The book of Acts is a book of sermons. Most people think that the book is a narrative, which it is. But, if you read it straight through you will see just how much preaching there is in this book. There are a total of 10 actual sermons in the book (1 Stephen, 4 Paul, 5 Peter) and 32 summaries of preaching. While there are miracles and wonders done through the apostles and angels, visions of Jesus, and voices from the heavens, the real work is the continuation of the work of Jesus:
the proclamation of the kingdom of God empowered by the Spirit of God. Just as Jesus left his baptism, where the Spirit descended on him like a dove and the vindicating voice echoed from heaven, “This is my beloved Son in whom my heart delights,
”so also Jesus having ascended poured out His Spirit in a baptism of fire onto His Church, and in a similar way proclaims, “This is my beloved Bride, in whom my heart delights” so that they, too, could follow His lead in preaching that original message,
“Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” In fact, the dominant phrases in the book are “word” and its synonyms “gospel” or “message” and “Holy Spirit”. The Kingdom of God is said to be proclaimed and the Word is personified as “increasing” and “adding” to this kingdom community of those who entrusted themselves to Jesus as their savior-king.
