Life Groups // Winter 2021 // Week 5
Posted February 12, 2021 — Lincoln Berean
What Must We Do? // Acts 2:14-41
Introduction
Welcome to Week 5 in our study of Acts! As we heard last week, the Spirit of God infused a frightened group of followers in a miraculous way. Though the onlookers were puzzled, our passage this week offers further proof of the life-changing work of the Spirit in Peter’s daring message of faith.
We hope this time of connecting in a Life Group and discussing scripture helps you come to know Jesus more deeply and inspire each other to reach out in love to the people around you. 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:
- We’ve endured some cold and snowy weather lately. Share a coping strategy or life hack you use during Nebraska winters like these.
- When was the last time you built a snowman or carved out a snow angel?
- If you’ve shared prayer requests in your group, take a few minutes to catch everyone up on any answers to prayer.
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 2:14-41 to the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.
1) What goes through your mind or stirs your heart when you watch others being baptized?
2) In Acts 2:17-21, Peters quotes a passage in Joel to describe the “last days”. How would you describe the “last days” in your own words?
Read 1 Peter 1:20 and Hebrews 1:2 and notice what word defines the “last days”. How does reading that we are in the last days now affect the urgency of your role as a witness of Jesus?
3) The Church is empowered by God and assigned to change the world by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. And the Church cannot function unless the followers of Jesus reflect the power and presence of God individually. Can you name some people in your life that model lives controlled by the power and presence of God? What qualities of Jesus do they model?
What can you learn from them?
What would it take for you to experience and live out of the power and presence of Jesus this week?
4) In verse 38, Peter says the first step in proclaiming Jesus is true repentance—not just being sorry, but actually having a change of mind and heart. It’s a personal change of mind to recognize you are a sinner in need of a Savior and a change of heart to accept Jesus as the only one who meets that need. Have you taken that step of true repentance? Share your story with the group.
Peter continues to explain that baptism is an outward expression of true repentance and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Have you taken the step of baptism to declare your faith in Jesus?
If so, share your experience with the group.
If not, consider what’s holding you back—pray and ask Jesus to reveal His desire for you to express your faith in that way.
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.
Spend a few moments as a group praising God for the power and presence of God in each other’s 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.