All across Oklahoma and beyond, people from various cultures and contexts go about their daily lives without knowing or experiencing the risen Jesus. We live in daily interaction with friends, family, and co-workers who are far from God. People all across Oklahoma live in darkness and confusion. The physical and spiritual needs of people, both locally and globally, is more than we can wrap our heads around, let alone fix. Thankfully, God is on a mission to do something about it.
"All across Oklahoma and beyond, people from various cultures and contexts go about their daily lives without knowing or experiencing the risen Jesus."
Since the dawn of humanity, the mission of God has always been to have his people, in his place, for his glory. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the grand and beautiful story of God accomplishing his mission of drawing all people from all places to himself. This mission, pointed to on every page of the Old Testament, culminates in the coming of Jesus Christ who lived perfectly, died brutally, and rose again victoriously. But what happened after the resurrection of Jesus? Did Jesus have any impact on the society of the 1st century? Even more importantly, does the resurrection of Jesus have any bearing on our world today? The answer to these questions (and many others) is found in the book of Acts.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, his mission didn’t stop or slow down. Far from it. The book of Acts (formally known as “the Acts of the Apostles”) tells the story of Jesus continuing his mission from heaven through his Church. In Acts, Jesus takes a small, fledgling group of about 120 disciples living in a hostile, pluralistic society, and turns the entire world upside down in only about a thirty year time period.
What we see Jesus doing in the book of Acts, he continues to do today through his Church. Jesus is still changing lives. Jesus is still expanding his kingdom on the earth. Jesus is still bringing physical and emotional healing. Jesus is still drawing all people from all places to himself. Jesus is still growing his Church. Jesus is still on mission today, and the mission of God that we read about in the book of Acts is not yet finished. In the words of Arthur T. Pierson:
"Church of Christ! The records of these acts of the Holy Ghost have never reached completeness. This is the one book which has no proper close, because it waits for new chapters to be added so fast and so far as the people of God shall reinstate the blessed Spirit in his holy seat of control." - (Pierson, The Acts of the Holy Spirit, 141-142)