The Bible book of Acts is sometimes referred to as the Acts of the Apostles. An alternative title could be the Acts of the Holy Spirit, or better yet as the author Luke himself clearly viewed it, the continuing Acts of Jesus Christ. Despite returning to heaven early in the first chapter, Luke wants us to see that Jesus is central to everything that unfolds through the book: life-changing encounters, miracles of deliverance and healing, and the empowering of the church to continue his ministry on earth.

The pages of Acts are packed full of enthralling narratives, encouraging encounters and even some serious warnings. Whilst not a blueprint for "the ideal church" and not something that can be directly replicated, there are many lessons to be learnt and positive examples to follow.

We studied the first half of the book (up to chapter 12) in the summer of 2023, then after a break returned to the second half at the start of 2024.