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Copyright ©2010 The Church at Brook Hills www.brookhills.org 1
Family Worship Guide – Week 45 READ
o Read Acts 1:1-‐3 The book of Acts is the second volume in a two-‐part history written by Luke. Luke was a doctor and a travelling companion of the apostle Paul. Luke joined Paul at Mysia on his second missionary journey, just before they entered into Macedonia and preached the Gospel in Europe for the first time. We are quite certain that Luke joined Paul at Mysia because Acts 16:8 refers to the missionary group in the third person plural (“they”), but beginning at Acts 16:10, the first person pronoun is used (“we”). This means that the book of Acts provides reliable historical testimony about the earliest days of Christianity. Luke was an eyewitness of the events of the second half of the book, and he had access to firsthand testimony from the eyewitnesses of the first half of the book.
o The first book that Luke refers to in verse 1 is the Gospel that we today call the Gospel of Luke. Both books are addressed to a man named Theophilus, whose name literally means “lover of God.” There is some debate as to whether Theophilus was an actual historical person or whether Luke uses him as a symbolic name for any Christian.
o Luke says that his first book (the Gospel of Luke) dealt with what Jesus “began” to do and teach. The book of Acts is the second part of this story, which tells the story of what Jesus began to do through His disciples after His ascension to heaven. What we find in this book is that Jesus is continuing His mission of bringing salvation to the nations through His church.
o Read Acts 1:4-‐5 After Jesus rose from the dead, He commanded His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, we see that Jesus did many miracles and performed His entire ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive this same Holy Spirit so that they would be able to carry on the same ministry that He began with the same power He had. All believers have this same Holy Spirit living inside of them. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in order to carry out the mission that Jesus has given to us.
o Read Acts 1:6-‐11 After Jesus promised that He would send the Holy Spirit, the disciples asked whether He would now restore the kingdom to Israel. They still did not understand that Jesus’ kingdom was not limited to one ethnic group (the Jews). Jesus corrects their misunderstanding by telling them that their mission is to be His witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).” In other words, they will tell the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection not only to Jews, but to Gentiles as well. Jesus will set up a kingdom that includes people from every nation under heaven and the disciples will be the means by which He will extend His kingdom. They will announce that Jesus is the King and will call people from every tribe and tongue and nation to submit to His Lordship.
o This picture of the Messiah’s kingdom was very different from the picture that many Jews had in Jesus’ time. Most Jews at this time viewed people from Samaria and the end of the earth as outside of God’s saving purposes. Jews did not associate with Samaritans or Gentiles because Jews thought that these people were unclean and wicked. Throughout the book of Acts, we will see that the Holy Spirit uses the preaching of the gospel to extend the borders of Christ’s kingdom throughout the earth.
o Acts 1:8 provides an outline for the advancement of Jesus’ kingdom in the book of Acts. In Acts 2-‐7, the disciples are preaching the gospel in Jerusalem and the church is formed there. In Acts 8-‐12, the disciples begin to preach the gospel in all Judea and Samaria and the church extends to these regions. In Acts 13-‐28, we see the apostle Paul taking the gospel to the ends of the earth and churches springing up all over the Roman Empire.
o We are a part of this story today. We are disciples of Jesus who have been commanded to preach His gospel in every place on earth. We are witnesses who are called to proclaim the death and resurrection of King Jesus and to call all people to submit to Him as Savior and Lord. We will continue to do this as we look forward to His promised return (Acts 1:9-‐11). Bottom Line: Jesus has commanded and empowered His disciples to take the gospel to all nations. Questions: Jesus’ kingdom includes people from every nation. How will you as a family be a part of extending His kingdom? Jesus commanded the disciples to take the gospel to people who were different from them, people with whom they didn’t normally associate, even to people they didn’t like. How is God calling you to share the gospel with people who are different from you, people who you don’t know or don’t like?
PRAY o Read Window on the World, pg. 170-‐171 United Arab Emirates o Use Prayer Card
SING o Use lyric sheet and mp3 download of “O Church Arise” o In the book of Acts we see that Christ’s kingdom began to spread to all nations through the faithfulness of the church to proclaim
His gospel. Although it was close to 2000 years ago that this work commenced, the message of Christ and Him crucified has not
Copyright ©2010 The Church at Brook Hills www.brookhills.org 2
yet reached the ends of the earth. As Christ’s church today, we stand in a long line of faithful disciples, and from them we have inherited the joy of being His witnesses to lost and unreached people. In light of this week’s reading from Acts, we chose “O Church Arise” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend as our family worship song. This modern hymn gives us an opportunity to remind each other of our purpose as the church. We are not a country club, whose delight is in the trappings that this world has to offer. Instead, we are “an army bold, whose battle cry is love, reaching out to those in darkness.” As we sing together, let us remember Christ’s work on the cross, “where love and mercy meet.” Let us remember how we have been given salvation through this work. And let us remember that by the power of the Holy Spirit we take part in “retelling the triumphs of His grace.”
MEMORIZE o Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Copyright ©2010 The Church at Brook Hills www.brookhills.org 3
SUGGESTIONS
These suggestions were created by the age-‐group ministry leaders as a way to help parents better communicate the biblical truths discussed in the Family Worship Guide. These activities and questions can replace or serve as a supplement to the questions under the “Read” section on Page 1. Remember that these suggestions are intended to help parents facilitate God-‐centered discussions with their children. Parents should prayerfully use these suggestions, and any other means necessary, to help their children discover the truths of God’s word and worship Him together.
Preschool (Birth-‐Kindergarten) o Before you begin: Have your family sit on the floor in a circle. Play a game of “telephone” (pass the message). Start the message
by whispering it into the ear of the person on your right. Each person continues in this manner until it gets back to the beginning of the circle. Then, say what the message has become. Use the message: God loves you! Play again using the statement: Tell everyone God loves you!
o How do people know God loves them and Jesus wants to be their Savior? God tells us to be ready at all times to tell others about His love. Everyone can share the good news about God’s love. We just went around the circle and said, “God loves you!” Now, we must tell others too.
o In the book of Acts God commands us to tell others about Jesus. This is called being a witness. A witness is a person who shares and tells about what they have seen or what they know. We must be witnesses and tell others about God. The only way people will know about who Jesus is and what He has done is for us to tell them. God wants everyone to be told no matter where they live or what they do.
o Let’s pray and ask God to help us tell others about Him and His love and what He has done for us.
Children (Grades 1-‐5) o As a family, read Acts 1:1-‐11 out loud. Tell your children in advance that you will be asking them questions about what you read.
Verse 1 says, “in my former book”. Do you know who is writing Acts? (Luke) What was the former book he wrote? (The Gospel of Luke) Can you name the four Gospels for me? (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) Great job.
o What is verse 3 talking about when it says “after his suffering, he showed himself…”? (Jesus died on the cross defeating sin and death. Then after 3 days, He rose from the dead and showed Himself on earth to prove His victory.)
o Did you catch how many days Jesus showed Himself on earth after He rose from the dead? (40 days). Then He was taken up before their very eyes in the clouds and that’s how He will return again.
o Verses 3-‐8 tells of some things that Jesus did and said to His eleven disciples: o V. 3 says He spoke about the kingdom of God. o V. 4 says He was eating with them -‐ there is no question about it, He was very much alive if He was eating with them. o V. 4 says while He was eating Jesus told them "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you
have heard me speak about…” o What is this gift that Jesus spoke about? (The Holy Spirit) Jesus was not going to leave them alone. He was going to send them the
Holy Spirit. (For further reference read John 16:7-‐11) o Jesus told His disciples in V. 4 not to go out and be a witness without the Holy Spirit. You see, Jesus was with them. He knew He
was going to go to the Father in Heaven soon, so He promise that the very powerful Holy Spirit would come and be with them forever. They were never going to be on their own. (For Further reference John 15:15-‐21)
o What did Jesus tell the disciples they were to do when they received the Holy Spirit in v.8? (Be His witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.)
o As Jesus’ disciples, the same powerful Holy Spirit lives in us. We are to be witnesses and share the truth of Jesus in Birmingham, in our country and all over the world. We do this with power of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We don’t do it on our own. And we do this because we love Him. “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.” John 15:21
o Discuss how you as a family can obey the call of Jesus to take the gospel to all nations. Pray together that God would allow you to be faithful to this call and that the power of the Holy Spirit would enable you to live this out day by day.
Students (Grades 6-‐12)
o Discuss the difference between someone giving advice and someone giving commands. What advice have your parents given you lately? What commands?
o Have you ever been told to do something without being given the tools to accomplish the task? How did that make you feel? o What were the disciples told to wait on? Why was it important for them to wait and not go out on their own? Jesus did amazing
things while He was on this earth and then He ascended into heaven. He knew His followers would be powerless without His power and presence. Without His Spirit we too are powerless to accomplish anything of eternal significance. In Acts 1:8 believers are promised His Spirit who will come and dwell within them.
o Have each member of your family turn to one of the following passages. Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-‐47, John 20:21. Now have everyone look at Acts 1:8 together. These were Christ’s final orders to the disciples before He ascended into heaven. What’s the main point Jesus is trying to convey to the disciples in these passages? Why do you think this was so important to Jesus?
Pra
yer
W
eek
45Th
anks
givi
ng
Whe
n w
e pr
ay a
pra
yer
of t
hank
sgiv
ing,
we
are
expr
essi
ng o
ur g
ratit
ude
to G
od.
Pray
ers
of t
hank
sgiv
ing
can
be li
fted
up
in re
spon
se to
who
God
is, w
hat H
e ha
s do
ne fo
r us
thro
ugh
Chri
st a
nd fo
r th
e bl
essi
ngs
He
conti
nual
ly b
esto
ws
upon
us.
Bibl
ical
Bas
is fo
r Th
anks
givi
ng:
Psal
m 6
9:30
, Psa
lm 1
00:4
, Phi
lippi
ans
4:6,
Rev
elati
on 7
:12
Take
som
e tim
e fo
r ea
ch o
f tho
se g
athe
red
with
you
to e
xpre
ss th
eir
than
ks to
the
Lord
.
Nati
ons:
Uni
ted
Ara
b Em
irate
sRa
dica
l cha
nges
in th
e la
st g
ener
ation
hav
e cr
eate
d a
cultu
re c
risi
s in
the
UA
E. M
any
issu
es li
ke th
e ro
le
• of
wom
en in
soc
iety
han
g in
tens
ion
for
the
new
gen
erati
on.
Pray
for
God
to c
reat
e a
spir
itual
hun
ger
for
the
trut
h am
ong
the
youn
ger
gene
ratio
n an
d re
leas
e fr
om th
e tr
appi
ngs
of th
eir
Isla
mic
her
itage
.A
rres
ts,
impr
ison
men
t an
d de
port
ation
stil
l oc
cur
for
thos
e w
ho e
vang
eliz
e or
dis
trib
ute
Chri
stian
•
liter
atur
e. P
ray
for b
elie
vers
to d
emon
stra
te C
hris
t in
thei
r life
with
dis
cern
men
t and
con
fiden
ce.
Pray
th
at th
e Lo
rd w
ould
str
engt
hen
them
as
they
witn
ess.
Pray
for
the
unre
ache
d A
rab
popu
latio
n in
the
UA
E. P
ray
for
Chri
stian
lite
ratu
re t
o be
dev
elop
ed a
nd
• fo
r m
issi
onar
ies
to s
hare
the
Gos
pel a
mon
g th
is d
ifficu
lt gr
oup.
Th
ere
is a
hun
ger f
or C
hris
tian
reso
urce
s in
the
UA
E, b
ut p
ublic
acc
ess
to it
is re
stri
cted
. Pr
ay th
at m
any
• m
ight
com
e to
acc
ept J
esus
as
Savi
our
and
grow
as
disc
iple
s de
spite
the
lack
of r
esou
rces
.So
urce
: Ope
ratio
n W
orld
by
John
ston
e an
d M
andr
yk
Scr
iptu
re M
emor
y
Wee
k 45
Act
s 1:
8 …
But
you
will
rec
eive
pow
er w
hen
the
Hol
y Sp
irit
has
com
e up
on y
ou, a
nd y
ou w
ill b
e m
y w
itnes
ses
in Je
rusa
lem
and
in
all J
udea
and
Sam
aria
, and
to th
e en
d of
the
eart
h.
O C
hurc
h A
rise
By K
eith
Gett
y &
Stu
art T
owne
nd
Arr
ange
men
t by
Tim
Hug
hes
O C
hurc
h A
rise
and
put
you
r ar
mou
r on
Hea
r th
e ca
ll of
Chr
ist o
ur C
apta
inFo
r no
w th
e w
eak
can
say
that
they
are
str
ong
In th
e st
reng
th th
at G
od h
as g
iven
With
shi
eld
of fa
ith a
nd b
elt o
f tru
thW
e’ll
stan
d ag
ains
t the
dev
il’s
lies
An
arm
y bo
ld w
hose
batt
le-c
ry is
Lov
eRe
achi
ng o
ut to
thos
e in
dar
knes
s
Our
cal
l to
war
to lo
ve th
e ca
ptive
sou
lBu
t to
rage
aga
inst
the
capt
orA
nd w
ith th
e sw
ord
that
mak
es th
e w
ound
ed w
hole
We
will
figh
t with
faith
and
val
our
Whe
n fa
ced
with
tria
ls o
n ev
ery
side
We
know
the
outc
ome
is s
ecur
eA
nd C
hris
t will
hav
e th
e pr
ize
for
whi
ch H
e di
edA
n in
heri
tanc
e of
nati
ons
Com
e se
e th
e cr
oss
whe
re lo
ve a
nd m
ercy
mee
tA
s th
e So
n of
God
is s
tric
ken
Then
see
His
foes
lie
crus
hed
bene
ath
His
feet
For
the
Conq
uero
r ha
s ri
sen
And
as
the
ston
e is
rolle
d aw
ayA
nd C
hris
t em
erge
s fr
om th
e gr
ave
This
vic
tory
mar
ch c
ontin
ues
till t
he d
ayEv
ery
eye
and
hear
t sha
ll se
e H
im
So S
piri
t com
e pu
t str
engt
h in
eve
ry s
trid
eG
ive
grac
e fo
r ev
ery
hurd
leTh
at w
e m
ay r
un w
ith fa
ith to
win
the
priz
eO
f a s
erva
nt g
ood
and
faith
ful
As
sain
ts o
f old
stil
l lin
e th
e w
ayRe
telli
ng tr
ium
phs
of H
is g
race
We
hear
thei
r ca
lls a
nd h
unge
r fo
r th
e da
yW
hen
with
Chr
ist w
e st
and
in g
lory
Copy
righ
t©20
05 T
hank
you
Mus
ic
Due
to c
opyr
ight
lim
itatio
ns, w
e ar
e on
ly
allo
wed
to p
rint t
he ly
rics
to th
is s
ong
with
no
cho
rds.
We
enco
urag
e yo
u to
dow
nloa
d an
mp3
of t
his
song
from
iTun
es.
Cop
yrig
ht ©
2010
The
Chu
rch
at B
rook
Hill
s