John Piper, in a sermon “History is God’s Story” found at DesiringGod.org
This is the first sermon in the book of Acts that we hear from the apostle Paul. And one way to understand it is to see two main points. One point is that everything in the history of Israel was leading up to the coming of Jesus and the great salvation for sinners that he would accomplish when he died and rose again.
The other point in this sermon is that the story behind Jesus is God’s story. This text is utterly saturated with God. Sixteen times Paul presses home the truth that God is the central Actor in history. Walk with me through this text to see this, and then how relevant it is for us from newscasts to spelling tests.
Sixteen Declarations of God’s Acts in History (find them in the text or click this link to read all 16)
Piper continues
…Is this the way you tell stories about what happened? When you tell somebody about the past, do you say, “God did this and God did that and God did that and God did that, etc.”? Do you say that God did virtually everything? Probably not. So Paul didn’t have to either. He chose to preach this way. He consciously chose to narrate history this way. He was making a statement. One that we need to listen to again and again today.
He was saying, There is a great and glorious God. Know him. Reckon with him. Think about him. He was saying that God is really working in history. He is the main Worker in history. He is the explanation for, the meaning of, everything.
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 