What do the books of Luke and Acts teach us about God, Jesus, and the early church? How do these two books relate to each other? And what do they mean for us today?In this accessible and compelling introduction, Michael Bird draws us into the wide-ranging narrative of Luke-Acts to discover how Luke frames the life of Jesus and of the first disciples who set out from Jerusalem to "the ends of the earth" proclaiming the Good News. Bird shows us how these two books, when read together, tell a cohesive narrative about Jesus, the Church, and the mission of Godwith implications for the whole of our lives today. Situating both books in their historical and literary context, Bird moves through an exploration of their central theological themes and culminates with consideration of the books' relevance for contemporary social issues.

Michael F. Bird (PhD University of Queensland) is academic dean and lecturer in New Testament at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. Michael is an ordained Anglican priest and author of over thirty books on the Bible, theology, and history. Among them are Introducing Paul, Jesus is the Christ, and with N.T. Wright, The New Testament in its World.

Preface
Abbreviations
1. What's So Special About LukeActs?
2. LukeActs: The Origins Story
3. The Purposes of LukeActs
4. Luke: Historian or Theologian?
5."This Jesus": The Christology of LukeActs
6. Luke and the Way of Salvation
7."Beginning with Moses": The Old Testament in LukeActs
8. On the Road with Jesus: Lukan Discipleship
9. Luke the Feminist? Jesus, Women, and the Church
10. Luke the Socialist? Possessions and Poverty
11. The Promise of the Father: Luke and the Holy Spirit
12. Luke on Jesus, the Jews, and the Gentile Churches
13. Turning the World Upside Down: Luke and Empire
14. A Hope in God: Luke and the Future
Bibliography
General Index
Scripture Index