We Are the Church … Let's Act Like It: A Study on the Book of Acts

By Linda Tower Pevey

Many people think the church has become a social club with little impact on the world. That is not God's plan for the church. We Are the Church … Let's Act Like It takes readers through the book of Acts, looking at what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ, the world-changing church that Jesus intended.

Problems in the church are nothing new. The book of Acts is full of them. In We Are the Church … Linda Tower Pevey offers the church practical and biblical ways to live out its mandate to be a church that positively impacts its community and the world.

We Are the Church … Let's Act Like It is a 7-week study that helps readers see the biblical vision for the church and a vision for what the church can be today. In it, Pevey offers encouragement that the church can truly be a transformative presence in the world, just as the early church was in the book of Acts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Upper Room Books
• Release date: Jul 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780835818858

Linda Tower Pevey

Linda Tower Pevey is lead pastor of Bethesda United Methodist Church, Preston, Maryland. Prior to her appointment at Bethesda UMC, she served as associate pastor at Christ UMC, Salisbury, Maryland, where she developed and led a thriving churchwide small-group ministry in which over 80 percent of the adult congregation participated. Linda holds a Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio.

Book preview

WE ARE THE CHURCH . . . LET’S ACT LIKE IT: A Study on the Book of Acts

Copyright © 2019 by Linda Tower Pevey

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books®, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212.

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Upper Room Books® website: upperroombooks.com

Upper Room®, Upper Room Books®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations not otherwise marked are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CEB are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked AP are the author’s paraphrase.

ISBN (print): 978-0-8358-1883-4 | ISBN (mobi): 978-0-8358-1884-1 | ISBN (epub): 978-0-8358-1885-8

Cover Design: Lindy Martin | Faceout Studio

Interior design and typesetting: PerfecType | Nashville, TN

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Week 1: Act with Power

Week 2: Act with Generosity

Week 3: Act with Acceptance

Week 4: Act with Creativity

Week 5: Act with Perseverance

Week 6: Act with Courage

Week 7: Act as a Witness

Appendix A: Judaism and Christianity in First-Century Israel

Appendix B: Group Covenant

Appendix C: Act with Generosity Worksheet

Appendix D: Script for Group Session 3, Act 1

Leader’s Guide

Notes

Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The book of Acts has long been one of my favorite books of the Bible. I became even more interested in it while I was studying for my MDiv at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. I caught a powerful glimpse of what the church can be in the world in the Rev. Dr. Mike Slaughter’s Missional Church course. In his course, I came to realize the power of the book of Acts to inspire and revitalize the church.

A few years later, in my position as associate pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Salisbury, Maryland, I felt led to a study of the book of Acts for our annual churchwide small-group study. I discovered no shortage of options. However, two trends soon became clear. First, most of the studies I looked at were quite long (up to twenty sessions) and therefore not workable in our time frame. Secondly, many of them were too time-consuming. It seemed that if we were to do a churchwide study of Acts, we would need to create our own resource. That’s how this study came to be. It truly has been a labor of love, as it has afforded me many hours of reading, researching, and writing about the exciting and inspiring book of Acts.

I thank my colleague at Christ UMC, Rev. Bill Green, for brainstorming ideas with me in the beginning and encouraging me to go for it. I appreciate his reading drafts and offering helpful feedback. It is a better work because of his input. I thank the people of Christ UMC who kept telling me, You should have this published. I thank my friend and sister in Christ Linda Franklin for her unwavering support and encouragement to pursue publication. It was her persistence that moved this project forward. I am grateful to the people at Upper Room Books who saw the potential in this work and, through publication, have made this study available to a wide audience.

I thank my husband, Barry, who, as always, has been a huge encouragement. He’s put up with my long hours of reading, researching, and writing (and patiently has listened to me talk about it).

I thank Jesus Christ, who gave his life so that I (and you) could have a richer, more meaningful life here and now and eternal life someday spent in the uninterrupted presence of God. I thank Jesus for the church, for the inspiring and amazing story recorded in Acts, which has in so many ways inspired me to and throughout pastoral ministry. I really do love the church!

I pray the Holy Spirit will speak to you as you work through this study, read the scriptures, meet with your group, and think through all the implications of this amazing story for your own life and the life of your church. I pray that you will be inspired to rethink what is possible for your own church.

In Christ,

Linda Tower Pevey