Whom God Accepts

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Small Group meeting on November 1.  We will pick up at the end of Acts 9 and continue through 10 (or as far as we get). 

Last week we left off at verse 32 of Acts 9, where the narrative switches from Saul to Peter.  The remainder of 9 sets up Peter for the events of chapter 10, so they go well together.  Read from 9:32 through the end of 10:48 all together a few times.  Jot down thoughts and insights.  Note any peculiarities you find (try looking at a couple of different translations, and note differences).  Once you've taken down some notes yourself, having read the passage a few times, go back over it using the questions below:

Acts 9:32-43:

• What is known about Aeneas?
• What does Peter tell him to do (look it up in as many translations as you can)?
• Why does that seem odd? Why tell him to do that?
• What is the name of the lady in Joppa? (G5000) (G1393)
• What do the widows call her?
• What does Peter call her?
• What is the effect of all these healings?

Acts 10

• What are the stark contrasts in Cornelius?
• Read this article on Cornelius.  What might motivate him to worship God?
• Where is Cornelius from?
• What does God think of Cornelius?
• After the vision, who does Cornelius tell?
• Why send a servant and a soldier?
• What is Peter doing on the roof?
• What is his distraction while praying?
• Being hungry, what does the vision suggest?
• What is Peter's response to the vision?
• What is God's command? (Read it in several translations!)
• How much does Peter understand about his vision before he goes to Caesarea?
• Peter travels with the men from Cornelius, but who goes with him?
• When he arrives, what does Cornelius do?  Why would he do that?
• What is Peter's response when Cornelius tells him about his own vision?
• What quality of God does Peter discover here?
• What is Peter's assumption as he relates what he knows of Jesus?  Why assume that?
• How long does Peter have to wait during the invitation for people to respond?
• How are Peter's companions described here?
• Why are they "beside themselves"?
• What does Peter suggest (or command) they do?

That is probably more than enough for discussion this Thursday.  I look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Of Philip, Paul, and Peter: Spreading Good News, Changing Lives

This is the study page for the Thursday Night small group meeting on October 25.  We will be picking up with the last part of chapter 8 (the Ethiopian Eunuch), and then moving through Chapter 9 (Paul's conversion and Peter's work on the Palestinian coast).  We may get through the whole of chapter 9, but we may not (if last week was any indicator of how things might go this week).

I have included the questions from last week's study page for Chapter 8:26-40, and then added the ones for chapter 9.  As always, read through the passages on your own a few times, jotting down questions and observations.  Be sure to look for things that stand out about people, places, and timing.  Once you have read through a few times, go back through and consider the questions below:

Chapter 8:26-40

• With such a great "revival" is breaking out among the Samaritans, Philip is sent somewhere else. What sort of hesitation or limits does Philip put his response?
• He's on a desert road, and who does he see?
• Who is "Candace"? Follow the links and read about the Queen and country.
• There is an interesting pun in the text, missed in English. In verse 26, the word for Gaza is this one (G1048), and in verse 27, the word for "treasury" is this one (G1047). It turns out to be an accident of language (Gaza is of Philistine origin, and treasury is of Persian origin), but they could be related in some way.
• How is Philip receiving his "orders"? What does that tell you about the Spirit of God?
• Where is the eunuch headed? So where has he come from? Why wouldn't he be able to get an explanation from where he came from?
• What happens to Philip after the baptism? This is a debated event, think about how it's described in a few different translations.

Chapter 9:1-31

• What clues, if any, are provided that give a reason why Saul is so violent toward the believers?
• How did believers get to Damascus?  Why would Saul think that would be a good place to find them?
• What sort of authority would letters from the high priest give Saul? Under what limitations?
• What does Saul's method (high priest letters of authority to the Synagogues) tell you about the believers in Damascus?
• Why the "drama" with Saul's conversion?  Who is Saul persecuting?  How is that?
• What seems odd about Saul's question in verse 5?
• What part(s) do Saul's companion's share in this experience?  What happens to them?
• Why does Ananias' response to God sound familiar?  Who does he sound like?
• What about his assignment bothers Ananias?  How does he respond to the assignment?
• What explanation does God give to him about Saul?
• What is interesting about what Ananias says to Saul, by way of introduction/explanation?
• How long does Saul wait before preaching? (but what about Galatians 1:16-24?)
• Where is he doing all this preaching?
• What sort of preaching is he doing?
• What sort of response does he get from the people?
• Who lowers him over the wall?  What does that tell you about Saul?
• Where does he go?  What sort of response does he get there?
• Who comes to his rescue and what does he do?
• Who does Saul argue with in Jerusalem?  Why do these guys sound familiar? 
• Why does their response sound so familiar?  What trend do you see here?
• What do the believers do to rescue Saul?
• Why would Saul's conversion bring such peace on the region for the believers?

Acts 9:32-43

• What is known about Aeneas?
• What does Peter tell him to do (look it up in as many translations as you can)?
• Why does that seem odd?  Why tell him to do that?
• What is the name of the lady in Joppa? (G5000) (G1393)
• What is she known for?
• What do the widows call her?
• What does Peter call her?
• What is the effect of all these healings?

Be sure to read the passages several times.  Look up words that seem odd or interesting on the Blue Letter Bible site. Bring your questions and observations to the group.

See you Thursday!  Blessings upon you until then!

To Samaria and Beyond!

This is the study page for the small group meeting on Thursday, October 18.  We'll be studying Acts 8.  A lot happens in this chapter, and it makes for good reading.  Go ahead and get lost in the story.

Read the chapter a few times, and jot down questions and observations.  There are plenty of odd things to find.  After reading and making your own notes, read through again and think about the questions below:

• What's odd about how verse one begins?
• There are four sets of "actors" in the first 3 verses.  What does each do distinctly different from each other?  It's like "compare and contrast" for Luke.  What is his assessment?
• The set of characters "scattered" from Jerusalem, what do they do as they scatter?
• Culturally, what is odd about the church going to Samaria?  What problems are mentioned by Luke about this?
• What is the response of the people in Samaria?
• What is "Simon" known for?  Look up "magic" or "sorcery" (G3096) and follow the link for "Vines" to open that comparative explanation.  What do you learn from this description?
• If Simon is some great power, like the "power of God" or something what's interesting about his interest in Philip, Peter and John?
• How much does Simon understand about what is going on even though he joins the "movement"?
• What sort of problems do Peter and John see with working among Samaritans?  Why is that unexpected?
• With such a great "revival" is breaking out among the Samaritans, Philip is sent somewhere else.  What sort of hesitation or limits does Philip put his response?
• He's on a desert road, and who does he see?
• Who is "Candace"? Follow the links and read about the Queen and country.
• There is an interesting pun in the text, missed in English.  In verse 26, the word for Gaza is this one (G1048), and in verse 27, the word for "treasury" is this one (G1047).  It turns out to be an accident of language (Gaza is of Philistine origin, and treasury is of Persian origin), but they could be related in some way.
• How is Philip receiving his "orders"?  What does that tell you about the Spirit of God?
• Where is the eunuch headed?  So where has he come from?  Why wouldn't he be able to get an explanation from where he came from?
• What happens to Philip after the baptism?  This is a debated event, think about how it's described in a few different translations.

That should be plenty for this go around.  I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Blessings!

The Long Ride Out of Town

This is the study page for the Small Group Meeting on Thursday, October 11 (tomorrow).  The text is Acts 7, all of it (we'll get through what we can).

As you get ready to read through chapter 7, go back and catch the last 10 verses or so from Acts 6, so you can recapture the sense of what's going on.  First, read it through quickly, like a novel or article.  Then go back through and note anything that seems strange or quirky.  As you have questions, write them down.  Do this a few times before you get into the questions below.

I counted three turns between Stephen's start and wrap up of his address to the assembled leaders.  Each turn was a different place where the "people" or "our fathers" made yet another rebellious mistake.  See if you see the ones I saw, or even a few more.  As you read through a final time or two, consider these questions in addition to your own.

• How does Stephen do on details of Abraham's call?  Where is he off on a point or two?
• It rapidly goes from Abraham to the "patriarchs", where do you see "conflict" with the twelve sons of Jacob?  How does Stephen describe who is involved, and what they do?
• Where and from whom did Abraham purchase a burial plot?  Where is Shechem on a map?
• How does Moses see himself as the adopted prince?
• What does Stephen claim Moses understood, but the people did not?
• What details does Stephen note about Moses in Midian that isn't typically thought about Moses?
• What is it about Moses and the people that Stephen points out will make Moses' calling difficult?
• In verse 37-38, what is Stephen pointing out about Moses, his calling, his prophecy, and his role?
• What do the people do in the wilderness, and how often do they do it?
• In verse 44, a transition is made.  What is Stephen's point in the next 6 verses?
• How does Stephen tie the mistakes of "our fathers" to his audience, and what is his point?
• What is the significance of Stephen's vision as he stands before his enraged audience?
• The last words of Stephen sound a lot like the dying words of whom?

We may get through he 60 verses or we may not.  A lot of it is a quick review of Israel's history, but it is a very quick overview.  We've spent a lot of time on the part about Abraham, and some details seemed a bit different than the ones Stephen presented.  Think about that, and how important that is or isn't.

I look forward to seeing everyone Thursday!