Group Guide
This Week's City 7:
4. Can a person be good enough to go to heaven? No. Because Jesus rose from the dead, proving He is God, I believe a person is saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
(John 1:12, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 4:1-25, 5:1-2, 6-11, 6:23, 10:1-4, 10:9; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Titus 3:4-7)
Ice-Breaker:
In what area of your life do you procrastinate the most?
Scripture:
Acts 24
Five days later Ananias, the high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer Tertullus, to present their case against Paul to the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor: “You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms for us. 3 For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful to you. 4 But I don’t want to bore you, so please give me your attention for only a moment. 5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. 6 Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him. 8 You can find out the truth of our accusations by examining him yourself.” 9 Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Tertullus said was true. 10 The governor then motioned for Paul to speak. Paul said, “I know, sir, that you have been a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I gladly present my defense before you. 11 You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago to worship at the Temple. 12 My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the streets of the city. 13 These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing. 14 “But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people. 17 “After several years away, I returned to Jerusalem with money to aid my people and to offer sacrifices to God. 18 My accusers saw me in the Temple as I was completing a purification ceremony. There was no crowd around me and no rioting. 19 But some Jews from the province of Asia were there—and they ought to be here to bring charges if they have anything against me! 20 Ask these men here what crime the Jewish high council found me guilty of, 21 except for the one time I shouted out, ‘I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!’ ” 22 At that point Felix, who was quite familiar with the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “Wait until Lysias, the garrison commander, arrives. Then I will decide the case.” 23 He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take care of his needs. 24 A few days later Felix came back with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” 26 He also hoped that Paul would bribe him, so he sent for him quite often and talked with him. 27 After two years went by in this way, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.
Five days later Ananias, the high priest, arrived with some of the Jewish elders and the lawyer Tertullus, to present their case against Paul to the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented the charges against Paul in the following address to the governor: “You have provided a long period of peace for us Jews and with foresight have enacted reforms for us. 3 For all of this, Your Excellency, we are very grateful to you. 4 But I don’t want to bore you, so please give me your attention for only a moment. 5 We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. 6 Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him. 8 You can find out the truth of our accusations by examining him yourself.” 9 Then the other Jews chimed in, declaring that everything Tertullus said was true. 10 The governor then motioned for Paul to speak. Paul said, “I know, sir, that you have been a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I gladly present my defense before you. 11 You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago to worship at the Temple. 12 My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the streets of the city. 13 These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing. 14 “But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people. 17 “After several years away, I returned to Jerusalem with money to aid my people and to offer sacrifices to God. 18 My accusers saw me in the Temple as I was completing a purification ceremony. There was no crowd around me and no rioting. 19 But some Jews from the province of Asia were there—and they ought to be here to bring charges if they have anything against me! 20 Ask these men here what crime the Jewish high council found me guilty of, 21 except for the one time I shouted out, ‘I am on trial before you today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead!’ ” 22 At that point Felix, who was quite familiar with the Way, adjourned the hearing and said, “Wait until Lysias, the garrison commander, arrives. Then I will decide the case.” 23 He ordered an officer to keep Paul in custody but to give him some freedom and allow his friends to visit him and take care of his needs. 24 A few days later Felix came back with his wife, Drusilla, who was Jewish. Sending for Paul, they listened as he told them about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As he reasoned with them about righteousness and self-control and the coming day of judgment, Felix became frightened. “Go away for now,” he replied. “When it is more convenient, I’ll call for you again.” 26 He also hoped that Paul would bribe him, so he sent for him quite often and talked with him. 27 After two years went by in this way, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.
Discussion Questions:
- In Chapter 24, the Jewish leaders are presenting their case against Paul to the governor. Paul's only defense is to mention that his accusers couldn't prove any of their accusations. He never argued with anyone at the temple or stirred up any riots. In other words, Paul was not violent. This was also what Jesus modeled. We don't change culture or politics through violence or power. We change our culture and society the way Paul did... to simply preach and pray. Christianity subversively changed one the most brutal, corrupt, slaveholding, misogynistic cultures ever, not through riots or social justice initiatives, but through preaching the gospel, making disciples and planting churches. Many Christians get this backwards, thinking government is the way to turn our culture towards Jesus. Why do you think this approach tends to go so wrong?
- In vers 25, Paul is "reasoning" with both Felix and his wife. He shares the gospel with them, and they seem to be interested! He reasoned with them about righteousness and self control. In other words, he made it clear that the gospel, becoming a Christian, has moral and ethical implications. Saying yes to Jesus means a different kind of life. But something about this scares Felix and he tells Paul to leave for now and he would call for him again when it was more "convenient." This is a sad response. And how many people today, when it comes to hearing the voice of God, say the same thing? Maybe later. Skip Heitzig said, "Atheism has slain its thousands, but procrastination has slain its tens of thousands." How many of you have put off obedience to God for a later time? How much time have we wasted doing our own thing and keeping God at a distance?
- The first challenge on Sunday was to embrace the INCONVENIENCE of TRUTH. Many times in life we are afraid to know the actual truth. For example, when our engine light comes on or our car starts making a weird noise, many of our response is to ignore it. We're afraid of what we'll find if we take a peek under the hood. We're afraid of what it'll cost us. And if we're not careful, we can view Scripture and obedience to God in the same way. We shy away from going all in with God because of the lifestyle change it will bring or what we'll have to give up. Reflect on this quote from Shane Pruitt: "There is no version of Christianity that permits you to continue sinning just because of God's love for you. True love inspires true obedience." Our love for Jesus is measured by our level of obedience. What does your life say about how much you love Jesus? Do you ever shy away from full obedience because of what the cost might be or what you'll have to give up?
- The next challenge was to embrace the INCONVENIENCE of WAITING. Verse 27 tells us that two full years went by with Paul just waiting in prison. But he was faithful in that gap of waiting. What an example for us! Many of us might find ourselves in a season of uncertainty, in between and waiting. These seasons can be hard and trying. They can make us weary and start to question things. Sometimes you can't hold up the shield of faith. Sometimes you just lay under it and wait. It's through the waiting and pain that God grows our maturity and exposes our idolatry. Is anyone currently in a season like this? How do we wait with faith? How do we trust in God's Word and love for us even when we are tempted to doubt?
- The big idea on Sunday was the DAMNATION of PROCRASTINATION: putting things off can cost you. When it comes to obedience to God, you can't afford to say, "one day." We aren't guaranteed tomorrow! In fact, we aren't even guaranteed that we'll make it home tonight. Jesus could return at any moment, and life is fleeting and fragile. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts! Are you procrastinating something God has asked you to do? Are you opting for convenience and comfort (like Felix) over obedience? What is God asking you to do?
Prayer Topics:
- That we would never put off till tomorrow what we should do today.
- That God would help us learn to be faithful in the waiting.
- That we would always be willing to be uncomfortably obedient.
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