Week 39: Foundations for World Mission
Week 39: Foundations for World Mission
After the coming of the Spirit and the counterattack of Satan (whose overthrow Luke has celebrated [Acts 6:7]), the church is almost ready to initiate its worldwide mission. So far it has been limited to Jews and restricted to Jerusalem. Now, however, the Holy Spirit is about to thrust his people out into the wider world, and the apostle Paul (Luke’s hero) is to be God’s chosen instrument to pioneer this development. But first, in the next six chapters of the Acts, Luke explains how the foundations of the gentile mission were laid by two remarkable men (Stephen the martyr and Philip the evangelist), followed by two remarkable conversions (of Saul the Pharisee and Cornelius the centurion). These four men, each in his own way, together with the apostle Peter, through whose ministry Cornelius was converted, made an indispensable contribution to the global expansion of the church.
Sunday: Stephen’s Witness
Monday: Stephen’s Martyrdom
Tuesday: Philip in Samaria
Wednesday: Philip and an Ethiopian Leader
Thursday: The Conversion of Saul—Its Cause
Friday: The Conversion of Saul—Its Effects
Saturday: The Conversion of Cornelius