Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
3. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Since “all have sinned” and the “wages of sin is death,” Jesus had to die on the cross to pay the fine for my sin so I could be right with God.
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
(Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-6; Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22)
Ice-Breaker:
In what situations do you get the most impatient?
Scripture:
Acts 19:1-10
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Paul Ministers in Ephesus
8 Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. 2 “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them.
“No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked.
And they replied, “The baptism of John.”
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
5 As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Paul Ministers in Ephesus
8 Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. 9 But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.
Discussion Questions:
- In Acts 19, Paul makes his way back to Ephesus where he runs into a group of Christians who had not yet received the Holy Spirit. They had not heard about being baptized with the Spirit when they believed. They had only heard of John's water baptism. When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. Clayton explained how there is ONE baptism in the Spirit, at the moment of conversion, but there should be MANY fillings of the Spirit. Some people, when they're filled with the Spirt, might prophecy or speak in tongues...but not everyone. This is an atypical event. Think of a time when you have been filled with the Holy Spirit? What was that experience like?
- Paul then spent three months boldly preaching in the synagogue. He was reasoning with them, persuading them. He left the synagogue, but still held daily discussions in the lecture hall. He reasoned with them DAILY. Paul was obviously determined to persuade people. He was persistent in his preaching of the Gospel. It can be easy to get discouraged when someone in our lives is resistant to the message of Jesus. But Paul's persistence and intentionality can serve as a great example for us. Is there someone in your life you've been praying for and trying to reach for Jesus? Do you need a little dose of Paul's tenacity? How can you be more intentional?
- The first takeaway from Sunday was that we OVERESTIMATE what WE can do in the short-term and we UNDERESTIMATE what God and do through us in the long-term. Paul had been moving pretty quickly from city to city up to this point, but he has stayed 2 years in Corinth and now 3 years in Ephesus. He was spending multiple hours every day preaching the Gospel for YEARS. Faithfulness in one direction for a long time is what produces change, growth and impact in our lives. It takes grace-driven, Spirit-empowered effort and faithfulness over long periods of time. What you, your family, your kids, your marriage really need is faithfulness in one direction for a long time. Where do you feel you may lack in faithfulness? Is there anything in this question that is convicting to you?
- The second takeaway was that there's a difference between religious ACTIVITY and spiritual VITALITY. The disciples of John from Acts 19 were religious, God-fearing and faithful, but they had not believed the Gospel or received the Holy Spirit. There's a difference between religious duty and being baptized with the "Holy Spirit and with fire." There a difference between outer pressure to perform and an inner passion, between showing up and being filled up, between singing and worshiping, between hearing and studying. Has there been a time in your life where you were just going through the religious motions? Maybe that time is now? Can you say honestly that you have an inner passion and spiritual vitality? Are you on fire for Him?
- Clayton warned on Sunday that we have to guard against two errors, two extremes, when it comes to our spiritual lives. The first thing we need to guard against is becoming HYPER-spiritual. These are people that seek only experiences with God, that create classes of Christians by suggesting they have special knowledge or unique experiences in the Spirit that others don't have, that usually think everyone that has the Holy Spirit can and should speak in tongues or prophesy. They take verses that are meant to be prescriptive and make them descriptive. This is called gnosticism. The other error to guard against is the opposite... being UN-spiritual. These are carnal, apathetic Christians, if they are Christians at all. They are either NOT actually Christians, or they've grieved the Spirit for so long they've lost their first love. Do you, or have you ever, fallen into one of these errors? How do we make sure our fire doesn't go out?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would be continually filled with the Spirit.
- That we would be passionate and on fire for Him.
- That we would be faithful over the long-term.
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