Acts

The book of Acts is pivotal not only in our understanding of the events which established the Church of Jesus Christ, but also for providing a connecting link between the four Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament. Without this record or knowledge of how the message of Jesus Christ came to be a missionary plea to the whole world would be severely weakened. Acts opens with a statement from Jesus which seems to set the tone for the entire work. Jesus promises the apostles that they will receive power in the form of the Holy Spirit. He then tells them that they will be his "witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (NIV). This theme of being a witness for the gospel is carried throughout the book of Acts.