Acts 2

• Mnemonics
  • Chapter 2 – On Pentecost, the church on earth is new.
  • Chapter 2 – Peter baptizes a crew.
• Acts 2:1 – “They” here is referring to the apostles that were just mentioned. Pentecost means “fifty.” It was fifty days after Passover.
• Acts 2:6 – Everyone heard the apostles speaking in their own language, so the tongues they were speaking in were evidently intelligible languages.
• Acts 2:14 – Note that it was the apostles who were speaking in tongues. False doctrines have come from misunderstanding this.
• Acts 2:16 – This prophecy was cited from Joel 2:28-32.
• Acts 2:25 – This is cited from Psalms 16:8-11. For a Jewish audience, David was accepted as a reliable prophet, so this would be a powerful prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus.
• Acts 2:37 – “What shall we do?” This might be the most important question in the Bible!

Introduction

• Revelation 22:21
• Grace is “unmerited favor.”

Grace gives me peace and confidence.

• Titus 2:11-14; 3:4
• I John 2:28; 4:17
• I John 1:7
• Romans 4:1-8
• Confidence doesn’t come from me and my works – it comes from trust in God.
• Our job is to completely surrender to God’s will.

Grace changes how I look at others.

• Luke 18:9-14
• Ephesians 3:1-8, 13-21 – Paul was full of humility. He was a humble steward of God’s grace.

The devil is good at hiding the beauty of grace.

• One extreme: grace means sin doesn’t affect my salvation
  • Romans 6:1-2, 15
  • Jude 1:1-4
  • I John 1:5-6
• Other extreme: grace means I can earn my salvation
  • Ephesians 2:8-9

Genesis 1, continued:

Genesis 1:27-31

• God made us male and female.
• Each of us have a role for which we were created.
• God gave us dominion over the animals.
  • We should have more value than the animals.
  • We should be good stewards of God’s creation.
• God made us different than the animals.
  • Animals act instinctively and impulsively and think only of survival.
  • The sinful world acts impulsively and thinks only of survival.
  • God wants us to rely on him.
  • We need to realize our dependence on God.
• God gave man every plant yielding seed.
• God gave animals every green plant.
• It was good! There was nothing wrong with it.
  • God’s word is good.
    • Hebrews 4:12; II Timothy 3:16-17; John 17:17; Proverbs 30:5; Psalms 18:30; 19:7

Genesis 2

• Creation was complete by Day 7.
• God establishes a one week pattern for the life of man.
• The week is not based on orbits or rotation. It is based on God’s word.
• Recap of Day 6.
• No shrub of the field was on the earth yet. Why?
  • No rain.
  • No cultivator.
• A mist used to rise from the earth to water the plants.
• God tells specifically how He created man.
• Man is special.
• The Lord chose man to manage His perfect creation.
• God created every tree that was good to see and eat.
• He also created two special trees!
  • The Tree of Life
  • The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• Who was the writer of Genesis?
  • Moses
• Who was the audience in v10-14?
  • The Israelites
• When Moses described the location of the garden of Eden, he was possibly describing where it was in the past using current landmarks.
• God put man in the garden to cultivate it.
• Why did God put two special trees in the garden?
  • Free will! The choice to serve God is a benefit to man.
• God decides to make a suitable helper for Adam.
  • Adam needed someone to share life with.
• Genesis 2 ends in absolute magnificent perfection.
  • Man and woman together in the presence of God with work to do and the right to obey.

Genesis 3

• The serpent was more cunning…
  • Was the serpent Satan? Revelation 12:9; 20:2; Genesis 3:14

Introduction

• Joshua 1:9
• II Timothy 1:7-8
• God has always instructed His people to be strong and courageous.

Courage to confront them

• Hebrews 12:7-9 – Discipline is part of what parents do!
• I Samuel 2:12, 22-25; 3:13 – Eli talked to his sons, but did not do enough to correct them.
• We shouldn’t commit the Eli Mistake by not doing enough to correct our children.
• I Kings 1:5-6 – David had never crossed his son!
• I Thessalonians 5:14 – Admonish the undisciplined.
• Proverbs 29:17
• James 5:19-20 – What if this is our son or daughter?

Courage to protect them

• Acts 2:40
• Ephesians 6:4
• We must protect our children from the error in the world.
• Genesis 1:27
• Lawrence Krauss – Should Religion be Taught in School? (YouTube)
  • People are actively trying to turn people away from religion.
• John 9:22; 12:42

Acts chapter 1

• Acts 1:1 – This gives strong evidence that Luke is the writer of both Luke and Acts. “Teaching” is a recurring theme in Acts.
• Acts 1:2 – “Apostle” can sometimes be used generically as a messenger, but here refers to the twelve apostles specifically.
• Acts 1:3 – This allows the apostles to serve as true witnesses of Jesus. They saw his life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
  • Matthew 27:62-66 – Some tried to argue that Jesus’ body was stolen and not resurrected, but it was well guarded.
  • Luke 24:36-40 – The apostles saw Jesus after the resurrection.
  • Luke 24:49
• Acts 1:5 – The apostles would be given tremendous power by the Holy Spirit. Note that “you” here is referring to the apostles – it was not directed at all Christians.
• Acts 1:6 – The apostles were still expecting an earthly kingdom!
  • Luke 24:45 – The Holy Spirit would help them understand what had happened.
• Acts 1:9 – The apostles watched as Jesus ascended into heaven. See John 14:19-21.
• Acts 1:16 – David prophesied about the fall of Judas. See Acts 1:20.
• Acts 1:21-22 – There were specific requirements for the apostles. The man who replaced Judas also had to have the same requirements.