The book of Acts is the history book of the church, describing how Jesus Christ began to build the church that he had promised to build (Matt. 16:18). The Gospels describe Jesus Christ's birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and Acts continues the story by telling of the birth of the church at Pentecost and the major transitional events during the church's infancy. Acts also highlights the work of the Holy Spirit through the disciples of Jesus Christ. In this insightful commentary, John-Michael Wong opens up Acts to show how God used individuals to carry out his purposes, and, in particular, grew his church from a small number of disciples in Jerusalem to the huge family of believers we find all around the world today.
Although the Bible can seem incomprehensible, the Opening Up the Bible series is designed to provide a basic grounding and introduction to the individual books within it. These simple (but not simplistic) tools will help individuals and small groups understand God’s Word, no matter what background or knowledge they already have.
Each volume takes you section-by-section through the covered book, opening up God's word with wisdom, insight, and practical application. Additionally, the "For Further Study" points at the end of a section provide guidance to other areas of scripture that further illuminate the lesson, and the "To Think About and Discuss" section provides thought-provoking questions that can be used by both individuals and groups to gain understanding and apply the subject matter to life today.
John-Michael Wong was converted while a student at the University of California, Berkeley. With a Ph.D. in structural engineering, he works as a structural engineering consultant in San Francisco. He married Clara in March 2009 and they live in the San Francisco Bay Area. They are members of the Evangel Bible Church of Berkeley, which has planted two new churches in California and is sending a new pastor to a church plant in Taipei, Taiwan. John-Michael leads the evangelism training and apologetics ministry in his church, and he also serves in the college ministry at the University of California, Berkeley, where since 2003 he has been teaching the Book of Acts to third-year students.
