Week 4: Beginning of missionary trips

• Brief introduction about St. Luke and the Book of Acts:
  

  • St. Luke accompanied the St. Paul on his missionary journeys, so he accurately narrated what he witnessed. Being a physician, he also described events in detail.

  • He did not conclude the book of Acts with "Amen" like the other books because the Synaxarion (Church calendar of saints and events) comes after it, serving as the continuation of the Church’s history beyond the Book of Acts.
    

  • The Church reads the Synaxarion (the lives of the saints of the day) after the Book of Acts during the liturgy, to declare that the Word of the Lord continues to grow and multiply in His holy Church.

  • The placement of the Book of Acts between the Gospels and the Epistles serves as a connection between them: the Gospels present the life of Christ, the Book of Acts shows the preaching of the Gospel, and the Epistles reflect how to live according to the Gospel.

• Introduction:
  

  • Author: St. Luke
    

  • Time of writing:
    

    • It was written around the year 63 AD in Rome, after he had written his Gospel. It covers a period of about thirty years—from the Ascension of Christ to Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome.
      

  • Purpose of the book
    

    • A clear record of the ministry of Peter and Paul.
      
    • Demonstrates the behavior of the early Christians as high examples for us.
    • Shows the mighty work of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling Christ’s promises and establishing the Church.
      
    • Displays the divinity of the Son.
    • Proclaims the divinity of the Holy Spirit.

• Outline
  

  • • Chapter 1 – The Apostles in Jerusalem from the Ascension to Pentecost:
      Includes the selection of Matthias and the worship of the Church.
    • Chapters 2–7 – The Beginning of Evangelism until the Martyrdom of Stephen:
      Includes the gifts of the Spirit, the growth of the Church, the healing of the lame man, threats against the apostles, the death of Ananias and Sapphira, the imprisonment of the apostles, the selection of seven deacons, and the stoning of Stephen.
    • Chapters 8–12 – The Persecution of the Church in Jerusalem:
      Includes the faith of the Ethiopian eunuch, the conversions of Paul and Cornelius, the founding of the Church in Caesarea, the martyrdom of James, the imprisonment of Peter, and the death of Herod.
    • Chapters 13–15 – The Evangelism of Paul and Barnabas Until Their Separation:
      Includes the story of Elymas the sorcerer, the Church in Antioch, the healing of the lame man in Lystra, the stoning of Paul, and the First Council of Jerusalem.
    • Chapters 16–20 – Paul’s Preaching in Europe
      
    • Chapters 21–28 – Paul’s Trials:
      Includes his journey to Jerusalem, his arrest and transfer to stand trial in Rome, his trials before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, the shipwreck in Malta, and finally his arrival in Rome and preaching there for two years.

• Reading:
  

  • Chapters 7-1213-20
    

    • Read chapter 7 from 44-60
    • Read Chapter 8 from 1-4, 26-40
    • Read Chapter 9 from 1-31, 36-43
    • Read Chapter 10 from 25-43
    • Read Chapter 11: no readings from chapter 11
    • Read Chapter 12 from 1-25

• Resources:
  

  • The Book of Acts - Fr. Daoud Lamei English
    

• Key verse:
  

  • “But'I have set you to be a light of the wordnations, for you to be for salvation to the end of Godthe grew and multiplied.earth.” Acts 12:2413:47
    
    

• Comments: 

•  

  • Introduction about St. Paul
    • • St. Paul wrote 14 epistles out of the 27 books in the New Testament.
      • Known as the Apostle of the Gentiles.
      • Received 4 crowns: martyrdom, purity, apostleship, and righteousness.
      • Early preparation for ministry:
        • Roman Citizen: enabling him for safe travel and legal protection.
        • Greek education: Exposure to Greek philosophy
        • Jewish heritage: Adhering to Jewish law and traditions and studied under Gamaliel in Jerusalem.

        • 

        • 

  • Acts 713 
    
    • St.First Stephen'smissionary speechtrip: Barnabas and Paul  (Acts 7:13: 44-53)1-5)
      • Ver1st 48,Journey: God'sLasted presencefor is2 notyears confinedfrom 44AD
        • Started from Antioch (Syria) to Cyprus to the temple;other He does not dwellAntioch in aPisidia building,(Turkey) but
      • This part highlights the significance of fasting and prayer
      • The act of laying hands on the servants demonstrates the Church's authority in the hearts of His children who believe in Him.
      • He revealed to the Jews that the hardness of their hearts. Their worshipappointing and circumcisionguiding wereindividuals onlyfor outwardministry. andAdditionally, superficial,being withoutsent touching their hearts or ears to listen to Christ. The Jews rejected the testimony ofby the Holy Spirit about Christ in theverse prophecies4, ofconfirms thethat Oldtheir Testament prophets, and even killed the prophets.
      • Contemplation: In the same way, a person loses every blessing when they refuse to obey the Holy Scriptures.
    • The stoning of St. Stephen (Acts 7:54-60):
      • While the Jews were stoning Stephen, he remained calm and prayerful, asking God to receive his spirit to dwell with Him in heaven. This shows the strength of his faith and his steadfastness in the final moments of his life. 
      • St. Stephen’s vision of our Lord Jesus Christ setting at the right hand of Godmission was alsodivinely mentionedordained, innot severalself-initiated. other places in the bible (old and new testament)
        • Mark 16:19: So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
        • Ephesians 1:20: Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.
        • Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.
      
      
    • Discussion:
      • What madedoes hisit speechmean soto powerful?be "called" by God? as mentioned in verse 55,2, he,To beingbe fullcalled ofby theGod Holymeans Spirit.to offer your life fully to Him—surrendering your plans, desires, and time to follow His will.
  • WhatThe canministry in Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:13-39):
    • The two apostles traveled by sea to the coast of what is now Turkey. At this point, St. Mark departed from them and returned to Jerusalem. St. Luke does not mention the reason for Mark’s departure, but later we learn fromthat histhe forgiveness?Apostle Paul was upset by it. However, Barnabas tried to excuse Mark’s actions, which eventually led to a disagreement between him and Paul (Acts 15:37–39). Despite this, Paul later showed love and trust toward Mark again (2 Timothy 4:11). 
    • Verse 33, St. Paul testified and spoke about the divinity of Christ that He followedis Christ'sthe exampleeternal bySon prayingof forGod, hiswho enemieswas born in the flesh at a specific point in time to save the world through His death and showingresurrection.
    love
  toward
  • The themJews rejected the word of God (Acts 13: 45-52)
    • Ver 47, "I have set you as a light to the Gentiles...." ask yourself how can this verse apply to me?
      • I can shine God's light to those around me through my words, behavior, appearance, and actions.
•  Acts 814
  • The Church is scatteredSigns and Saulwonders persecutes.in Iconium. (Acts 8:14: 1–4)10)
    • Saul, a Jewish man from Tarsus and the tribe of Benjamin, was around 40 years old in the early first century. Well-educated, he strongly supported the persecution of Christians.
    • Verse 4, The Christians who were scattered from Jerusalem, in their travels, were not afraidContinuation of the Jews.1st Instead,missionary theytrip
    continued
    • Healing to preachof the wordcripple of God in joy, despite the persecution they had endured.man
    • Contemplation:   Truly,If theyou Lordlet turnsGod sorrowlead intoyour joylife and spiritualfollow gain,His path, He will work wonders through you and He controls all the events of life to work for our salvation.
    • How did God use persecution forreveal His plan?power Thein persecutionamazing forced believers to leave Jerusalem, spreading the Gospel to new places.ways.
      
  • PhilipStoning of St. Paul and completion of the Ethiopian1st Eunuchmissionary trip (Acts 8:26-40)14:19-28):
    • Verse 24, "prayed with fasting" again it shows the importance of prayer and fasting in our life
    • They made many disciples after preaching in these cities, so they appointed priests and organized the ministry in the churches.
• Acts 15
  
  • The Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15: 1-12)

    • The believers from Jewish origin were arguing, saying that in order to become Christian you have to be Jewish first by submitting to the law of Moses and be circumcised first.

    • The leaders of the church (the apostles and elders), which is now represented by the Holy Synod, got together to solve this issue and stated that the law of Moses and Jewish traditions was symbolic traditions to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our salvation comes only from the blood of Jesus Christ through His death and resurrections.
    • Ver 8-9, Peter explained how the Holy Spirit ledcame Philipupon the Gentiles even before they were baptized, showing that God approved their baptism without the need for circumcision or keeping the Law of Moses.
    • The Council's decisions (Acts 15: 22-29)
    • 2nd missionary trip (Acts 15:36-41)
      • Paul suggested to Barnabas that they go on a second missionary journey to the Ethiopian eunuch.
      • Baptism is essential for salvation:
        • First: Baptism performed by immersion in water.
          Second: Acceptingvisit the faith.believers whenthey thehad Ethiopianpreached Eunuchto saidduring "their Ifirst believejourney thatand Jesusto Christcheck ison thehow Sonthey ofwere God" 
          doing.
  • Acts 9
    
    • The conversion of Saul (Acts 9: 1-31)

      • The encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ (1-9)

        • God revealed to Saul that the one speaking to him was Jesus, showing him that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
        • Saul then spent three days blind, fasting, and praying, deeply reflecting on the event.
      • Ananias and Saul's healing (10-19)16
        • Ananias2nd missionary trip (Acts 16: 1-15)
          • 2nd trip: St. Paul and Timothy
          • The second missionary journey was amarked devoutby Christianthe livingbeginning of evangelism in DamascusEurope.
          • The journey began from Antioch (in Syria) and continued overland to Tarsus (Turkey), knownto forNeapolis hisin goodEurope.
          reputation
          • This amongsecond thejourney Jewsis there. He plays a key rolerecorded in the conversionBook of SaulActs from chapter 15 -18 and lasted approximately three and a half years, from 51 AD to 54 AD.
          • In this part we see that God directed St. Paul though the vision of Tarsus
          • Verse 18, Scales fell from Saul’s eyes, symbolizing the removalMacedonian of sin that blinded him from Christ. He immediately regained his sight and was baptized by Ananias.man.
            
        • SaulPaul beginsand toSilas preachimprisoned and freed (20-31)Acts 16: 22-40)
          • SaulVerse began25, preachingPaul and Silas prayed and praised God, teaches us that praising and praying to God in the Jewishmidst synagoguesof aboutsuffering Christis andvery Hispowerful divinity. However, after his baptism, he went to the Arabian desert near Damascus, where he spent three years in solitude. Duringact that time,can Christinspire appeared to him and entrusted him with the faith and the holy mysteries (Galatians 1:16–18). He then returned to Damascus to begin his ministry.
            
      • Peter heals and raises the dead. (Acts 9: 36-43):

        • Peter didn’t rush or perform a show—he knelt and prayed before raising Tabitha. This shows us the power of prayers.
          

    • Acts 10
      • The gentiles receive the gospel (25-43)
        • St. Peter meets Cornelius, a Gentile, and realizes that God shows no partiality but accepts all who fear Him and seek righteousness. Peter humbly refuses worship, emphasizing that he is just a man, and boldly proclaims the Gospel of Jesus—His life, death, resurrection, and the offer of forgiveness to all who believe. This moment marks a turning point, revealing that salvation is for all nations, not just the Jews.others.
    • Acts 12
      • Peter's arrest (Acts 12:1-25)
        • While Herod arrests Peter and kills James to please the people, the Church prays earnestly—and God miraculously frees Peter from prison, showing that no chains or guards can stop His will.
        • Herod, who sought glory for himself, is struck down by God, reminding us that pride leads to destruction.

  1. Review/recap questions
     
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  8. Homework
     
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