Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
7. How can I trust that the Bible is still God’s Word today? I trust the Bible is still God’s Word today because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He was God and said His words would never pass away. Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the writing of the Scripture, determined the canon of Scripture and protected the copying of Scripture so that we might know Him and worship Him to this day.
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
(Matthew 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
Ice-Breaker:
What is something you've never done but would love to experience?
Discussion Questions:
Have someone read Acts 2:1-21 aloud.
- Acts 2 tells the story of Pentecost. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the "gift", and THIS was it! They had no idea what it was going to be. There was no Old Testament precedent. This was something BRAND NEW. Jesus' crucifixion, resurrection and now the arrival of the Holy Spirit was to be the ultimate fulfillment of Passover, the Feast of First Fruits, Pentecost. These things were but a shadow of things that were now here. In Hebrew and Greek, the word for "wind" is the same for "spirit." It means breath, power and life. Wind symbolizes the Spirit of God, just like in Genesis 2 when God breathed life into man. When Ezekiel prophesied to the wind and called it to blow on the dead bodies in the valley of his vision, it was the breath of God that breathed into them and filled them with new life. Pentecost was literally CPR from God! Life was coming to his people. They were born again, born of the Spirit. Does this give you a new perspective of what happened that day in the upper room? How desperately do we need him to breath new life into us?
- Not only did they HEAR the sound of a mighty wind, but they SAW tongues of fire come to rest on each person there. Just like the burning bush in Exodus, fire is representative of God's divine presence. And they also experienced something they hadn't before...the manifest presence of God Almighty. They were baptized by the Spirit. The presence of God, his shekina glory, had come and consumed them and was now infilling them. Can you imagine how that must have felt? How it sounded? Have you ever had an overwhelming experience with the presence of God that was so profound it's hard to put into words?
- Onlookers were amazed to see these uneducated men speaking fluently in other dialects. The disciples' mouths were set "on fire" as they spoke the wonders of God in languages they didn't understand, which allowed each person witnessing this event to understand the Gospel in their own language. But this occurrence was more DESCRIPTIVE than it was PRESCRIPTIVE. In other words, this was an atypical event that doesn't happen the same way again. Just like in Jesus' ministry and the miracles he performed, God supernaturally works in different ways that seldom repeat. But we can tend to want to make a system of things. Like, if you have the Holy Spirit, then A, B, and C happens to you. This can create classes of Christians that think if you have only experienced A then you're below someone that has experienced B and C. Have you experienced this before, where someone thinks you're less of a Christian because you haven't experienced something or lack some particular spiritual gift?
- In verse 16, Peter quotes from the prophet, Joel, and explains exactly what they are witnessing. This wasn't some new, weird cult. It was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He's saying, "Don't just believe what you see happening now, believe that it was foretold!" And not only did Joel prophesy about God's Spirit being poured out, he also foretold the last, dark days of tribulation before the Lord returns. This is an event that we all should think of often. We are in the "last days." These last days began when Jesus came and end when Jesus returns. Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. These were the first words Peter spoke to a crowd in this new church age, and it should still be our message today. Do you live with this urgency? If you did, how would your decisions and relationships change?
- Clayton wrapped up the teaching on Pentecost by telling us that this is for US! This means we are living in the new age of the people of God! There is no JV, no B-team. The baptism and infilling of the Holy Spirit is for ALL people, young and old, men and women, every nation and ethnicity, poor and rich. Before the Spirit had come upon a few select leaders. But now ALL believers have the Spirit within them for Kingdom purposes. This means we are a supernatural people. The Spirit within us will now motivate us to worship, serve, love, talk about Jesus, grow in Jesus. It will cause us to hate sin and love righteousness as we serve God in the NEW way of the Spirit! And it's how you know whether or not you are a Christian. When was the last time you asked him to fill you? How do we grow to hear his voice more clearly?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would remember we have the Spirit of God living in us.
- That we would seek to be filled with the Spirit daily.
- That we would walk in boldness and power.
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