ACTS: Jesus at Work, through the Church, by His Spirit

What Jesus Began — And Is Still Doing

Acts 1:1–11

April 13, 2025

Tagline

The kingdom Jesus established through the cross is already at work in the world through his church by his Spirit, and will one day come in its fullness when he returns.

Sermon Summary

Luke opens the book of Acts by naming it as the continuation of what Jesus began to do and teach—which means Acts isn't the story of what the apostles achieved, but what Jesus keeps doing through his church by his Spirit. When the disciples ask whether Jesus will now restore the kingdom to Israel, they have the right category but the wrong assumptions: they expected the kingdom to be Jewish, political, and immediate. Jesus doesn't say yes or no—he defers to the Father's wisdom and the Spirit's power, meaning it will become more clear to them when they receive the Spirit. And on Pentecost they saw that the kingdom was much greater than they could have imagined.

At the heart of God's kingdom we find the Trinity at work: the Father has a plan, the Son embodies it, and the Spirit empowers it. Throughout Acts, that same pattern will continue—except now we have been joined to Christ, included in his body, so that we carry out the mission the Father gave the Son, by the same Spirit that empowered him. This is both humbling and staggering. We are called not to build something for God, but to be witnesses—participants in what God is already doing. Jesus' ascension isn't an ending; it's the guarantee of his return and the release of his church to get on with the work. The kingdom is now, it is coming, and it is being advanced through us.

Icebreaker Questions (pick one)

1. Tell us about a time you confidently jumped into a conversation, only to realize partway through you had completely misread what it was about.
2. Can you think of a time when you were completely convinced about something, but a new perspective changed everything? What shifted?

Opening Prayer

Ask the Spirit to open our eyes to the kingdom already at work among us, and to shape our understanding of who we are as Christ's body in the world.

Scripture Reading

Read Acts 1:1–11 aloud as a group.

Discussion Questions

God Revealed In Acts 1, Jesus defers the disciples' kingdom question to the Father's wisdom and the Spirit's power. What does it tell you about God that his plan to redeem the world is a Trinitarian one... Father, Son, and Spirit working as one?

Humanity Mirrored - The disciples had the right category— the kingdom—but their expectations were shaped more by their own hopes than by what Jesus had been teaching. Where do you see that same tendency in yourself?

Gospel-Centered Vision - The kingdom Jesus establishes doesn't look like the kingdoms we expect—it came through the cross. (The Spirit gave Peter a whole new vision for the kingdom Acts 2:29-36.) How does that reframe what "winning" or "advancing" looks like for the church? 

Transformed Living - The angels redirect the disciples from staring at the sky to getting on with the witness. What would it look like practically for you to stop waiting and start participating in what Jesus is already doing?

Sharing and Witness - In the last week or so, have you seen God use you as a witness—through something he's done in your life, or in how you served someone else?

For Further Study

• Acts 2:29–36 — Peter's Pentecost sermon connects Jesus' resurrection and ascension directly to his enthronement as Lord and King, filling in what the disciples didn't yet understand in Acts 1.
• Luke 17:20–21 — Jesus teaches that the kingdom of God doesn't come with signs to be observed — it is in the midst of you. Connects to the "now" dimension of the kingdom.
• Daniel 7:13–14 — The "Son of Man" vision behind the ascension and enthronement language; Jesus is received into the presence of the Ancient of Days and given an eternal dominion.
• Psalm 110:1 — The most-quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament; the Lord enthroned at the Father's right hand, which Peter draws on directly at Pentecost.
• 1 Corinthians 1:18–25 — Paul's declaration that the cross is foolishness to the world but the power and wisdom of God — the counterintuitive logic of the kingdom.
• 1 Corinthians 2:16 — The "mind of Christ" that the Spirit grants to believers, echoing the sermon's point about Peter receiving new understanding at Pentecost.
• Ephesians 1:19–23 — Christ seated far above all rule and authority, with the church as his body — the theological grounding for the Acts 1 Trinitarian pattern.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17–20 — We are new creations and ambassadors of reconciliation; the gospel transforms us into the message and the messengers.
• Matthew 16:24–26 — Jesus' call to take up the cross and lose your life to find it — the subversive logic of the kingdom that cuts against our own kingdoms.
• Revelation 1:7 — Every eye will see him; the visible, personal, glorious return promised by the angels in Acts 1:11, grounding the church's hope and urgency.