The Bible in a Year

New Testament

John 16 to Acts 3
Read this coming week:
Mar 21 Num 23‐24, Ps 74, John 16 Mar 22 Num 25‐26, Ps 75, John 17 Mar
23 Num 27‐28, Ps 76, John 18 Mar 24 Num 29‐30, Ps 77, John 19 Mar 25
Num 31, Ps 78:1‐39, John 20‐21
Mar 26 Num 32, Ps 78:40‐72, Acts 1 Mar 27 Num 33‐34, Ps 79, Acts 2
Mar 28 Num 35‐36, Ps 80, Acts 3

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading John 16 to Acts 3. Answer
the following:
• What is the work of the Holy Spirit according to
John 16?
• What is one thing Jesus prays that His disciples
might have in 17?
• Who’s servant was the man whose ear was cut off
by Peter and what was his name?
• What do you learn in John’s Gospel about Jesus’
passion that you don’t have from the other three?
• Who does Mary Magdalene think Jesus is?
• It’s déjà vu all over again in John 21. What story
does Jesus’ appearance remind you of?
 • What is the first story in the book of Acts?
• How many different language groups hear the
apostles in their own tongue in Acts 2?
• What is the main point of Peter’s sermon in
Solomon’s Portico?
Acts, the forgotten sequel
Can you think of a sequel to a movie that was better
than the first movie? I can’t necessarily think of one,
but if there was ever a sequel that was at least as good
as its predecessor it’s the book of Acts.

Acts is the sequel to Luke’s Gospel story, it is the

second half of the story that is left out by the other
writers – the story of the disciples. The book of Acts is
the only book of the New Testament that follows the
history of the Christian movement explicitly. The
Gospels follow the history of Jesus’ life, and the Epistles
then allude to the history of the early church, but Luke’s
history is the only definitive account that we have of the
work of the Holy Spirit through the lives of the early
disciples.

There are a few reasons for the obscurity of Acts in

most churches:
• Predominance of a few stories – Knowing a few of
the stories, such as the conversion of Paul and
Pentecost leave the rest of the stories of Acts
behind.
• Hijacked stories– Several stories have been used
and abused to try to prove one particular point of
view, such as the gift of tongues or post-faith
baptism.
• Breadth of stories – The book of Acts simply has a
great amount of stories, and is a long book which
keeps it from seeming accessible to some.
• Short amount of time in liturgical cycles – We only
read out of the book of Acts normally during the
Easter season in church services.
However, if you do read the book of Acts, you will find a
wealth of information about God and His work through
the Church called, gathered, and enlightened by the
Holy Spirit.

Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.