I am reading traveling together – a guide for disciple-forming congregations at the moment. So far I have found it excellent. In particularly, I have loved the way the author (Jeffrey Jones) has summarises the book of Acts. It has energised me to read the book of Acts through again - maybe using Eugene Petersen’s message version this time.

Here is a summary of the way Jones views the book of Acts. I have extracted the key sentence that he gives for each point he wants to make.

Acts 1:6-10
The Church is to be a community that encourages actively seeking God’s new thing so that the old ways of thinking and doing can be set aside.

Acts 2:1-13
The Church empowered by the Spirit is to be a community of passion committed to sharing about Jesus.

Acts 2:43-47
The Church is to be a community of deep devotion, not only to Jesus, but also to each other - a devotion demonstrated in a depth of sharing

Acts 3:1-10
The Church is to be a community that understands that what it offers to the world is unique because of the power of Jesus at work in and through its members.

Acts 4:23-31
The Church is to be a community that trusts in the power of the Holy Spirit to enable it to live boldly in order to participate in God’s mission in the world.

Acts 5:1-11
The Church is to be a community of truth in which there is accountability as its members seek to live as faithful disciples

Acts 6:1-7
The Church is to be a community in which mission determines both leadership positions and those who fill them

Acts 7:54-60
The Church is to be a community that sees things differently because of Jesus and lives according to his ways.

Acts 8:1-5
The Church is to be a community that never ceases to attend to its mission

Acts 8:9-25
The Church is to be a community that rejects the world’s currency for God’s economy of grace.

Acts 8:26-40
The Church is to be a community that sends its members into places where they will encounter those for whom the gospel can make a difference.

Acts 15:1-21
The Church is to be a community of diverse opinions and practices based in a common devotion to Jesus and a shared commitment to its mission.

Acts 19:21-41
The Church is to be a community that supports its members as they translate the teaching of Jesus into concrete ways of living in the world.

Acts 28:23-31
The Church is to be a community that lives and dies in its faith that God’s mission will be fulfilled.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 at 11:21 am by phil and is filed under books and dvd's. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.