Planning for an expositional sermon series on a book of the Bible typically involves hours of reading and studying the Bible and other resources before fleshing everything out. Often, preachers amass a small library for each book of the Bible they preach on. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (S) does this for you. It curates the best Bible study materials (commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and expositional books) on the book of Acts along with the Bible study tools you need to streamline your sermon prep and presentation—all at an affordable price. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (S) includes resources like Carta's New Century Handbook and Atlas of the Bible; Expository Sermon Preparation Workflow; Acts (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries | TNTC); Acts (Holman New Testament Commentary | HNTC); and more.
Best Resources on Acts
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"The book of Acts (also called Acts of the Apostles) begins where the Gospel of Luke left off. Before ascending into heaven, Jesus commissions His disciples to be His witnesses from Jerusalem to the end of the Earth (Acts 1:8). In fulfillment of this command, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the early church expands. Acts shows what it means to be part of Jesus’ mission to the world. The apostles set the example of what it means to be fully devoted to Christ and enveloped by the Holy Spirit.
According to early church tradition, the author of Acts is Luke the physician, who traveled with the Apostle Paul (Col 4:14; 2 Tim 4:11; Phlm 24). The Gospel of Luke is also ascribed to him; this makes Acts his second volume about the story of early Christianity (Acts 1:1; see the “Introduction to Luke”). Four passages in Acts seem to indicate that the narrator is a firsthand witness of particular events he describes (Acts 16:10–17; 20:5–15; 21:1–18; 27:1–28:16)—which is fitting with Luke being the author.
Like the Gospel of Luke, the book of Acts is addressed to Theophilus, who might have provided financial support for Luke to write both books (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Luke’s broader audience appears to have been people who were already Christians, or at least were interested in Christianity (Luke 1:4). Since the narrative of Acts ends with Paul’s captivity in Rome, it might have been written shortly after his arrival there, in the early to mid-60s AD. Another possibility is that Paul preaching the gospel in Rome provided a natural stopping point for the book because it showed that the church was fulfilling Jesus’ command to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth—Jerusalem and Rome were on opposite sides of the empire (Acts 1:8). In this case, Acts could have been written later in the first century AD."
—Faithlife Study Bible, Lexham Press
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Everything You Need to Study & Teach Acts
Expository Preaching Kits are curated resources all focused on helping you teach a single book of the Bible—keeping you prepared without weighing you down.
Planning for an expositional sermon series on a book of the Bible typically involves hours of reading and studying the Bible and other resources before fleshing everything out. Often, preachers amass a small library for each book of the Bible they preach on. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (M) does this for you. It curates the best Bible study materials (commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and expositional books) on the book of Acts along with the Bible study tools you need to streamline your sermon prep and presentation—all at an affordable price. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (M) includes everything in Acts Expository Preaching Kit (S), plus resources like The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Narrative; Reading Acts (Reading the New Testament Commentary); Acts (Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary | SHBC); and more.
Planning for an expositional sermon series on a book of the Bible typically involves hours of reading and studying the Bible and other resources before fleshing everything out. Often, preachers amass a small library for each book of the Bible they preach on. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (L) does this for you. It curates the best Bible study materials (commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and expositional books) on the book of Acts along with the Bible study tools you need to streamline your sermon prep and presentation—all at an affordable price. The Acts Expository Preaching Kit (L) includes everything in Acts Expository Preaching Kit (S) and Acts Expository Preaching Kit (M), plus resources like The Acts of the Apostles: A Newly Discovered Commentary; Genre and Narrative Coherence in the Acts of the Apostles; Acts: Witnesses to Him (Focus on the Bible | FB); and more.
Best Commentaries on Acts
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First published in 1954, F. F. Bruce’s volume on the Book of Acts in the NICNT series has stood as a standard commentary on Acts. In keeping with the effort to be faithful to the description “new” in the series title, however, Bruce undertook a thorough revision of this commentary before his death in 1990. Expanded and fully updated, this volume now reflects the best elements of recent notable contributions to the study of Luke-Acts as well as the author’s own deepened understanding gained from years of further reflection on the text. Whereas the first edition used the text of the American Standard Version of 1901, this revision is based on Bruce’s own fresh translation of the Greek text. The result is a work that makes transparent the walls between the first and the twentieth centuries and enables readers to hear not only the voice of Luke but the Word of God.
Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament | BECNT)
By: Darrell L. Bock
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Darrell Bock provides a thoroughly evangelical commentary on Acts in this volume. With extensive and current research from major works written in the last 15 years and thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, Bock covers all aspects of the book of Acts—sociological, historical, and theological—for a deeper understanding of Acts. He also seeks to make his commentary readable and concise for those that are not knowledgeable in Greek.
The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
By: Ben Witherington III
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This commentary on Acts is written in a readable style, drawing on the best new insights from a number of disciplines (narrative, archaeology, social scientific study, rhetorical analysis, and comparative studies) to provide the reader with the benefits of recent innovative ways of analyzing the text. In addition, Witherington provides detailed attention to major theological and historical issues: the question of the relationship of Acts to the Pauline letters; the question of early Christian history and how the Church grew and developed; the relationship or tension between first-century Judaism and early Christianity; and the relationship between Christianity and the officials of the Roman Empire.
The Message of Acts (The Bible Speaks Today | BST)
By: John Stott
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The Spirit moves the church into the world. That is how it has always been since the day of Pentecost when the Spirit brought thousands from many countries into the body of Christ. With the breadth and scholarly care that have marked John Stott's years of ministry, this book opens to us the early days of the church as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts.
Acts (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries | TNTC)
By: I. Howard Marshall
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In the book of Acts, the story of Jesus begun in the Gospel of Luke broadens into the story of the Holy Spirit, guiding the fledgling church to proclaim the saving reality of Jesus. While attentive to Luke's roles as a literary artist and theologian, I. Howard Marshall focuses primarily on Luke's role as a historian. He provides the reader with an accurate, balanced and holistic picture of the church's monumental first years as it sought to fulfil Christ's mandate to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Best Books on Acts
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A Theology of Luke and Acts: God’s Promised Program, Realized for All Nations (Biblical Theology of the New Testament | BTNT)
By: Darrell L. Bock
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Zondervan’s Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series has for years provided pastors, students, and readers with valuable analyses of New Testament books and their contents. In this latest installment, Darrell L. Bock draws from his years of experience in biblical studies to examine Luke and Acts and write an informative resource that’s invaluable to those seeking holistic biblical understanding. A Theology of Luke and Acts identifies and evaluates the contribution of Luke, both to the New Testament and to the Bible as a whole. Bock aims to demonstrate Luke’s significance and influence in the development of theological discourse. The text discusses Luke’s themes and thematic relevance, the significance of language and vocabulary, and the contextual importance of Luke’s placement in the Bible. Continuing the valuable tradition of the Biblical Theology of the New Testament Series, Bock’s insights regarding Luke and Acts will prove a lasting resource for pastors and aspiring biblic...
The Book of Acts: Form, Style, and Theology
By: Martin Dibelius
This volume brings together some of Dibelius’ most important work. While he is especially renowned for his commentaries, Dibelius was on the forefront of literary analysis, the relationship of theology to literary artistry, and the importance of contemporary Greco-Roman history for the analysis of the Book of Acts. As an aid to students, each essay has been supplemented with additional notes and bibliography to show where the discussion has continued since Dibelius. This will provide an excellent supplementary textbook for courses on the New Testament or the Bible.
Interpreting the Book of Acts
By: Walter L. Liefeld
Interpreting the Book of Acts presents the fruit of the author’s thirty–year reflection on the Lukan corpus. With a sure hand he guides the reader through numerous approaches to the text. Literary purpose and structure, narrative theology, discourse analysis, cultural backgrounds—all are exploited for insight. Yet throughout, the author keeps in view the practical needs of the student and pastor, breathing a spiritual warmth into the applications he makes.
Recent Criticism of the Book of Acts
By: John Gresham Machen
J. Gresham Machen is considered the last in the lineage of the Great Princeton Theologians, following in the steps of Archibald Alexander, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and B. B. Warfield. Machen taught at Princeton Seminary for almost 15 years and established himself as a well respected New Testament scholar. After a dispute that divided faculty members over an emerging modernist theology, Machen left Princeton and became one of the principal founders of Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught until his death.
The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History
By: Colin J. Hemer
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Of the New Testament books, Acts contains the most obvious ties to its cultural and historical context. But until very recently, most twentieth-century authors have bypassed discussion of the relation of Acts to the world and history around it. In this book, Colin Hemer examines various strands of interlocking historical data—ranging from the epistles of Paul to records of the corn fleet that sailed from Alexandria. The wealth of new literary, epigraphic, and papyrological data brings fresh light to numerous details as well as to the central question of Luke’s conception of Paul’s visit to Jerusalem. The result is a broader understanding of the Hellenistic world in general and a greater appreciation for Acts as a coherent and consistent product of its day.
Best Courses on Acts
Dr. Craig S. Keener, award-winning scholar and author of one of the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentaries available, provides students with an introduction to the book of Acts that focuses on such fundamentals as genre and historical context. He also explores key themes including mission, ethnic reconciliation, and evangelism and discusses the Spirit’s power to bring these about.
In NT328, Dr. Darrell L. Bock will walk you through ten theological themes of the unified work Luke-Acts. You will learn what Luke-Acts has to say about salvation, the kingdom, Christians in society, the future of Israel, and so much more. By the end of this course, you will be well acquainted with major themes that are woven throughout the biggest literary work in the New Testament.
Explore the book of Acts in depth with Dr. Darrell L. Bock, who is internationally recognized for his scholarship in Luke-Acts. You will hear Dr. Bock’s commentary on key speeches and significant events such as Pentecost, the expansion of the gospel to the Gentiles, and the Jerusalem council that decided how Jews and Gentiles would function as one body. You will learn how Luke’s writings are the “glue” that coheres the New Testament, and how these works explain the way the Old Testament fits into the New. “Luke-Acts is fundamentally about legitimization,” says Dr. Bock. “Even though Christianity seems to be new, it actually is the realization of promises that go back all the way to Abraham, all the way to Moses. It’s been around a long time. It’s the completion of Jewish hope. That legitimizes the early church.”
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Study the key events of the Gospels and the book of Acts with prolific New Testament scholar Dr. Darrell L. Bock. Dr. Bock walks you through the pivotal events of history that shaped the social, religious, and political environment of Jesus and the early church.