The book of Acts describes how the Holy Spirit worked to transform these early Christians into a movement of God’s people focused on God’s mission, all for God’s glory. Like ripples moving across a pond, the Church began to spread out around the world starting in Jerusalem. It is no surprise that the powers of darkness would seek to extinguish the light of Christ kindled by the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Opposition to life in the Spirit is experienced within the Christian fellowship as is seen in Acts 5:1-10 and 6:1-7, but the Apostles (led by the Holy Spirit), guide the young Church in righteousness and the Church is strengthened. Opposition will also come from the established religious authorities who see this emerging Gospel of Jesus as a threat that must be eliminated. The early Church is about to face its first real threat as violence against them breaks out and the lordship of Jesus is put to the test.

We will be taking a short break from the book of Acts. However, take this

next week and review the previous passages of Scripture from Acts 1:1-8:3.