Acts Of The Apostles Laura L. Zielke

This week, we began our study of a very familiar story about Philip the Evangelist and an official from Ethiopia (modern-day Sudan). We discussed God’s amazing timing in bringing these two men together at the perfect moment. We examined a variety of passages to determine whether the terms “angel” and “spirit” were interchangeable in this... The post Acts 8:25-40 ~ God’s Incredible Timing appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week, we finished up our study of the interaction between the apostles and Simon Magus. For real. We zoomed in on the final verses of the narrative where Peter apparently ‘curses’ Simon for his attempt to purchase the ability to bestow the Holy Spirit. We discussed the difference between “believing” and faith that leads... The post Acts 8:20-24 ~ Not For Sale appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we continued our discussion about Simon the magician and his desire to purchase the ability to bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit (which cannot be purchased). We were reminded that Jesus’ parable of the sower provides a way to understand the difference between an authentic conversion experience and one that has no roots,... The post Acts 8:14-25 ~ No Change? No Salvation. appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we were introduced to Simon (a.k.a. “Simon the Sorcerer” and “Simon Magus”), and according to Simon himself “Someone Great!” Although there is not a lot of information about Simon in the Bible, early church fathers wrote about him with enough detail that we are able to sketch his character and his beliefs and his... The post Acts 8:9-17 ~ “The Amazing Simon” is Amazed! appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we observed how the stepped-up persecution of Christians in Jerusalem served as a catalyst for the spread of the good news throughout Judea and into Samaria thus fulfilling part of Jesus’ prophecy in Acts 1:8. We focused in on the first non-Judean “missionary journey” post-Resurrection: Philip’s ministry in Samaria. We concluded that this was... The post Acts 8:4-8 ~ Philip the Evangelist in Samaria appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we focused on this brief, transitional passage that documents the first officially sanctioned persecution of Christ followers as well as what happened to Stephen’s body after his stoning (lynching) in chapter 7.  We looked at the structure of Acts noting that chapters 1-7 and 13-28 follow a single-thread narrative, whereas chapters 8-12 traces... The post Acts 8:1b-3 ~ Persecution Initiates the Christian Diaspora appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we finally finished our deep dive into Stephen’s speech in Acts 7 and witnessed his stoning (or lynching, depending on how you look at it). We discussed Stephen’s vision that he had prior to his stoning and the specific title he used for Jesus: Son of Man.  We observed the people take the law... The post Acts 7:54-8:1a ~ Stephen: The First Christian Martyr appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we got back to where we had left off with the “peroratio” (i.e., conclusion) of Stephen’s speech in Acts 7. It’s at this point the reason for his rehashing the history of Israel becomes crystal clear: Stephen has been building a case not merely to proclaim his innocence, but also to prove the... The post Acts 7:51-56 ~ Who’s Really on Trial Here? appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we continued our detour exploring questions about the purpose and origin of the temple. We did a cursory overview of temple history and discussed a number of Scripture passages for the purpose of better understanding whether the temple was something God desired or not. We have been looking into the possibility that God... The post Acts 7:45-50 ~ A House of Cedar (part two) appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we took a slight detour to explore the question: Whose idea was Solomon’s Temple?! This is the first of two class times we spent digging into the question about whether or not the LORD commanded David and/or Solomon to build the Temple in Jerusalem. We are looking into the possibility that God (1)... The post Acts 7:45-50 ~ A House of Cedar (part one) appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we continued our in-depth study of Stephen’s defense speech. He brought up the consistent problem of idol worship—both at the foot of Mt. Sinai and in the wilderness during the 40 years of wandering. He began laying the foundation for his argument (?) that the Temple should not have been built which we... The post Acts 7:39-48 ~ What Their Hands Had Made appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we continued our in-depth study of Stephen’s defense speech before the Sanhedrin. Once again, Stephen focused on leaders who worshipped God pre-Temple and outside of the promised land. As he recounted Moses’ defining moments, he made it clear that: he was not anti-Moses; Moses met with God outside the promised land; and Moses... The post Acts 7:17-38 ~ This is THAT Moses appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

As we examined the “inconsistencies” between Stephen’s words and the Genesis/Exodus narratives, as well as manuscript differences between the Hebrew scriptures and the Septuagint, we saw how multiple sources lend credence to the historicity of the accounts as recorded. And the “inconsistencies” aren’t that inconsistent after all.  >> Click to read this week’s passages in... The post Acts 7:1-7 ~ A Closer Look (Part Two) appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

We circled back to take a closer look at the first part of Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. Although some see no point to Stephen’s sermon outside of developing his character to provide the backdrop for his murder, we discovered that Stephen was actually laying out a perfect defense of himself and an offense against... The post Acts 7:1-8 ~ A Closer Look (Part One) appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

Have you ever wondered why Stephen reviewed Israel’s history with the experts in the Law? Did he not realize they already knew these stories? Probably by memory? Or was he doing something else? This week we read through Stephen’s entire speech, his murder, and what happened as a result of it. Because this was an... The post Acts 7:1-8:4 ~ More than Reviewing History appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

Guest Teacher: David Pikett This week we continued our verse-by-verse study in Acts. We looked into the historical and religious setting of first century Jerusalem. We learned that in addition to the Temple, there were numerous synagogues in and around the city. We discussed why there might be a need for these synagogues, who would... The post Acts 6:7-15 ~ Stephen & Saul: Frenemies? appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

Guest Teacher: David Pikett. This week we continued our verse-by-verse study in Acts. We discussed how the church should respond to changes and growth. We also looked more closely at the words used to describe Stephen including pairs of terms such as “faith/grace & power” and “wonders & miracles/signs.” “Faith” comes from the Greek word... The post Acts 6:7-15 ~ Stephen: Full of Faith & Power appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we cross-examined the “traditional” interpretation of this passage while we dug into the details of the text. For example, were the 12 apostles really neglecting the Hellenistic widows in the daily distribution of food? Does that make any sense at all? And were the Hellenists actually chosen to be the first deacons? What... The post Acts 6:1-7 ~ Hellenists, Serving Tables & Widows appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we started a new section of Acts where Luke turns our attention away what was going on in the Temple courts to the inevitable challenges of exponential growth and diversity. We evaluated internal evidence that Luke was possibly using a new source(s) for this section including the introduction of previously unused terms which... The post Acts 6:1-7 ~ Organic Growth of the Early Church appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.

This week we finished up with Acts chapter 5, and there was much rejoicing! We took a step outside the Christian bubble to look at this section from the angle of the Sanhedrin. We discussed the irony in their refusal to speak the name of Jesus and how Gamaliel’s response to the situation was probably... The post Acts 5:27-42 ~ The Ready Response of Rabban Gamaliel appeared first on Laura L. Zielke.