Transcript Acts of the Apostles - St Ann Catholic Church, Fayetteville

Part I
Part I
 The Acts of the Apostles
 Pivotal Event – Pentecost
 Persecution and Growth
 The Church in Jerusalem, Galilee and Samaria
Part II
 The Missionary Activity of Paul
 The Church of Jews and Gentiles
 The Church of Rome
 You may not be able to answer each of these questions
“perfectly,” but you should be able to offer some ideas and
be able to support those ideas with evidence from Acts.
 How did a Jewish messianic movement develop into a
Gentile religion? What sequences of events and ideas
affected this transformation?
 How is it that Paul, who did not know the historical Jesus,
became his chief interpreter?
 How does Acts show Jesus’ disciples, motivated by the same
Sprit that had inspired Jesus, carrying his work into the
Greco-Roman world.
 Why/How does this new way appeal to the people?
 According to Acts, what are the essential elements for
becoming a believer.
 What is Paul’s contribution to the international mission?
 A Continuation of Luke’s
Gospel
 Also addressed to Theophilus
The Purpose
It’s an account of the
progression from a Jewish
movement to a Gentile faith.
Christianity is a legitimate
religion that does not threaten
the Roman government.
Many of the events involving
the apostles in Acts mirror
events involving Jesus in Luke.
Through the proclamation of
the risen Lord, God opens the
way for “all peoples” to join his
flock.
St. Luke
 Rightfully speak of Luke /
Acts
 Written most likely after
64 AD – Paul is in Rome
 Not isolated writing, but
rather an integral part in a
well-ordered series.
 Acts presupposes its
readers to know the
Gospels
St. Luke
 According to the early Church historian
Eusebius,
 born in Antioch of Syrian or Greek parents in 31 A.D.
 Identifies Luke as the author of the third
gospel that bears his name, and the Acts of the
Apostles.
 One of the first Gentile converts to Christianity
 Travelling companion of Saint Paul on his many
missionary journeys. Even after everyone else had
deserted Paul, Luke was with him in his last days
and final imprisonment in Rome.
 After 64 AD? Luke was unmarried and wrote
his gospel in Greece at Boeotia, where he died
at age 84.
 Because Luke's gospel was believed to be an
accurate account of the life of Christ, and
especially of Christ's birth, Luke was taken as
one of the patrons of notaries. Luke's is the
gospel of the poor and social justice.
 There is some tradition that Luke met Mary
sometime before her death – hence the
focus on Mary at the beginning of his Gospel
and Acts
 Trained as physician, St. Luke is also the
patron of medical profession. He was
reported to have been a fine painter
(although this has not been proven), and is
also patron of artists, painters, sculptors,
craft workers and lace makers. His feast day
is on October 18.
 Symbol of St. Luke is an OX or bull taken
from the beginning of his gospel where
Zachary was in the temple to sacrifice – a
bull or ox. The OX actually represents Jesus’
sacrifice on the Cross.
Our Lady of
Czestochowa
Read Acts Chapter 1
What do we know about the
early Church?
 The Lord Prepares the Disciples (
 The Great Commission
 The Ascension
 The Lord Re-Establishes 12 Apostles
 The devotion to prayer
 The Motion of Peter to Choose
Another Apostle
 Role of Peter as Leader
 The criteria for an apostolic
replacement
 The Development of Tradition The Method of choosing
 Matthias chosen – ranked among
Apostles
Acts of the
Apostles – Part I
The Church in
Jerusalem, Galilee
and Samaria
Before Pentecost
Read Acts Chapter 2
 What happened in that
upper room?
Acts of the Apostles – Part I
The Church in Jerusalem,
Galilee and Samaria
Pentecost