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Week One (28 and 31 Aug)

Acts 1:1–2:47

• Watch: Start Here (2:08); Introduction to Acts (8:56); § Overview (11:33)

• Read: Acts 1:1–2:47; Isaiah 32:14-20; Ezekiel 36:22-32; Bonus: Justin, First Apology ch. 67 (for weekly worship in the early church, ca. 150 AD); Julian, Epistles 22 (for a jealous outsider's take on early Christian witness, ca. 350 AD)

• Materials: Class Guide (this is not homework — we will work on this together in class); Speeches Worksheet

• Classtime Recording (Monday/Thursday)

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ONGOING LEARNING: ACTS AS A KINGDOM STORY (17:23)

This is a bonus video (click the title above) I recorded in response to changing my mind about some things I said in a week one video (recorded many weeks ago), and a question I asked in the week one class guide. I'm still learning! And I know it's long, so I've also uploaded the transcript to the video here, in case you'd prefer to read it rather than watch it.

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Week Two (4 and 7 Sept)

Acts 3:1–5:42

• Watch: Start Here (3:54); BP Acts 1–7 (6:22); § Overview (9:12)

• Read: Acts 3:1–5:42; Psalms 2 and 118; Bonus: Psalms of Solomon 17 (an extrabiblical expression of hope for Davidic Messiah that employs Psalm 2, among other passages); Esther Rabbah 7:10 (a later rabbinic commentary on Esther [Est 3:6, specifically) that combines Ps 118 and other "stone" texts in a messianic discussion)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: Wright 2013 (a short overview of Jewish religion in the first century); My Psalm 118 Exercise notes (if you're curious)

• Classtime Recording (Monday/Thursday)

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Week Three (11 and 14 Sept)

Acts 6:1–9:31

• Watch: Start Here (1:29); BP Acts 1–12 (8:16); § Overview (9:30); A Bible Atlas (2:44); Bonus: BP Temple (4:25)

• Read: Acts 6:1–9:31; Isaiah 52:7–53:12; Bonus: 1 Enoch 90:28-29 (an example of a new or a restored temple in Jewish writing [cf. Ezek 40–47 for biblical ex]); Sirach 50:25-26 and Josephus Antiquities 20.6.1 (two Jewish texts that show contempt for the Samaritans or reasons for it)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: DNTB Samaritans (a helpful overview of the Samaritans, see esp. §§ 4-6)

• Classtime Recording (Monday/Thursday)

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STORIED THEOLOGY: A NOTE ON METHOD (14:00)

This is a bonus video (click the title above) I recorded in response to questions about the "descriptive versus prescriptive" exercise I prompted early on. Really this is some methodological notes on reading Acts as story and figuring out how to respond rightly today. This is long, and it's also likely confusing, so I've uploaded the transcript to the video here, in case you'd prefer to read it rather than watch it.

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Week Four (18 and 21 Sept)

Acts 9:32–12:25

• Watch: Start Here (1:13); BP Acts 8–12 (6:00); § Outline (10:07)

• Read: Acts 9:32–12:25; Bonus: Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.16 (on Greco-Roman exploitation of Jewish Sabbath); Josephus, Against Apion 2.14.137, 140-142 (on the Jewish reputation for abstaining from pork and for the practice of circumcision); Dionysius of Halcarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.57.4 (a double dream or vision report, like we have twice in Acts)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: Gruen 2010 (an overview of Judaism outside the land of Israel; see esp. the "Maintaining Jewish Identity" §)

• Classtime Recording (Monday/Thursday)

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Week Five (25 and 28 Sept)

Acts 13:1–14:28

• Watch: Start Here (2:56); BP Acts 13–20 (4:43); § Overview (9:28)

• Read: Acts 12:26–14:28; Bonus: Ovid, Metamorphosis 8.611-724 (the Phrygian tale of one couple being hospitable to Zeus and Hermes when they visit)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: DLNTD Religions, Greco-Roman (a really helpful overview of the Greco-Roman religious world of the first century)

• Classtime Recording (Monday/Thursday)

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NO CLASS FOR TWO WEEKS 

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THE APOSTLE PAUL: AN INTRODUCTION (coming soon)

This is a bonus video on the life of Paul — who he is and how we know what we know about him. I'll also try to give you a chronological overview of how it all fits together, but there's so much here I may just give you a preview of what I've written up in my notes, for those who are interested.

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Week Six (19 and 23 Oct)

Acts 15:1–16:5

• Watch: Start Here (2:25); BP Biblical Law (6:19); § Overview (10:32)

• Read: Acts 15:1–16:5; Bonus: 4Q174 column 3 lines 1-13 (a Dead Sea Scroll that also employs Amos 9:11 to express hope of restoration for God's People [differently from James in Acts!])

• Materials: Class Guide; Spencer's Passage Outline (referred to in the § Overview video); ; Christians and the OT Law (a magnificent book intro from an OT scholar on OT Law for Christians)

• Classtime Recording (Thursday/Monday)

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Week Seven (26 and 30 Oct)

Acts 16:6–18:22

• Watch: Start Here (2:01); BP Acts 13–28 (8:04); § Overview (12:04)

• Read: Acts 16:6–18:22; Bonus: Suetonius, Claudius 25.4 and Cassius Dio, Roman History 60.6.6  (on Claudius's expulsion of the Jews from Rome); Delphi Inscription (mentioning Gallio as proconsul in a post prior to Corinth)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: DNTB Prison, Prisoner entry (for further background on what prison was like in the first century); Gill and Winter 1994 (a little more in-depth, and focused on Acts specifically, this is another look at the Greco-Roman religious world of Acts)

• Classtime Recording (Thursday/Monday)

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Week Eight (2 and 6 Nov)

Acts 18:23–21:25

• Watch: Start Here (2:50); § Overview (10:51)

• Read: Acts 18:23–21:25; Bonus: NDIEC 4.1 (a tomb inscription for an Ephesian silversmith); Ogden numbers 127 (a snippet from Josephus about an exorcist using the name of Solomon) and 131 (an Egyptian exorcism spell using the name of Jesus, among others [like the sons of Sceva])

• Materials: Class Guide; DPL2 Magic (a short introduction on the biblical context for magic)

• Classtime Recording (Thursday/Monday)

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ENCOUNTERING CONTRADICTIONS: A NOTE ON METHOD (16:46)

This is a bonus video on how to think about and what to start to do when we encounter what seem like contradictions in the text (within a story or with different parts of Scripture, as introduced in the § Overview, above. How do we resolve "problems" in the text, or even weigh interpretive options? Once more, I've given you the transcript to the video, in case you want to read through rather than, or in addition to, watching it.

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WARNING: DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME 5 NOV 2023 

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Week Nine (9 and 13 Nov)

Acts 21:26–26:32

• Watch: Start Here (2:40); BP Acts 21–28 (4:50); § Overview (12:44)

• Read: Acts 21:26–26:32; Bonus: Josephus Jewish Wars 2.13.5 (for mention of the Egyptian rebel that Felix had to put down, as mentioned in 21:38); 1 Maccabees 1:60-61; 2:23-27 (a few centuries earlier, foreigners tried to prohibit Judeans from practicing their religion and they resisted by revolting [and winning]. Charges against Paul evoke memories of this moment)

• Materials: Class Guide; Bonus: DNTB Roman Law and Legal System (a really helpful overview of the legal world of the first century, to better understand some of what Paul was dealing with)

• Classtime Recording (Thursday/Monday)

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Week Ten (16 and 20 Nov)

Acts 27:1–28:31

• Watch: Start Here (3:09); § Overview (13:14)

• Read: Acts 27:1–28:31; Bonus: Greek Anthology 7.290 and 9.269 (for two other occasions where people presumed to be evildoers escape shipwrecks only to be "judged" by nature shortly thereafter); Lucian, The Dependent Scholar 1–2 (for a satirical take on marine adventures)

• Materials: Class Guide

• Classtime Recording (Thursday/Monday)

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