Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
Ice-Breaker:
What's the scariest thing you've ever done?
Scripture:
Acts 18:1-17
Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. 3 Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.
4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
7 Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” 11 So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
12 But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment. 13 They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.”
14 But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case. 15 But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” 16 And he threw them out of the courtroom.
17 The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.
Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. 3 Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was.
4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
7 Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” 11 So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
12 But when Gallio became governor of Achaia, some Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him before the governor for judgment. 13 They accused Paul of “persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to our law.”
14 But just as Paul started to make his defense, Gallio turned to Paul’s accusers and said, “Listen, you Jews, if this were a case involving some wrongdoing or a serious crime, I would have a reason to accept your case. 15 But since it is merely a question of words and names and your Jewish law, take care of it yourselves. I refuse to judge such matters.” 16 And he threw them out of the courtroom.
17 The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no attention.
Discussion Questions:
- In verse 2 we see that Paul meets Aquila and Pricilla, who would end up being some of his best friends. They would be his partners in ministry, risking their lives with him. And we will find out later that they stayed with Paul til the very end of his ministry. What a blessing they must have been to Paul, and vice versa. Friends like this are so important to the New Testament believer. Everyone one of us need that friend or friends that stick "closer than a brother." What about you? Do you have these kinds of friends doing life with you and pushing you to follow Jesus? Maybe you don't yet but are working on it? What do you need to do to get there?
- In Corinth the Jews and Greeks were less than receptive to Paul's message about the Messiah. They opposed him and insulted him, so Paul moves on. Verse 6 says, "Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, 'Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent.'" In other words, Paul felt he had fulfilled his duty and responsibility to share the Gospel with them. So, when judgement day comes, and these people stand before Jesus, HIS hand will be clean. It wasn't because of him that they didn't believe, it was their own choice. We all have people in our lives that need Jesus, just like the Corinthians did. Can you say the same thing Paul did? Have you done all you can to reach them? Will your hands be clean come judgement day?
- At this point, Paul is becoming discouraged. But the Lord speaks to him in a vision and encourages him to not be afraid, to speak out, to not be silent. He assured Paul that He was with him. As believers, God would say the same to us... speak out! Don't be afraid! The Gospel MUST be preached. In Romans 10, Paul poses the question of how will they hear unless someone tells them? Has there been a time that you were afraid to speak up, but then you did, and you sensed God was with you in that moment?
- The big idea on Sunday was that boldness is the COURAGE to SPEAK up when FEAR tells you to SHUT up. And from where does this boldness come? It comes from the Holy Spirit of God that lives inside of every believer. And we have been COMMANDED by God to speak the Gospel to a dying world, to bring light to the darkness. The fact is, the fear we experience in these situations DOES NOT come from God, but from our enemy who wants nothing more than to shut us up. When it comes to telling people about Jesus, are you afraid? Do you tend to clam up and remain silent? When was the last time you prayed for boldness in these situations?
- There just isn't any getting around it... SPEAKING is a matter of OBEDIENCE or DISOBEDIENCE. It really is one or the other. The last thing we want when we get to eternity is someone saying to us, "Why didn't you tell me?" The time is short! And we should be praying, like the Apostles, for God to enable us to speak His Word with great boldness! Every believer should have a "names list", where we write down peoples' names in our lives that need Jesus. We should put this list where we can see it so that we won't forget to pray for them and look for opportunities to share with them. Who needs to be on YOUR names list? How can you start to be even more faithful to pray for them? What next step can you take with them this week?
Prayer Topics:
- That God would help us find friends that stick closer than a brother.
- That we would do all we can to reach people with the Gospel.
- That we will speak the Word of God with great boldness.
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