Life Groups // Winter 2021 // Week 6

Posted February 19, 2021 — Lincoln Berean

A Picture of the Church // Acts 2:42-47

Introduction

We all have different images that come to mind when we think about church. However, the Bible has a clear picture of how God intended the church to look. Last weekend, Jeff took some time to paint a picture of the early church. As you study this week’s questions, take some time to consider how God might be daring you to be the church.

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:

• What’s your favorite fictional family (show, movie, book)? What do you like about them?

• If you could work for any company (or person), who would it be? What’s compelling about their organization?

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 this week’s passage to the group.

Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)

Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.

1) This week, Jeff painted us a picture of the church. Can you share about a time you personally experienced church the way Jeff described it?

2) In verse 42, we see the early Church devoted to the gospel of Jesus in 4 specific ways: togetherness, biblical teaching, praying with others, remembering what Jesus has done.

• Think about your weekly schedule and discuss the times you express devotion to Jesus in any of those ways. Where was church (i.e. the practices listed above)?

• How do you sense God leading you to grow and change?

3) The early church was filled with awe and wonder, but often we view church as a dusty old concept.

• Psalm 5:3 says, “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Are you asking God to fill your life and community with awe in wonder? Either way, how might He be leading you to pray?

• When we build authentic relationships with the people around us, the Holy Spirit will often make us aware of needs in our community. Who could you surprise with extravagant love or generosity this week?

4) The early church was unified together in its mission. However, Jeff described the “we vs. me” culture that surrounds us. Read Philippians 2:1-4.

• How might prioritizing our own personal opinions/comforts create disunity in the church?

• What should we focus on, and what should we unify around?

• What is a specific thing you should let go of for the sake of unity?

5) Jeff described the church as powerfully contagious. Verse 47 lays out a pretty compelling strategy for reaching our community: We praise God with our lives, which causes us to gain favor with our city, which leads others to want what we have.

• What does it look like for us to be the church in the public spaces?

• What can you do this week to “gain favor” with a neighbor or coworker?

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)

One of the things we observed in the passage in Acts this past week was the church participating in the breaking of bread together – a reference to the Lord’s supper or communion. At LBC we remember Christ in this way as a large body on a regular basis, but we also wanted to take a few moments and remember Christ together in the smaller atmosphere of our Life Groups.

Make sure you have the elements of communion prepared ahead of time. Ideally, you can use bread and juice, but in a pinch, other items can be used.  

Invite someone to distribute the Bread.

Invite someone to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-24. Invite everyone to partake of the bread by holding up your bread and saying, “This is the Body of Christ broken for you.”

Then invite them to take a few moments to remember Jesus and thank Him privately.

Invite someone to distribute the Cup.

Invite someone else to read 1 Corinthians 11:25-26.

Invite people to go around the circle, and holding up their cup, have them tell God one thing (in one sentence) they are grateful for that He has done in their life.

“God, I am thankful for _________ in my life.”

Invite everyone to partake of the cup by holding up your cup and saying, “This is the blood of Christ shed for you.”

Invite someone to close this time in prayer.