Week 4
STudy Questions
Unfortunately, young Christians sometimes get the notion that Christians are good people and the lost are bad people. As a result, their faith is often shaken when they go into the world and encounter really nice non-Christians. Have you ever known non-Christians who were in some ways nicer or more gracious than some of the professing Christians you know? What do you make of that? How is that possible? In spite of Cornelius’ generosity, however, he still needed to surrender his life to Jesus. Why is that? Do you really believe the only way to God is through the Lord Jesus Christ – even for really nice people? Why or why not?
In Acts 10:4, the angel told Cornelius that his prayers and alms had ascended to God as a memorial. Sometimes in this world, it can feel like God doesn’t see you or isn’t listening. When was the last time you felt that way? How did you get past those feelings (and, if you haven’t gotten past them yet, are you willing to share that with your small group and let them pray for you)? According to Hebrews 11:6, what are two things you must believe in order to please God?
In Acts 10:9, we once again find Peter taking time out of his day to pray. Do you have a time for prayer set aside each day (and, if not, is that something you might be willing to commit to for the rest of this study)? Notice that, in spite of his commitment to prayer, Peter still encountered the normal distractions of life – like being hungry. What sorts of things sometimes distract or disrupt when you sit down to pray? In vv. 10-20, Peter receives three visions, a word of knowledge, and a direct word of instruction from the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced similar forms of guidance from the Lord? Come to small group prepared to discuss your own experiences and questions in terms of the Lord’s leading in your life.
In Acts 10:20, the Holy Spirit says He’s the one who sent the men to Peter. Who are the people God is sending your way right now? If you’re not sure, ask Him to send someone to you. The men told Peter that Cornelius had sent them “so that he could hear what you have to say” (Acts 10:22b). if someone asked you what you have to say about Jesus, how would you respond? When’s the last time you shared your personal testimony with someone?
When Peter arrived at Cornelius’ house, he found it crowded (Acts 10:27) because Cornelius had invited so many of his friends and family to come (Acts 10:24). When’s the last time you invited someone to join you in church or in your small group study? In that gathering, Cornelius was expecting to hear from God. How often do you approach church or small group or even your own times of prayer and Bible reading with that same eager expectation?
When Peter was challenged by the Jewish believers to explain his actions at Cornelius’ house, he graciously walked through the whole thing with them without getting defensive. Why do you think people sometimes get defensive? If that’s an issue in your life, why do you think you tend to get defensive? What steps can you take to grow past that?
When the people of Antioch received the gospel, Saul and Barnabas spent a year there teaching and discipling them. What has been your experience in terms of being discipled as a Christian? Is anyone actively discipling you right now? Are you actively discipling anyone right now? Are you willing to ask the Lord to send someone to disciple you, as well as someone for you to help disciple?
Acts 12:1-3 notes that, about the same time great things were happening in Antioch, King Herod Agrippa I was busily arresting and killing Christians. In other words, at the exact same time miracles were happening and people were being saved, Christians were also experiencing tragedy and horrors. Where was the Holy Spirit during all that? And why would God allow such things to happen? It’s important to remember that, even though Christ has risen from the dead, He’s not yet returned to establish the kingdom of God in all its fullness. As a result, the world in which you live and love and pray and minister is still a broken world filled with broken people. And while the Holy Spirit delights in emboldening and empowering His people for service in this world, the challenges of living in a fallen world will remain until Jesus comes back to set it all to rights.
For Further Consideration:
In Acts 10:19-20, following Peter’s three visions, the Holy Spirit speaks to him directly, giving him a word of knowledge and a direct instruction. I Corinthians 12:8-10, lists nine manifestation gifts of the Holy Spirit; and one of those manifestations is called a “word of knowledge.” Basically, a word of knowledge is an incidence of the Holy Spirit revealing something to you that you could not possibly have known by natural means – in Peter’s case here, that three men had come looking for him. Undoubtedly, this divinely imparted piece of factual information increased Peter’s faith and his confidence to go with these strangers.
Question 1 – Have you experienced any of the nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12:8-10? Be prepared to share your experiences with your small group. Consider praying together as a group and asking the Holy Spirit to release these manifestations in greater abundance with greater frequency. Afterall, isn’t that, in many ways, the basic gist of the prayer we’ve been praying from Acts 4:29-30?
When these men Peter didn’t know asked him to go with them to the house of another man he didn’t know, Peter agreed and went. Missiologist Alan Hirsch often encourages Christians, “Never turn down an invitation from a lost person.” In other words, if an unsaved friend or relative invites you to dinner or a ballgame or whatever, take the opportunity to befriend them, to bless them, to get to know them, and possibly to share some of your story and your faith with them. And, by the way, the reverse is also an option – consider inviting an unsaved neighbor or co-worker along the next time you go out for coffee or to hit some golf balls or to watch your niece play softball. Many people today are lonely and looking for ways and places to connect with others. When we really love people, we’ll enjoy finding ways to connect with them.
Question 2 – Do you have a story about a time the Lord clearly brought someone into your path or about a time you accepted an invitation from someone that turned into a ministry opportunity? Is there anything coming up soon to which you could invite an unsaved or unchurched friend or relative?
In Acts 10:42, Peter points out that Jesus Christ “is the one whom God appointed as Judge of the living and the dead;” and that’s a great reminder that – while we’re not called to be preachers of hellfire and damnation – there is a place in sharing the gospel for talking about the reality of the coming judgment. It’s also worth noting that, according to Acts 11:12, Peter took six other believers along with him when he went to see Cornelius. From the days Jesus sent out His disciples in two’s continuing on through the missionary journeys of Paul, team ministry was definitely the norm in the early church. In fact, once Barnabas saw what the Spirit was doing in Antioch, he went and got Saul from Tarsus and brought him back to minister with him in that city (Acts 11:25-26).
Question 3 – What are some of the advantages of doing ministry with other believers rather than simply doing it on your own? Have you ever experienced the joy and power of doing ministry side by side with one or more other Christians? If you don’t already have one, would you consider teaming up with a prayer partner with whom can pray regularly and look for opportunities to minister together?
In Acts 11:18, the believers who had questioned Peter accept his explanation and rejoice with him that “God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.” But please do not miss the fact that new life in Christ is found on the other side of repentance. Repentance from sin and repentance to God must play a fundamental role in any complete sharing of the gospel.
The Bible tells us in Acts 12:1, that “King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them;” and it’s worth noting that the matter of the Herod’s can be a little confusing since there are numerous men in the New Testament who had that name. The first one mentioned in the New Testament is often referred to as King Herod I or King Herod the Great. He’s the one mentioned in Matthew 2, the one responsible for the slaughter of the all the boys in and around Bethlehem following the birth of Jesus. Next comes Herod Antipas, son of Herod I, the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-11) and before whom Jesus appeared in Luke 22. The Herod of Acts 12 is King Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great. Finally, in Acts 25-26, the apostle Paul appears before King Herod Agrippa II, although the text refers to him as King Agrippa.
In Acts 12:3-19, you find the account of Peter’s miraculous release from prison; and there are several things were noting there. First, Peter’s deliverance is set against the backdrop James’ execution (Acts 12: 2), so clearly such divine rescue operations are not promised to all God’s saints. Second, although the church was praying faithfully for Peter, they did not believe it when he actually showed up at their door. And, third, notice the difference between Peter’s actions in Acts 5:17-26 and here in Acts 12:17-19.
Question 4 – Why did Peter and the other apostles immediately return to their public ministry of preaching and teaching in Acts 5? Why didn’t Peter do the same in Acts 12? Prudence is not at all the same thing as cowardice; and, sometimes at least, bravado may be very much contrary to the will of God.
Finally, Acts 13 reveals a thriving church community in Antioch in which the people worshiped together and prayed together and even fasted together regularly. Out of that community, God raised up and sent forth ministers to advance the spread of His kingdom in other places.
And it’s definitely worth noting that, when the Holy Spirit called Barnabas and Saul to a new missionary work, it was the church community that confirmed the call and commissioned them for the work. In other words, while the move of the Holy Spirit in the early church was very free and decentralized, even the earliest church was not without structure, order, and established authority. The apostles were recognized authorities who sought to oversee and bless as much of the gospel ministry as possible, and all the believers regularly reported to their own churches (see Acts 4:23; 6:4; 8:14-25; 9:26-28; 11:1-4, 18; 11:19-30; 12:17; 13:1-3).
Question 5 – What are some practical steps you can take to strengthen your connection with and accountability to the local church?