GROUP STUDY QUESTIONS
WEEK 3(May 3-9)
MINISTRY IN JERUSALEM (ACTS 3-6:7)
VERSE FOR MEDITATION
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. ACTS 4:29
OPENING THOUGHT
Certainly the early church, as it ventured into new territory, saw itself in the Hebrew stories of old—tales told from well-worn scrolls. They knew these stories well, like the one containing God’s encouragement to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh. 1:9). God’s presence gave confidence to the Israelites crossing the Jordan, and His presence comforted the Church as they crossed Jerusalem’s religious leaders. Pushing forward, the people of God took fortitude as their persecutors pushed back.
The Church remained bold. In Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis writes, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” The first Christians were tested and proven virtuous not because they were exceptional—but because God was near. God’s presence removes all the bravado from the courageous. A proud beating of the chest in the face of danger is often just cowardice amplified. True courage is confidence in God’s faithful presence. It means trusting His strength—not ours.
God’s presence is the power to move the Church ahead in its mission to multiply disciples. To feel His presence, we must continue to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is” as we “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Col. 3:1-2). When our gaze falls down to earth, God appears far, and without His presence, we experience the opposite of courage: fear.
Fear slows movements. It causes us to duck our heads, slump our shoulders and shuffle our feet. We are forced to attend to the most immediate concerns—those right in front of us— losing sight of the big picture. Our view is narrowed, and our communities, our churches and our very lives are dulled.
The early church, however, kept a kingdom perspective. They stayed wide-eyed and took long strides. Because they prayed for boldness, the ground shook (Acts 4:31). God’s presence, like an earthquake, motivated ministry that caused ripples throughout Jerusalem. The aftershocks have yet to cease, and it is boldness that will, like then, move us forward.
QUESTIONS
Read Acts 3:1-10 and answer the following questions.
- The lame beggar asked for money, but Peter and John gave him so much more. Why do you think they gave him physical healing instead of charity?
Read Acts 3:11-26 and answer the following questions.
- Whose power and authority healed the lame beggar (v. 16)?
- How are you operating in your own strength regarding intimacy with Christ? How has guilt and shame left you weak? Are you emboldened by the Spirit to enter the presence of God (Heb. 10:19-22)?
Reads Acts 4:23-37 and answer the following questions.
- Is it our tendency, after witnessing mighty works of God, to pray immediately for more? Do we have appropriate expectations for God’s continued work? How can we, as groups and individuals, have more courage and boldness in being used by God?
Read Acts 5:1-11 and answer the following questions.
- Was the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira warranted? Was it too harsh?
- Christian economist Bob Goudzwaard suggests, “Every private possession has a social mortgage which you have to pay off before you use it yourself.” What possessions do we enjoy without first considering how we might share them?
Read Acts 6:1-7 and answer the following questions.
- Probably not too many of our communities are confronted by the needs of widows, but all of our networks of friends and family, and presumably our church community, have members that don’t get their fair share of directed attention—many of whom don’t have advocates to raise complaints. What age group, gender, marital status, economic bracket, or ethnicity might our church be overlooking? Do we consider and serve those who fall outside our well-ordered groups?
ACTIONS TO CONSIDER
- Locate the things on earth that have taken your eyes off things above and put them away, limit their use or redeem their function.
- Boldly consider entering into discipleship relationships with a mind toward multiplication.
- Pray for boldness as a group and as an individual.
• Make it a discipline to regularly give financially to the church.
• Pursue relationships with those who are different from you.
Find more at: faithpointum.org/acts