Ascension of Christ (Essay Sample)

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Acts 1-15
Introduction
Acts record the life of followers of Christ after his Ascension to heaven. It gives an account of the early church and the beginning of missionary work. It also revolves around the spiritual person of Christ, the Holy Spirit. Jesus' promise to his followers was the Holy Spirit before He ascends to heaven. His ascension marks a fulfilment of prophesies about Him.
Events
The first and most significant change that happens to the disciples is the coming of the Holy Spirit (Chapter 2). It came down on them in the form tongues of fire while they were praying. It gave them power to perform miracles and guided them in their relations with God and among themselves. Another event that happened to the followers was the formation of prayer fellowships. They gathered to pray each day (chapter 4). It is attributed to the fact that they realized Jesus was not with them, and to practice His teachings, they had to pray for unity. The fellowships brought into existence, the early church. Believers were first called Christians at Antioch (Chapter 11).
Another change is that the disciples were persecuted. Peter was arrested on several occasions and put in jail. During his detention, the rest of the disciples prayed and the angel of God released him out of jail (Chapter 12). James, the brother of Andrew, was beheaded (Chapter 12) while Stephen was stoned to death because of their faith in Jesus (Chapter 6). The...