Life Group Discussion Guides

THE WAY--Blind and Deaf, Spiritual Diabetes

Discussion Guide – The Way- Blind and Deaf, Spiritual Diabetes by Dan Hollingsworth
Questions by Pastor Ric
July 30, 2017

If we want to understand the history of the church, Acts is our book.  This study will continue to give us a picture of how the early church handled its beginnings, struggles and subsequent growth in a culture not unlike our own—somewhat hostile but open to spiritual things.  We need this.

Feel free to use more or less of these questions.  They are here to move us from knowledge to obedience as God’s Spirit speaks to our hearts.  Share what God is doing in your heart as a result and have others you trust hold you to account for the life-change God is working in you. 

Text: Acts 28:17-31

Spiritual diabetes: the silent killer that hardens your heart, blinds you and makes you deaf, leaving you insensitive and disqualified. The book of Acts concludes with Paul presenting the truth to those who thought they were “of the Word.” Their reaction betrayed a hard heart, blind eyes and deaf ears to the truth.  Dan Hollingsworth

1. Sometimes life transitions are discouraging. How does Paul’s example of confidence during his “transition time” (detainment) model the truth of RO 8:28?  What are some things we can do to be sure we use transition times (short or long) for God’s glory?
2. Hospitality in a home is a wonderful thing! Especially in this day of $200+/night hotel rooms J.  How can we safely and practically entertain guests (especially other Christ-followers) while providing them with a spiritually encouraging and loving environment? The hospitality Paul experienced was a huge contribution to his confidence and faith.
3. Religious groups can cause confusion and disagreement. Those who took issue with Paul (28:17-27) had a “cardiologic” (heart) problem as Paul confronted them with the Truth.  Explain why the hardened heart is an issue many religious people face?  Check out Jesus’ quote in Matthew 21:31. How does this quote back up the situation Paul faced?
4. What does our “family history” have to do with our spiritual growth? Augustine said, “How can you know God when you don’t even know yourself?”  A serious study of the dysfunction of our family past is very important to breaking the power the past has on us.  How can we find out about our family history to help us understand ourselves and our struggles better and be healed?
5. Ineffectiveness in life-changing ministry to others is one of the results of religious activity. Perhaps the greater issue is how some “religious people” do not really love the Father.  Are religious people who are not in love with the Father really going to see Him in the Kingdom?
6. Engaging the world seems like a scary proposition to many of us. Yet it is the thrust of Paul’s life and certainly this passage.  As people sent by God, it is not his intention for us to retreat from the world.  We are to, as one author puts it…”forge into the world, abandoning (our) comfort zone, accompanied by the Comforter.” (Milfred Minatrea)   How are we doing or not doing this?
7. So how’s your “health”? What spiritual warning signs are you experiencing? What Truth are you ignoring?  Life Groups(LGs) are the ultimate opportunity for us to build the kind of relationships that encourage, exhort and motivate us to a healthy spiritual life. (Hebrews 3,4) Are you a part of one?  We will have some opportunities to try an LG coming this Fall.  Watch for info coming soon!

THE WAY--Prevailing Wisdom is not Always Wise

Discussion Guide – The Way- Prevailing Wisdom is not Always Wise. Pastor Tony
Questions by Pastor Ric
July 23, 2017 

If we want to understand the history of the church, Acts is our book.  This study will continue to give us a picture of how the early church handled its beginnings, struggles and subsequent growth in a culture not unlike our own—somewhat hostile but open to spiritual things.  We need this.

Feel free to use more or less of these questions.  They are here to move us from knowledge to obedience as God’s Spirit speaks to our hearts.  Share what God is doing in your heart as a result and have others you trust hold you to account for the life-change God is working in you.

Text: Acts 27:1-44

1. Disagreements are common. However, sometimes we limit our options and put new ways aside to preserve the “we’ve always done it that way” philosophy. How can we better respond when new ideas (even those that don’t appear to make sense) are presented? What are some good ways of entertaining new ideas instead of simply dismissing them out of hand?
2. Another common element in disagreements is not listening. Many of us have taken speech courses, but how many of us have taken a course on how to listen? How does James 1:19  help us?  What inner character qualities help us be better listeners?
3. Paul’s calm confidence in God along with personal experience (in the midst of the storm) led him to passionately communicate a different perspective to his ship mates. Have some conversations about how a life challenge has increased your faith and how you feel God spoke to you through it.  As Paul shows us, a life lived by faith dependent upon godly wisdom, is an incredibly powerful testimony to others. Later, Paul’s advice was accepted.  Why did his ship mates now trust him and how does Paul’s model speak to a better way of leadership? 
4. Majority rules but is not always right. Paul’s advice was ignored by the majority (“experts”), however, he was right and the majority was wrong! What biblical principle does this support?
5. Discuss how one determines whose wisdom to trust and if it comes from God? (Proverbs 3:5, 6) Living by faith with respect to how we handle our money is a great challenge. We live in a culture of consumerism.  Author/speaker Alan Hirsch says, “…Consumerism is the secular religion of our day”.  As Christ-followers, how do we decide how the life of faith affects our daily life with Jesus when it comes to how much we spend on ourselves vs. investing in Kingdom work?