The Holy Spirit in the books of Acts Research Paper

The Holy Spirit in the books of Acts - Research Paper Example Paul’s missionary journey in Rome. For better interpretation of the Acts of Apostles, it is important to note that the Acts of Apostles is the manifestation of the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise to His disciples that He wouldn’t leave them as Orphans, but that He would send them the Holy Spirit who would act as their guide in their mandate to preach the good news (Turner, 2003)1. The book of the Acts of the Apostles, therefore, is an account of how the Holy Spirit led the disciples in establishing the early Church: the Spirit inspired, strengthened, gave directions, gave the power to perform miracles, and guided the apostles in their mandate, given by Jesus Christ, to spread the Gospel to the whole world. That is why the book of the Act of the Apostles is often times aptly referred to as the book of the Holy Spirit (Bruce, 1973)2. This paper investigates the roles of the Holy Spirit, as the main character, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles. At the end of the paper, a conclusion is made based on the salient points elaborated and discussed in the body of the paper. THE PENTECOST The book of the Acts of the Apostles begins with Jesus’ instructing His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem, but to remain there and wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Acts, 1: 4-5. The disciples in obedience to their master, Jesus Christ, remained in Jerusalem, in the upper room, patiently waiting and praying for the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the upper room in form of tongues of fire, Acts, 2:3. The Holy Spirit strengthened the apostles and gave them the power to preach the Good News boldly. Prior to the event of the Pentecost, following the death of Jesus Christ, the apostles had gone into hiding for fear that the persecutors of Jesus may decide to look for them and kill them. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples, therefore, marks the beginning of the Work of the Holy in t he Acts of the Apostles (Drumwright, 1944)3. Following this outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus Christ on Pentecost day, the work of the Holy Spirit was manifest in many of disciples’’ future works as the missionaries of the Good News. THE HOLY SPIRIT STRENGTHENS THE APOSTLES TO PREACH THE GOSPEL (Acts, 2.) Following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on Pentecost day, the disciples led by Peter stood to preach the Good News to the People. The Holy Spirit gave them the courage and the boldness to preach without fear. In the preaching, Peter emphasised that Jesus Christ is, indeed, the promised Messiah, and that Jesus Christ, actually, died, was buried, and on the third day He arose again in accordance with the writings of the

How did Industrialization change America between 1860 and 1900 Essay - 1

How did Industrialization change America between 1860 and 1900 - Essay Example Among the greatest changes that took place in the United States with regard to industrialization is improved living standards. Industrialization brought with it numerous issues and one of the positive issues is that it created employment opportunities. With the increase in industries, there was a basic requirement of workers and these people came from the surrounding areas. These people worked tirelessly with the aim of achieving the most for their industries. The consequent result of this is that people gained more income from the industries and improved their living standards (Meyer 74). Another change that took place is an increase in population. Two major factors that led to this and it is important to review both of them. One of the reasons as to why population increased is because people got comfortable with their lives and decided to multiply. Another reason is the fact that the United States became attractive to many outsiders and thus many immigrants came in from different regions. The reason as to why they came into the country is to look for employment in the upcoming industries at the time. The transport system is another that faced many changes during that period. This happened because people required an elaborate transport system through which they would get to work. Another reason as to why the transport system improved is that entrepreneurs required a fast method through which they would transport their products. With the advent of industries, the food production increased and thus the market widened (Meyer 106). One of the political changes witnessed because of industrialization is the rise of taxation. Prior to industrialization, the concept of taxation was rare but with the increase in goods doing rounds in the market the government found a loophole. The government decided to start taxing traders and this would lead to its accumulation of funds. Thinking in the economic line,