CONTEXT (Acts 1:1–3)

• Author: Luke the physician (same as Gospel of Luke).

• Audience: Theophilus & the wider church.

• Purpose: To give a testimony of the beginning of the New Testament Church.

• Setting: Jerusalem and beyond, written ~62–64 AD.

• Recap of where the Gospel of Luke ended: Jesus died for our sins, rose in victory, appeared for 40 days, gave His commission, and ascended.

MAIN POINTS

1. The Church has God’s promise for a supernatural POWER (Acts 1:4–5)

• Jesus told them to wait — because what they needed most wasn’t strategy or structure, but the Spirit.

• Baptism of the Holy Spirit would be the fuel for the Church’s beginning and growth.

• Illustration: Wii Tennis “super-serve” — unstoppable advantage. The Church has an unstoppable advantage: the very Spirit of God.

• Application: If we truly believed this, we would pray bolder, worship deeper, witness stronger, and give more generously.

2. The Church has God’s promise for a supernatural WITNESS (Acts 1:6–8; Matthew 24:14)

• The disciples asked about restoring Israel’s kingdom; Jesus pointed them instead to God’s global kingdom.

• Power is not for comfort, but for witnessing.

• Witness = simply telling what you’ve seen and experienced.

  • Illustration: TV trials hinge on witnesses. The Church hinges on our testimony.

• Three realities of our witness:

  1. Every believer is called to be a witness (no “super-Christians”).

  2. The task is too big in our own strength — only possible through the Spirit.

  3. Witnessing is local (Jerusalem), regional (Judea & Samaria), and global (to the ends of the earth).

• Evangelism and eschatology are linked: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world… and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14).

3. The Church has God’s promise for a supernatural RETURN (Acts 1:10–11; Matthew 24:29–30)

• As Jesus ascended, angels declared: “This Jesus… will come in the same way you saw him go.”

• First advent: Lamb of God, suffering servant.

• Second advent: Lion of Judah, conquering King.

• Matthew 24 describes His return in glory with the clouds.

• Application: The promise of His return gives us urgency and hope. We are not Eeyores; we are a people of victory.

SUMMARY / RESPONSE

• The Church is caught up in a supernatural movement with power, witness, and the promise of Christ’s return.

• Questions for response:

  1. Are you “in Christ”? You can’t be in the Church if you’re not in Him.

  2. Are you part of the movement in a local church?

  3. Are you playing your part (serving, giving, witnessing) in the movement here at Quail?

• Invitation: Don’t miss the miracle you’ve been invited into.