The Book Of Acts Sermon Outlines This material is from ExecutableOutlines.com, a web site containing sermon outlines and Bible studies by Mark A. Copeland. Visit the web site to browse or download additional material for church or personal use. The outlines were developed in the course of my ministry as a preacher of the gospel. Feel free to use them as they are, or adapt them to suit your own personal style. To God Be The Glory! Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2014 Mark A. Copeland The Book Of Acts Table Of Contents Letters To Theophilus (1:1) 4 Many Infallible Proofs (1:3) 7 The Promise Of The Father (1:4-5) 10 The Restored Kingdom (1:6-7) 13 Witnesses For Christ (1:8) 15 The Ascension Of Christ (1:9) 18 The Return Of Christ (1:10-11) 21 Waiting For The Promise (1:12-26) 24 The Outpouring Of The Spirit (2:1-21) 26 The First Gospel Sermon (2:22-41) 28 Baptism For The Remission Of Sins (2:38) 30 The Gift Of The Holy Spirit (2:38) 38 The First Church Of Christ (2:42-47) 41 The Second Gospel Sermon (3:1-26) 45 The Times Of Refreshing (3:19) 47 The Times Of Restoration (3:21) 49 The Persecution Begins (4:1-31) 52 Communal Christianity (4:32-37) 54 Ananias And Sapphira (5:1-11) 56 The Miracles Of The Apostles (5:12-16) 59 The Persecution Intensifies (5:17-42) 60 The Selection Of The Seven (6:1-7) 62 The First Martyr (6:8-7:60) 65 Saul The Persecutor (8:1-3) 68 The Conversion Of The Samaritans (8:4-13) 70 The Follow-Up Of The Samaritans (8:14-25) 72 The Conversion Of The Ethiopian (8:26-40) 74 “What Hinders Me From Being Baptized?” (8:36) 78 The Conversion Of Saul (9:1-19) 80 The Way (9:2) 83 Paul’s Early Years As A Christian (9:19-30) 86 Walking In The Fear Of The Lord (9:31) 88 Walking In The Comfort Of The Spirit (9:31) 91 Peter’s Ministry In Western Judea (9:32-43) 93 The Conversion Of Cornelius (10:1-48) 95 Peter’s Defense Of His Actions (11:1-18) 98 The Church In Antioch Of Syria (11:19-30) 100 Examples From Antioch (11:19-30) 102 Herod’s Harassment Of The Church (12:1-25) 104 The Call Of Barnabas And Saul (13:1-3) 106 Barnabas And Saul On Cyprus (13:4-12) 108 Paul And Barnabas At Antioch Of Pisidia (13:14-52) 110 Tribulations For The Kingdom Of God (14:1-22) 112 Sermons From The Books Of Acts 2 Mark A. Copeland Paul’s Missionary Policies (14:21-28) 114 Conflict Over Circumcision (15:1-35) 116 Controversy Over John Mark (15:36-41) 119 A True Son In The Faith (16:1-5) 121 The Macedonian Call (16:6-10) 123 The Conversion Of Lydia (16:11-15) 126 Persecuted For Righteousness’ Sake (16:16-25) 129 The Conversion Of The Jailer (16:25-40) 131 Tumult In Thessalonica (17:1-10) 134 Two Mindsets In Berea (17:10-15) 136 Paul’s Sermon In Athens (17:16-34) 138 Paul’s Ministry At Corinth (18:1-18) 141 Paul Returns To Antioch (18:18-23) 143 The Conversion Of Apollos (18:24-28) 146 The Twelve Disciples Of John (19:1-7) 149 Paul’s Ministry At Ephesus (19:1-41) 152 Journeys In Macedonia And Greece (20:1-6) 155 The First Day Of The Week (20:7) 158 An Eventful Sunday At Troas (20:7-12) 161 Paul’s Discourse To The Ephesian Elders (20:13-38) 163 The End Of Paul’s Third Journey (21:1-17) 165 Paul’s Perplexing Purification (21:17-26) 167 Paul’s Arrest In Jerusalem (21:27-40) 169 Paul’s Defense Before The Mob (22:1-21) 172 Paul’s Roman Citizenship (22:22-30) 175 Paul’s Defense Before The Council (23:1-10) 177 Paul’s Transfer To Caesarea (23:11-35) 179 Paul’s Defense Before Felix (Ac 24:1-27) 181 The Way Which They Call A Sect (Ac 24:14) 183 Righteousness, Self-Control, And The Judgment (Ac 24:25) 186 Paul Before Festus And Agrippa (25:1-27) 188 Paul’s Defense Before Agrippa (26:1-32) 191 To See And Be Free! (Ac 26:18) 193 A Tempestuous Voyage (Ac 27:1-44) 195 From Malta To Rome (28:1-16) 199 Paul In Rome (28:17-31) 201 Note: For more sermon outlines based on Acts, check out these sermon collections: • Conversions In The Book Of Acts http://executableoutlines.com/cia.htm • Gospel Preaching In The First Century http://executableoutlines.com/gp.htm • A Harmony Of The Life Of Paul http://executableoutlines.com/paul.htm Sermons From The Books Of Acts 3 Mark A. Copeland Letters To Theophilus Acts 1:1 INTRODUCTION 1. The New Testament is a collection of 27 books... a. Containing gospels, history, epistles, and prophecy b. Some written to people at large, others to individual Christians and churches 2. It may surprise some that over one fourth of the NT was written to one individual... a. Luke and Acts contains more than 27% of the total words in the NT b. Both were addressed to a man named Theophilus - Lk 1:1-4; Ac 1:1-3 [With much of the New Testament written to just one man, it may be of interest to further examine the relationship between the author and his recipient, and the two letters between them...] I. THE AUTHOR OF THE LETTERS A. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE... 1. Though unnamed, church tradition supporting Luke as the author is both early and unanimous - ESV Study Bible 2. Luke was a physician, thought to have been a Gentile, possibly from Antioch - Co 4:14; cf. Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History, 3.4.7 B. THE BOOK OF ACTS... 1. Also unnamed, but obviously the same author as Luke’s gospel - cf. Ac 1:1 with Lk 2:1-4 2. The “we” sections require a companion of Paul, and Luke is mentioned in Paul’s epistles - Col 4:14; 2Ti 4:11; Phm 24 [The “beloved physician” who often accompanied Paul in his travels had ample opportunity to collect the information shared in the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. As for...] II. THE RECIPIENT OF THE LETTERS A. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE... 1. Was written to “most excellent Theophilus” - Lk 1:3 2. Theophilus means “loved of God” 3. The appellation “most excellent” suggests a government official - cf. Ac 23:26; 24:3; 26:25 B. THE BOOK OF ACTS... 1. Was written to “O Theophilus” - Ac 1:1 2. Note that the honorific title “most excellent” was dropped, about which we will comment later [Not much more is known about the identity of Theophilus, but what is said about him has led to some interesting possibilities about...] Sermons From The Books Of Acts 4 Mark A. Copeland III. THE PURPOSE OF THE LETTERS A. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE... 1. “that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed” - Lk 1:4 2. Theophilus had undoubted heard many things about Jesus and his followers - Lk 1:1; cf. Ac 17:6-7; 28:22 3. There is evidence that Luke composed his work partially to prove that neither Jesus nor his followers were politically dangerous to the Roman government - ISBE, “Theophilus” B. THE BOOK OF ACTS... 1. To continue the story begun in the gospel of Luke - Ac 1:4 2. Some have concluded that Theophilus was the magistrate who heard Paul’s case in Rome and that Acts (and Luke) was a legal brief in Paul’s defense - ISBE, “Theophilus” 3. The abrupt ending of Acts prior to Paul’s trial before Caesar lends support to the idea that it may have initially served as a “legal brief” in Paul’s behalf - cf. Ac 28:30-31 [Luke’s purpose in writing these two letters to Theophilus was to inform him about the life of Christ and the growth of the early church. How were these letters received by Theophilus...?] IV. THE EFFECT OF THE LETTERS A. THEOPHILUS’ CONVERSION... 1. We noted that Luke dropped the honorific title “most excellent” in his second letter - Ac 1:1 2. This has led many to conclude that Luke’s relation to Theophilus had changed, that receiving Luke’s gospel resulted in Theophilus’ conversion 3. For Christians did not use honorific titles to address one another - cf. Mt 23:8-12 B. PAUL’S RELEASE... 1. There is evidence that Paul’s first appearance before Caesar led to his release 2. After which he had time to travel, according to his plans written in his prison epistles - Php 2:24; Phm 22 3. During which he wrote his first epistle to Timothy, and the one to Titus [Even if the letters were originally intended for Theophilus, may have even served as a “legal brief”, their inspiration by the Spirit of God has long been acknowledged. Leading one to inquire about...] V. THE VALUE OF THE LETTERS A. FOR CREATING FAITH IN CHRIST... 1. Many have used Luke’s gospel to introduce people to Jesus Christ 2. It is the most extensive of the four gospels, written in chronological order - Lk 1:3 3. Penned by a professional man (physician), with a view toward historical accuracy - Lk 1:4; 2:1-2; 3:1-2 B.