2016-3rd Qt. The Study of The Acts of the Apostles -ipad BibleTube

Paul Sails for Rome

27 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found ha ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.

9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast1 was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.

The Storm at Sea

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore. 14 But soon a tempestuous wind, called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship. Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along. 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

21 Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.”

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you can

•
LESSON
11
(December
18
)
•
Acts 24:1
-
26:32
•
Paul Makes His Defense
1.
Take a moment to
reflect on Paul’s description of himself and his faith in Acts 24:14
-
16. What is
he communicating?
2.
Luke informs us that Feli
x had “a rather accurate knowledge of the Way” (24:22). What does this
mean?
3.
Of all the things that Paul could focus on in his
opportunity before Felix, why highlight
“righteousness and self
-
control and the coming judgment” (24:25)?
4.
Is there anything we can learn from what Luke documents in Acts 24:25
-
27?
5.
What can we learn about Paul from his self
-
description in Acts 26:4
-
5
and 26:9
-
23? Is there
anything he references that you didn’t previously know?
6.
“And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to
which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day
” (26:6
-
7). What
does Paul mean by this reference?
7.
“Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?” (26:8). Why was this a
powerful question?
8.
In what way had “the prophets and Moses” been pointing to the Christ all along (26:22
-
2
3)?
9.
What do you make of Paul’s assertion in Acts 26:25
-
27?
10.
Why do you think Luke is taking so much time and space to record
these appearances of Paul
before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa?

"• LESSON 22 (10) (December 11) •"
"Acts 21:15-23:35 • “So You Must Testify Also in Rome”"
"1. In your own words, explain the concern that James and “all the elders” in Jerusalem expressed to Paul in Acts 21:17-22."
"2. Why would they propose the solution that they did in Acts 21:23-26?"
"3. What led to the uproar in Jerusalem (21:27-36)?"
4
"What can we learn about Paul from his message in Acts 22:3-21? Is there anything he reveals in"
"this address that you didn’t previously know?"
5
"“Up to this word they listened to him” (22:22). Why, suddenly, is the Hebrew audience unwilling"
"to listen any further?"
6
"“Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” (22:25). Why was"
"this a powerful question that changed the immediate course of events?"
7
"“Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day” (23:1). What does"
"that statement mean, and what does it tell us about the heart of Paul?"
"8. What is Paul doing in Acts 23:6?"
"9. What should we make of what Luke records for us in Acts 23:11?"
10
"In what way is what we read in Acts 23:12-35 a fulfillment of the Lord’s promise in Acts 23:11? Is"
"there anything we can learn about the Lord by looking at this recorded account through the lens of Acts 23:11?"

Acts 20:1–21:14 Paul in Macedonia and Greece 20 After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at xTroas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.Eutychus Raised from the Dead7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.13 But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and went to Mitylene. 15 And sailing from there we came the following day opposite Chios; the next day we touched at Samos; and the day after that we went to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, hon the day of Pentecost.Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:“You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God,4 which he obtained with his own blood.5 29 l

ACTS LESSON 20 (8) (November 27) •Acts 18:23-19:41 • Reasoning and Persuading About the Kingdom of God 1.Using Acts 18:24-25, how would you describe Apollos in your own words? 2.“He spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John” (18:25). What does Luke want us to understand about Apollos’ grasp of the gospel? 3.If Apollos was fervent in spirit, eloquent in speech, and sincere in what he was teaching, why not just leave him alone and allow him to continue doing what he was doing uninterrupted? 4.Is there anything we can learn from Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18:26? How can our own efforts to guide, correct, and refine the understanding of others be shaped by their approach? 5.Having carefully read Acts 19:1-7, what does Luke want us to understand about the twelve disciples Paul found in Ephesus? 6.Once again, what do we learn about the Holy Spirit, miraculous gifts, and how they were imparted in Acts 19:6? 7.What should readers ancient and modern take away from Luke’s account of the itinerant Jew is hexorcists in Acts 19:11-17? 8.Why would the new believers described in Acts 19:18-19 do what they did? 9.Why was Demetrius so concerned about Paul and his persuasive message (19:23-27)? 10.What does this riot that erupted in Ephesus teach us about the nature of the gospel?

• LESSON 7 (November 20) • Acts 17:1-18:22 • "Men Who Have Turned the World Upside Down" 1. Why would Paul contend that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead" (17:3) to Jews in Thessalonica?" 2. Paul and his companions are accused before the city authorities in Thessalonica of turning "the world upside down"" (17:6). In what ways was this an accurate description of Paul and his message? 3. The Jews in Berea are described by Luke as being "more noble than those in Thessalonica" (17:11). Why? What does "noble" mean? 4. As Paul waits in Athens, "his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols" (17:16). Why would this observation have provoked Paul? 5. Take your time with Paul's address to the Athenians in Acts 17:22-31. What can we learn from his approach? 6. What do we learn about God in Paul's address to the Athenians? 7. In Acts 18:1-4 we are introduced to Aquila and Priscilla. Where else do we hear about this husband and wife? 8. "Your blood be on your own heads!" Paul's words to the Jews in Acts 18:6 are strong. Why would he say such a thing? 9. What would the Lord's words in Acts 18:9-11 have meant to Paul? 10. As Luke's documentation of Paul's second missionary journey comes to a close, reflect on just how far Paul and his companions have traveled. What churches with which we are familiar from the rest of the New Testament have had their beginning due to the direct influence of Paul on this second missionary journey?