-47
The StoryThe apostles were obeying Jesus’ instructions and were gathered in Jerusalem. It had been 10 days since Jesus had ascended (went back up) to heaven. On this day Jews that had travelled from many different countries were gathered in Jerusalem. The Jewish people were gathered to celebrate a feast called Pentecost. This special feast is a time where God’s people brought gifts as offerings to God. (Show Picture 1)The believers gathered together in that room had experienced an amazing event! God kept His Promise and sent the gift of the Holy Spirit! (Show Picture 2)The noise caused the Jews visiting Jerusalem to gather and find out what was going on. These Jewish people that lived in different countries and spoke different languages were confused. Each one of them could hear the believers from Galilee speaking their very own language. On that very day the people witnessed God’s promise that He made so many years ago come true.
Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit as he spoke these words to the crowd. He shared the Good News that Jesus died on the cross and that God raised Him from the dead.
As Peter preached to this crowd, he explained to them that the things that David spoke about many years ago were pointing to the time when the Lord Jesus would be raised from the dead. (Read verse 2:27 and 2:31-33) (Show Picture 3)
In Acts 2:38 Peter tells them what they need to do. Peter told them that they needed to repent. They needed to turn away from their sin and turn to Jesus who died for their sins. By believing in Jesus their sins would be forgiven.
Peter told them they needed to be baptized. When they were baptized they would be telling others that they had placed their faith in Jesus to be saved. Peter said that once they believed in the Lord Jesus they would receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit.
(Show Picture 4)
After Peter explained what the people needed to do, many of them believed in the Lord Jesus and were saved.
Let’s find out how many were saved on that day. (Acts 2:41)
“On that Day of Pentecost about 3,000 were saved.”
Not only was this a day of celebrating being born again, it was also the day that the very first church was born. A church is not a building but it is made up of people that believe in the Lord Jesus. Each and every person that believed in Jesus that day were part of the very first group of people who heard the Good News taught to them and they believed.
Memory Verse
2 Tim 3:16
- Beginners : “All Scripture is breathed out by God,”
- Primary : “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
- Intermediate : “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,”
Questions to Ponder
- Who wrote the Book of Acts? (Luke)
- It is the feast when God’s people gather together to bring gifts as offerings to God? (Day of Pentecost)
- What was promised when the Spirit came upon them?
(The apostles would receive power)
- What two commands did Peter give the people?
(Repent and be baptized)
Life Application
As a believer we must understand that Jesus work was to bring salvation to a lost human race and He wanted it to continue through His obedient church. And the Holy Spirit is still with us today. We can’t see him, but we can hear him as he speaks to our hearts, we can see his moving in our life, and we can feel the power of his presence as he guides us through each day.
Teacher may add his/her experience on witnessing about Jesus and being part of the church.
Activity
- Beginners : Have each child draw or color a precut candle shape with a flame on top. Then help them if needed to write their names on the candle. Each child gets to glue his candle on the cake by saying “I am glad to be part of the church.”
- Primary : Stained Glass Craft
This is a simple cut and paste pretends stained glass craft that is fun and easy for children of all ages to complete. - Intermediate : CRYPTOGRAM
(Answer: They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.)
Close in Prayer
Father, You know the hearts of every person in this room. Speak to our hearts and help us to obey Your words. Also, help us to allow Your Holy Spirit to give us the power to do the things we know will please You. Move in us too, as we try to share your love with the world around us. Let us see your power in our lives always as we trust you each day. In Jesus Name we pray these things. Amen.
