Life Groups // Winter 2021 // Week 4
Posted February 5, 2021 — Lincoln Berean
Power to Be the Church // Acts 2:1-13
Introduction
We’re excited to step fully into this study of Acts with you! In the coming weeks, we’ll explore the dynamics of being a faithful church, daring to take the message of Jesus to the streets and to the world that they may know our Savior.
We hope this time of connecting in a Life Group and discussing the scriptures is enriching to your life and encourages you to reach out in love to others. We suggest you work through these questions on your own before meeting with your group.
We don’t provide a lot of space for your answers to these questions, so we suggest having a journal handy to write down your thoughts. You’re not expected to have time for all these questions during your online meeting, but we encourage you to reflect on them and jot down thoughts on your own.
Getting to Know Each Other (Suggested time: 30 min)
Here are some suggestions to get your conversation started:
- When was the last time you sat on a park bench for more than ten minutes? (Maybe never?) Describe the occasion.
- Have you ever felt isolated and alone at an important point in your life? How did you deal with it, and what did you take from that experience?
- Have you ever felt powerless to accomplish an assigned task or to deal with a challenging situation? How do you respond in such cases?
Getting Started
Begin to transition into group discussion.
1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
- For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
- For openness to what you’re learning together
- For friendships to deepen and grow
2) Invite someone to read Acts 2:1-13 to the group
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.
1) As you listened to the message this weekend, what was the Lord impressing on your heart?
2) In our passage this week, we see that the disciples were waiting. They were doing what Jesus had told them to do—waiting on God.
- What has been your experience with waiting on God? Is waiting on God a positive or negative thing in your life?
- What does it look like in your life to wait on God? Is it completely passive or are there disciplines you engage in?
- What disciplines were the disciples engaging in? (See Acts 1:12-16)
3) Ryan stated that the miraculous events of Pentecost indicate that as the Church, as followers of Jesus, we are a Spirit-dependent people.
- Do you live in the constant awareness of the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life? What enhances or detracts from your awareness of His presence?
- What could you do this week to become more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit as you go about each day?
4) Another characteristic of followers of Jesus as a result of Pentecost is that we are a Spirit-filled people.
- What did Jesus teach his followers that the Holy Spirit would do? (See John 14:16-26 and John 16:5-15)
- What are the characteristics of people who are filled with the Holy Spirit? (In addition to this week’s passage, see Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 5:15-21)
5) The Holy Spirit empowered the followers of Jesus to declare the mighty deeds of God. Have you considered the mighty deeds of God as it relates to you? Has He done great things in your life? Part of that process is recounting the mighty deeds of God in your own life.
- If you have already reflected on God’s mighty deeds in your life, would you be willing to share with your group one mighty deed that God has done?
- Take some time this week to reflect on the mighty deeds of God in your life. Actually write down a list, it will help focus your mind. It will probably result in you worshipping God privately in gratefulness for His might deeds in your life.
- What might it look like to declare the mighty deeds of God in your life to someone who may not know Jesus? Who in your life could you ask God to give you the opportunity to share this with?
If you would like to learn more about opportunities to witness or participate in God’s kingdom in Lincoln and around the world, contact outreach@lincolnberean.org or checkout this Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/lincolnbereanlocal
Group Prayer (Suggested time: 10 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new, or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud, signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together. lincolnberean.org
Spend a few moments as a group praising God for the mighty deeds of God in each others lives that may have been shared.
Take time to pray for each other to have the opportunity this week for the following two things: (you may want to break into pairs for this time)
- Pray that you would be more aware of the presence of the Spirit as you go about your days.
- Pray for opportunities to declare the mighty deeds of God in your life.