Rack Focus: Switching to Acts of the Apostles
Seven Movies and Seven Stories of the Early Church
Rack Focus: Switching to Acts of the Apostles
Hello, Dear Reader!
It’s time to rack focus again and shift to a different part of the Bible for a few weeks. In these few weeks after Easter 2024, we’re changing from entries with scripture quotes from the Gospels of Mark and John to Acts of the Apostles, the 45th book of the Bible and the 5th book of the New Testament. We’ll also dive into some of my favorite movies for these seven weeks, too!
For more on why we “rack focus” here and how it works, tap or click here:
About Acts of the Apostles
Or just Acts, if you don’t want to get fancy. Right after the gospels, the four books of the New Testament that tell the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, comes this story of the birth of the Christian movement. It’s called “Acts” because it’s about what those first Christians did, and it’s called “of the Apostles” because the disciples are now the leaders. In a way, they’ve gone from students to student teachers to teachers. Throughout Acts, we get stories of several of the disciples, especially Simon Peter, and are introduced to a new apostle, Paul.
For a simple summary of Acts, including an outline, background on how it was written, and its theological themes, I recommend Enter the Bible. This website is curated by staff and faculty of Luther Seminary, my alma mater. You can read for free, or create an account and read sections as a “course” for free. There are a lot of resources about the Bible on the Internet, and not all sources are created equal! Enter the Bible is scholarly and accessible. It’s about building knowledge and building faith. And it’s created and curated by people I trust. Learn more about their approach online.
Enter the Bible curates a podcast, too. Here’s a few video samples that are just 1-3 minutes long each, all focused on Acts:
“Overview - Acts” is… an… overview… of Acts:
“Disciples - Role and Authority” is about how the disciples become leaders of the first Christian movement:
“Acts 2: A Church of Prophets” is about what’s commonly referred to as the “birthday of the church.”
The Revised Common Lectionary (see below) has seven entries for Philippians this spring. It will go back and forth throughout its narrative, culminating with Acts 2 for Pentecost Sunday (again, “happy birthday” to the church!).
Here’s a sample road map to what we’ll cover in Acts:
March 24, 2024
Acts 4:32-35 | The early Christian community experiences the moral value of sharing.
Glory | A young colonel in the Civil War experiences the moral value of advocacy.
March 31, 2024
Acts 3:17-19 | Simon Peter tells the crowd you acted wrongly, now make a change.
Psycho | Marion Crane realizes she acted wrongly, now she will make a change.
April 7, 2024
Acts 4:8-12 | Simon Peter tells the crowd you rejected Jesus but he didn’t reject you.
Cop Land | Sherriff Freddy Heflin tries to do the right thing, but is he too late?
April 14, 2024
Acts 8:28-31, 35-38 | A new believer wants Philip to become his spiritual mentor.
A Few Good Men | Sam and Jo argue about the best way to make a point in court.
April 21, 2024
Acts 10:46b-48 | Simon Peter order baptisms for all who desire it right then and there.
Out of Sight | Jack Foley robs a bank with little more than a few words and a smile.
April 28, 2024
Acts 1:24-26 | The 11 disciples select a new person, Matthias, to be the 12th disciple.
The Dirty Dozen | Sgt. Browen reads a list of 12 military convicts to Maj. Reisman.
May 5, 2024
Acts 2:7-8, 12-16 | Simon Peter tells the crowd, they’re not drunk, it’s the Holy Spirit!
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | “You’re GOING the WRONG WAY!”
How do I choose scripture quotes?
If we go way, way, way back to the beginning with Sunday Matinee #1, you’ll find a succinct explanation of how I pull quotes from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A lectionary is a tool for preachers and worship leaders to select scripture readings to inspire sermons, liturgy, and music for worship services. There are several lectionaries out there, and while the RCL is far from perfect, it is also by far the well-known and widely-used.
In the RCL, each Sunday has an Old Testament reading, a Psalm, a Gospel reading, and New Testament epistle reading. The RCL has three annual cycles, Years A, B, and C, and we’re partway through Year B, focusing on the Gospel of Mark. This is also a good time to remind readers that the scripture in a Sunday Matinee is posted two weeks prior to its RCL appearance to help R-Rated Movie Club be more helpful for preachers, Bible studies, and people who want to read ahead before their church’s worship service.
I hope to be writing R-Rated Movie Club for a long time and using a variety of scripture readings keeps this project fresh for me, just like using a variety of movies does.
Thank you for your support!
In case you need a refresher on what “rack focus” means in the movies, once again here is the amazing video from No Film School about the Rack Focus technique. Know it, love it!