Commissioned

Session 1

Acts 1:4-11,23-26

Memory Verse: Acts 1:8

Jesus commissions His followers for kingdom work.

ENGAGE

Greet:

read the introductory paragraph on page 10 of the PSG.

The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is filled with the idea
that God’s people should be a part of God’s mission to reach the whole world.
The call to be His commissioned people in the Old Testament
becomes more explicit in the Gospels and finally culminates with the Great Commission.
The book of Acts brings together the idea of God’s people being sent on God’s mission
by recounting the history of the earliest days of the church
as it spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Ask:

• Have you attended an ordination ceremony?

Explain:

ordinations are typically formal exercises conducted with solemnity
to illustrate the importance of being set aside for sacred roles in the church.
we are commissioned by God to be His witnesses in the world.

Ask:

• How does Christ’s commission apply to you?
• What examples have you experienced this week? (PSG, p. 10)

Transition:

Today’s session launches a study of the first half of the book of Acts.
In these sessions, we’ll trace the birth and growth of the early church,
beginning with Jesus’s commission to the church’s earliest members.