The Acts of the Apostles (Liguori Publications)

The Acts of the Apostles is another volume in the Liguori Catholic Bible Study series, written by Fr. William A. Anderson. Like other books in this series, it begins with an introduction to the series, a basics on Lectio Divina, and tips for how to use the book. There is then introductory material on Acts, which includes the author, audience, and themes found in this book of Scripture. There are then eight lessons, each with a segment for group study and individual study (with the exception of Lesson One). This is done to encourage you to study Scripture together, and also to expose you to all of the particular book of the Bible in a reasonable timeline. If you tried to study every chapter as a group, it would take a lot more than eight lessons. The lesson titles are:

1. Preparing for Mission
2. The Mission in Jerusalem
3. Persecutions in Jerusalem
4. The Mission in Samaria and Judea
5. The Gentile Mission
6. Paul's Missionary Journeys
7. Paul Imprisoned
8. Paul Brought to Rome

Each group lesson comes with questions to discuss and prayers. Each individual study spreads out your study over several days and focuses on important passages to meditate on using Lectio Divina. I appreciate this format as Lectio Divina has always been difficult for me. There are two things I would have placed emphasis on in this book that I didn't notice Fr. Anderson did. First, while Fr. Anderson did point out that Luke was the author, I think he should have made it clear that the Gospel of Luke and Acts of the Apostles are basically two parts of one book. You can't and shouldn't read one without reading the other. Secondly, what always helped me understand Acts was breaking it into two parts, the book of Peter and the book of Paul. Those complaints aside, this was still a useful study and I would recommend it to any group looking for a Bible study book on Acts. Four stars!

This book was provided to me for free by Liguori Publications in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!