Acts Chapter 2 Study Guide

Family Study Guide for September 7 - September 13, 2006
(Read Acts 2 Online)

Reflections on Acts 2 by Mark Chesner, Coach

There are some people who look at the Bible and simply see a God who is always being the tough guy. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, God curses them and casts them out of Eden. Cain kills Abel, God curses him and forces him to wander. The Hebrews worship idols and God forces them into exile in Babylon.

But what these people fail to notice is that God rarely curses anyone without also providing a way back. Consider this section from Acts 2:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?
Acts 2:1-8

Does it remind you of anything? How about this:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Genesis 11:1-9

Do you see the parallels? In Genesis, God doles out the required punishment – scrambling of the languages. But in Acts, God shows that the punishment is not forever and rolls it back – the speaking in tongues.

This is the story of the New Testament, and the story of Acts as well. God’s punishments need not be forever. If we accept Him and His Son, then the natural curses that are a part of our lives can start to be rolled back. And we can look forward to a future without curses, a future of hope and joy.


Questions to Consider by Pastor Scott Craddock, Youth Pastor
Vss. 1-13

Sometimes when we read this story, we get so caught up in the incredible things that happened that we fail to see “why” it happened. What caused this amazing event? (Spirit enabled them – vs. 4)

What might we be able to do if we let the Spirit enable us.

Vss. 14-32

How do you see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit working together throughout history?

Vss. 42-45

What were the things that the believers did together in this passage?

Why did God add to their number daily? Would God add to our number, if we did those very same things?

Is there one or two things in this passage that your family would commit to doing together?


Bible.Org Outline for Acts 2

C. Realization: The Day of Pentecost (2:1-41)
1. The Descent of the Spirit (2:1-13)
a. The Response of the Apostles: Speaking in Tongues (2:1-4)
b. The Reaction of the Crowd (2:5-13)
2. The Proclamation of Peter (2:14-39)
a. Introduction: Fulfillment of Prophecy (2:14-21)
b. Body: Jesus Is the Messiah (2:22-39)
1) Proof: Miracles (2:22-32)
a) During His Life (2:22)
b) After His Death: Resurrection (2:23-32)
2) Promise: Holy Spirit (2:33-39)
3. The Response of the Crowd (2:40-41)
D. Conclusion of Book One (2:42-47)


Finish the Verse Questions for Acts 2

Finish the Verse: When the day // of Pentecost came,
they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. [Acts 2:1-2]

Finish the Verse: They saw // what seemed
to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. [Acts 2:3-4]

Finish the Verse: 'In the last // days,
God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
[Acts 2:17-18]

Finish the Verse: "Men of Israel, // listen to
this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. [Acts 2:22]

Finish the Verse: This // man was handed over
to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. [Acts 2:23-24]

Finish the Verse: Seeing // what was ahead,
he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. [Acts 2:31-32]

Finish the Verse: Exalted // to the right hand
of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. [Acts 2:33]

Finish the Verse: Therefore let // all Israel be
assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." [Acts 2:36]

Finish the Verse: Peter replied, // "Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call." [Acts 2:38-39]

Finish the Verse: Those // who accepted his message
were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. [Acts 2:41]

Finish the Verse: They devoted // themselves to the
apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. [Acts 2:42]

Finish the Verse: Everyone // was filled with awe,
and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. [Acts 2:43]

Finish the Verse: All the believers were together //
and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. [Acts 2:44-45]

Finish the Verse: Every // day they continued to
meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. [Acts 2:46-47]