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Overview of Week Six

Acts Chapters 27-28 NKJV

This week covers the following ways in which the members of God’s Church can grow in their faith as God grows His Church:

• You are not out of God’s will even if you do not experience smooth sailing while pursuing it!
• Two Great Joys: Sharing the Gospel and co-laboring with supportive friends!
• Ephesians comes alive after studying the Book of Acts!
• Philippians comes alive after studying the Book of Acts!
• Colossians & Philemon come alive after studying the Book of Acts – Get in the Game!

An Overview of Acts Chapters 27-28

This final week will take a slightly different yet exciting approach to studying the book of Acts! After we witness the many challenges that Paul experienced in his journey to Rome (Acts 27:1-28:16) and after learning how Paul took advantage of an open window of opportunity to preach the Gospel (again!), and after learning that he made this significant journey with two very special friends (Acts 28:17-29), we approach the last two verses of the book of Acts, “Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him” (Acts 28:30-31 NKJV). And while this is the end of the book of Acts, Paul’s ministry continues in these two years of his Roman imprisonment.

In this two-year imprisonment, the Holy Spirit was very active in Paul’s teaching ministry through the writing of inspired Scripture. Paul believed that even if he was in prison, God’s Word was never chained down. During a completely different imprisonment, Paul wrote, “for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained” (II Timothy 2:9 NKJV). During this Roman imprisonment, Paul wrote letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And being able to read these four New Testament Letters that Paul wrote during this two-year imprisonment expands our understanding of what we have already experienced in the book of Acts, as Paul teaches specific congregations the truths that he lived out as recorded in the book of Acts. And he undergirds his teachings in these four letters with his experiences that were written down for us in the book of Acts!

Many connections to the book of Acts can be easily seen throughout the letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. And it will be easy to understand why certain statements and phrases are used within these letters because of the correlation to the book of Acts. These Letters are commonly referred to as the “Prison Epistles” or “Prison Letters” because they were all written by Paul during his Roman imprisonment. And each letter mentions this imprisonment (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1; Philippians 1:13; Colossians 4:3, 18; Philemon v. 10 NKJV). These and other connections to the book of Acts make the teachings of these letters very vivid and exciting to read. And as we examine each letter and make specific connections to the book of Acts for each letter, our understanding of the teachings found within each one will be even more vivid as a result of having studied the book of Acts!