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Lesson 3! Persecutor and Pastor/Preacher! in This Lesson We Will Study the Last Eighteen Chapters of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles

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Lesson 3! Persecutor and Pastor/Preacher! in This Lesson We Will Study the Last Eighteen Chapters of the Book of the Acts of the Apostles New Testament Part 4: The Church Paul’s Ministry! Lesson 3! Persecutor and Pastor/Preacher! In this lesson we will study the last eighteen chapters of the book of the Acts of the Apostles. We will learn of the spread of the Christian Church and of the key figure of this period, Paul.! To prepare for class: Read Acts 13-15! Write your thoughts and reflections from the reading:! ! ! ! ! The Apostle Paul! Paul's Family Line! 1. His father was a _______________.Pharisee ! 2. He was a _______________Jew and a ___________.Pharisee ! 3. He was born in ____________.Tarsus ! 4. He was from the line of _________________.Benjamin ! ! His Early Life! 1. He was trained under _______________.Gamaliel ! 2. He learned the craft of _____________.tentmaking ! 3. He was a chief _____________.persecutor ! 4. He was _____________obedient to the law.! ! His Conversion! (Acts 9:1-19) Lesson 3 Page "20 New Testament Part 4: The Church !Paul’s Life After His Conversion! Event! Reference! Time! Date! 1. meets God on the road to Damascus! Acts 9:1-19! age 30! 34 AD! 2. shares testimony! Acts 9:20!! 3. goes to Arabia and back to Damascus! Acts 9:25! 3 years!! ! Gal. 1:17! 4. has vision of heaven! 2 Cor. 12! 5. visits Jerusalem; meets apostles! Acts 9:26! 15 days! ! Gal. 1:18! 6. has vision to leave Jerusalem! Acts 22:17! 7. goes to Tarsus! Acts 9:30! 11 years! 37 AD! 8. Barnabas goes to get him! Gal. 2! ! Acts 11:22! 9. goes to Antioch as "pastor"! Acts 11:26! 1 year! 48 AD! 10. begins first missionary journey! Acts 12:3! age 45! 49 AD! 11. Jerusalem Council! Acts 15!! 49 AD! 12. second missionary journey! Acts 16-18!! 51 AD! 13. third missionary journey! Acts 19-21! age 47! 54 AD! 14. trip to Rome (probably released)! Acts 21-28! age 53! 60 AD! 15. trip to Spain (legend; historical evidence)! Rom. 15: 24,28!! 16. imprisonment in Rome again! 2 Tim. 2:8-9! 17. martyred! 2 Tim. 4:6-7! age 59! 66 AD! (Please note that ages and dates are approximates!)! ! Lesson 3 Page "21 New Testament Part 4: The Church Pastor/Preacher ! The Highlights of the First Journey! The Appointment by the Church of Antioch ! • Barnabas and Saul are set apart. (Acts 13:1-3) • Remember Antioch? It was the church first called Christians, first to send out missionaries, and headquarters of the Church. ! The Name Change ! Acts 11:30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. ! Acts 12:25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark. ! Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." ! Acts 13:9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ! Acts 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ! Acts 13:43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. ! Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ! ! Stoned in Lystra ! • Paul healed a crippled man. • People thought Paul and Barnabas were gods. • Jews from Antioch won the crowd over (groupies). ! • They stoned Paul. Appointment of Elders ! Elders were selected and appointed to lead in each church. This was an Old Testament practice used as far back as Exodus (186 verses reference !elders). Lesson 3 Page "22 New Testament Part 4: The Church The Jerusalem Council! What was it's purpose?! The purpose was to determine whether the Gentiles should follow the same !rules and regulations of the law of God as the Jews did. Peter's perspective —! “No!” (Acts 15:6-11). This was a bold statement coming from a Jew! ! The final decision —! 1.! abstain from food polluted by idols 2.! abstain from sexual immorality 3.! abstain from meat of strangled animals 4.! abstain from blood ! Why this decision? Are we bound by this today?! ! ! ! Application ! The book of Acts deals largely with the spread of Christianity. We are continuing to spend the application time during the Acts lessons discussing and learning about sharing our faith as Christians.! • This lesson introduces us to Paul and teaches us the details of his conversion experience. We read about his conversion in Acts 9 and learn that he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. Our own conversion experiences are all unique and just as wonderful as that of Paul’s. It is important for us to be able to articulate our conversion story in order to use it as an effective tool to tell others about the changing power of Christ in our lives. Practice right now by writing your own conversion story on a separate piece of paper. Try to include as many details as possible. Keep in mind that a well-written testimony should have four basic parts: a good introduction, what you were like before you came to Christ, how you came to Christ, and how you have changed since you’ve became a Christian. Lesson 3 Page "23.
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