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The Thanksgiving season is upon us and there is nothing more dangerous to Thanksgiving than entitlement!

Read: Matthew 20: 1-16

1. How does entitlement affect thankfulness? Why is entitlement such a bad thing?

2. How does unmet expectations affect entitlement?

3. Entitlement causes us to resent others.  How can resentment steal our gratitude and thankfulness?

4. "Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping the other person dies." Reflect on that quote. Is it true? How has bitterness played out in your life?

5. The cure for entitlement and resentment is gratitude. What things are you grateful for? How can you make gratitude your first response?

The political season is over, a new president has been named, and now the work of Christians is just beginning. Rather your side won or lost, we are called to be salt and light!

1. How have you seen the church strive to change culture? Was it successful?

2. How does Jesus' life/ministry demonstrate that He cares more about people than policies? How can your life be modeled like that?

3. Jesus cared more about serving than He did the titles he had. What would it look like if the church today was the same?

4. Are you more compassionate or critical when it comes to people doing things you disagree with?

5. How can you be a light for Jesus in the political climate we see ourselves in?

Political season is here! In just a few short days, the next President of the USA will be announced, along with new members of Congress and local governments.

Acts chapter 28 gives us the last time we see Paul in church. He finally makes it to Rome and is now preaching to the Jews

Read: Acts 28:16-31

1. How does Paul's difficult journey to Rome teach us about patience?

2. We see in Paul's life that he put Jesus over everything else. What would it look like for you to put Jesus over everything in your life today? What needs to change?

3. Paul shared the Gospel with every single person who would listen. Is there someone who you need to share Jesus with? What would it look like to live on mission when you are in an elevator? What about in line at the drive thru?

4. Paul didn't give up. What has God called you to that you have given up on?

5. How are we called to be Acts 29?

In Acts 27 we have Paul being transported to Rome to stand trial in front of Caesar.

Read Acts 27:1-44

1. One principle we learn from Paul is that Christians must be trustworthy. When people think about you, do they consider you trustworthy?

2. We also see from Paul that wisdom is a key to being a Christ follower. What is the difference between wisdom and knowledge? How should you show wisdom to others?

3. Paul says they are in luck because they are traveling with him, showing the importance of godly relationships. Do you have good strong Christian community around you?

4. Paul displays godly discipline because it was 2 weeks before they ate. How can you stay faithful to God when life is throwing you cure balls?

5. The last thing Paul modeled throughout this entire section was faith. Why is faith the driving factor when it comes to dealing with hard situations?

Acts chapter 26 shows Paul on trial in front of King Agrippa. Festus is with him during this hearing. We see in this chapter 4 spiritual speed bumps that Paul is faced with.

Read: Acts 26:1-25

1. In verses 1-3 Paul could have got distracted and let King Agrippa have it. Instead he thanked him for the opportunity because Paul knew God had a plan. What times in your life have you experienced Satan trying to distract you from God? How did you handle it?

2. In verses 4-8 Paul is talking about his life pre-Jesus and how he spent his time trying to divide the church. Division is Satan's number 1 strategy when it comes to attacking people. What divisions have you experienced when trying to follow Jesus? How can we seek to build unity with people we disagree with?

3. In verse 18 Paul says he did what God told him to do. Another speed bump we face is disobedience towards God. Do you feel like you are being obedient to the things God is calling you to do? What has happened when you were disobedient to God?

4. In verses 24-25 we see the last speed bump for our faith: discouragement. Festus stands up and yells that Paul is fool, out of his mind. Have you ever faced discouragement when it comes to your faith in Jesus? How did you handle it? Was there a better way to handle it?

5. In verses 28-29 we see that Paul says he is doing all this with the hope that King Agrippa would become just like Paul - minus the chains. Are you following God in such a way that you can say the same thing as Paul here?

6. What changes need to be made in your life to help you better say what Paul says in verse 29? 

In Acts 25 we see a 2 year gap between when Paul was first charged, and the next events that take place. TWO YEARS! We see Paul forced to wait, and God taking His time. But we know that God has a plan.

Read: Acts 25:1-22

1. Even when God doesn't seem like He is with us, we know that He's always there. What are some ways you try to keep God in mind even when you don't always feel His presence?

2. God is always aware of what we are going through and is actively working to help us. How can this knowledge help us when we are facing times that make us feel impatient?

3. Paul uses his Roman citizenship to appeal to Caesar. How can we use our own rights and privileges for God’s purposes in today’s society?

4. How do we see God's protection over Paul?

5. Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor (v. 9), yet Paul insisted on going to Caesar. How do you handle situations where pleasing people conflicts with doing what’s right?

Acts chapter 24 we see Paul on trial in front of Felix. He is being attacked by a man named Tertullus, but in this chapter we see Paul stay cool and keep his integrity despite the attacks.

Read: Acts 24:1-24

1. Talk about the difference Tertullus and Paul when it comes to talking to Felix. What stands out to you about Paul?

2. Paul got called 4 things by Tertullus: "a plague” “an agitator” “ringleader” “sect of the Nazarenes." has there been a time in your life where people have openly attacked you like this? How did you handle it?

3. How does the Gospel free us from reacting when people go against us?

4. "Don't get in the mud with the pigs." Those who are attacking you are often times trying to pull you in the pit with them. How can you keep your integrity intact when it comes to being attacked?

In Acts 23 we see Paul being put on trial by the Jews. He responds to the high priest, and there is a plot to kill Paul.

Read: Acts 23:1-11

1. What are ways you typically fight anxiety?

2. What are ways you can keep your character intact when you're in a bad situation?

3. We see Jesus talk to Paul while he is in jail. Have you ever seen Jesus show up in your life when you were in a bad situation?

4. We see Paul's nephew step up big time to save Paul's life. Do you have people in your life that will stand up for you when things look bad?

5. What has Paul showed you about living bold in the face of difficulty?

Acts chapter 22 shows us Paul in jail and him sharing his story of life change.

Read: Acts 22:1-10, 22-30

1. What areas of Paul's life did God appoint early to help Paul later in life? What are some things God appointed early in your life that helps you today?

2. What are some things God redeemed in Paul's story? What are some things in your life that God has redeemed?

3. What are some areas in Paul's life that God transformed for God's glory? What are some passions/things that God has transformed for His glory?

4. What are things that you need to surrender to God to follow Him?

In Acts chapter 21 we see the start of Paul's troubles. We get the start of him heading to Jerusalem and all the warnings he received. Paul is faced with a challenge - will he trust God or trust others.

Read: Acts 21:1-14

1. Paul was warned multiple times not to go to Jerusalem, yet he still chose to go. What does this reveal about his trust in God?

2. How would you have responded if you were in Paul’s situation? Why do you think Paul was so determined?

3. When making tough decisions in life who do you normally go to? Do you have people in your life that can help you make wise decisions?

4. Is it harder for you to trust God when it's difficult, or when what God is asking you doesn't make sense?

5. Has there ever been a time where you were the only one that believed in something that God was calling you to?

6. Do you struggling with allowing God to handle the outcomes of your obedience?

7. Do you have friends that are praying for you? Are you praying for your friends?

In Acts chapter 20 we talked about how Paul after raising up Eutychus, took the Lord's Supper.

Read: Acts 20:7-12

1. Communion helps us remember what God has done. What are some things you have seen God do in your life?

2. Communion helps us remember what God is doing. What are some things that God is currently doing in your life?

3. Communion helps us remember what God will do. What are some things that you are praying for?

4. Taking the Lord's supper helps us renew our commitment to God. Are there areas of your life you need to re-commit to God?

5. Spiritual sleepiness starts with a life without prayer. What are some reasons our prayer life struggles? How can you increase your prayer life?

6. We stay spiritually asleep when we are distracted. What distractions do you need to cut from your life? 

Acts chapter 19 gives us the story of Paul correcting bad theology about Baptism, the sons of Sceva, and the riot in Ephesus.

Read: Acts 19

1. Have you been baptized?

2. What are some myths you have believed/been taught about baptism?

3. God was using Paul to the point where Satan knew his name. Do you feel like Satan knows your name because of how you are serving God?

4. The sons of Sceva wanted to look good without actually having faith in God. Are there areas in your life where you might be relying on the "form" of faith rather than a genuine relationship with Jesus?

5. Do you ever feel like you are just going through the motions? What can you do to help fix that?

6. Which emotion do you feel like you struggle with the most: Selfishness, Fear, Anger, Confusion? How can you trust God with these different emotions? 

In Acts chapter 18 we get the story of Aquila and Priscilla. We see how they were important to the church and how they helped instruct Apollos.

Read: Acts 18:1-4, 18-21, 24-26

1. When looking at Priscilla and Aquila we see that the first thing they did was open their hand to allow God to use everything they had. Do you allow God to use everything you have? Is there things you need to repent of because you are holding onto them with a tight fist?

2. When Paul moved, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. They saw a need and raised their hand to fill that need. What needs do you see in the church that you could meet? What needs do you see in your community that you could meet? Are you using your gifts, talents, and abilities to give God glory?

3. We also see Priscilla and Aquila teaching Apollos, extending their hand to help a fellow brother in Christ. Do you feel like you are good at helping other people in their walk with Christ? In what ways have you done this?

4. We see that Apollos was teachable. Instead of ignoring Priscilla and Aquila he listened to them and worked with them. Are you teachable? What do you need to work on to become better at being teachable?

5. Are you willing to do the work like Priscilla and Aquila without any recognition in the moment? 

Acts chapter 17 gives us the story of Paul and Silas handling conflict, as well as Paul in Athens preaching to the Areopagus.

Read: Acts 17:1-27

1. One of the difference between Thessalonica and Berea is that Berea was open-minded when it comes to the Gospel. Do you find it hard to be open-minded about new or different things? Do you view open-mindedness as a bad thing? How can being open-minded help you in sharing the Gospel?

2. Another difference was that Berea was rooted on what the Bible says. How can you know what the Bible says about a certain topic? Do you struggle to understand the Biblical perspective?

3. We see that Paul was heartbroken over the people in Athens. How would you describe your attitude toward people who are lost?

4. How can we point people to Jesus when they are dealing with tough issues?

5. We know that God can turn the world upside down, but He does it one person at a time. Does that frustrate you?

6. Which do you need God to change in your life: your feelings, the things you want, or the way you think about things.

Acts chapter 16 gives the story of Lydia, as well as the Philippian jailer. We see that the plans of Paul and Silas are altered and they are forced to rely on God for provision.

Read: Acts 16:1-24

1. Have you ever experienced a moment in your life where what you wanted didn't happen? How did you respond to it?

2. Sometimes God shuts doors because He is waiting on us to grow and mature. Is there areas in your life that you need to grow and become more mature? Are you praying for things that you aren't ready for?

3. Sometimes the door is closed because God has a different door for us to walk through. Have you ever experienced this? Where you had plan for one thing and God did something different? How did it go?

4. Sometimes God closes a door to test our faith in Him. How can you stay faithful in God when the door is closed?

5. What should we do when a door is closed by God?

6. How can we praise God in the closed doors of our life?

Acts chapter 15 gives us the Jerusalem Council where they decided what it means to be saved. Paul and Barnabas also got into a disagreement over John Mark.

Read: Acts 15:1-21, 36-41

1. In Acts 15 we see the main conflict of the Jerusalem council being salvation. What are some arguments you have experienced in churches? What happened because of the arguments? Was it a fight worth fighting?

2. What did the Jerusalem council decide was important for the Gentile believers to know? Is there anything extra you think they should have told the Gentile believers?

3. Why did Paul and Barnabas split?

4. Whose side would you have taken? Paul's or Barnabas'?

5. What things in Christianity do you feel are worth arguing over?

Acts Chapter 14 shows us the start of Paul and Barnabas' missionary journey. Looking at their journey we learn what it takes to share the Gospel. We also learn the difference between what we want, compared to what we need.

Read Acts 14:1-7, 11-14, 21-27

1. How would you answer these questions: "Who is Jesus?" "What has Jesus done?" "Why has Jesus done this?" "How can you know that it is true?" "How should you respond?"

2. Have you ever tried to share the Gospel and the person you were talking to didn't understand what you were saying? What did you do?

3. To share the Gospel we need to see how God is taking care of us in each moment. How have you seen God provide/care for you?

4. Do you believe/have you ever been told that there is comfort in following Jesus?

5. Does it bother you that sharing the Gospel could cause you to become an outcast/unpopular? What do you do to stop those feelings?

6. Do you ever find it difficult to bow down to the will of God? Why?

Acts Chapter 13 reintroduces us to Barnabas. We last met him in Acts chapter 4, but starting in Acts 13 he will play a big part in the rest of the book of Acts.

Read: Acts 13:1-12

1. Barnabas' name means "son of encouragement," which we see him always do. Why do you think encouragement is so important in our Christian walk? When was the last time you encouraged someone? How did it go?

2. We see Paul and Barnabas chosen, while others who were just as qualified were not selected. What does that show you about the importance of leaning into God with fasting and prayer?

3. What stands out to you most about the way Paul stood up to Bar-Jesus? How can you implement that when you face opposition for the Gospel?

4. Paul and Barnabas faced Spiritual Opposition, Internal Conflicts (problems amongst believers), and Physical Challenges. Which one of these do you feel like you face the most on a daily basis? How can you start to serve the Lord despite these challenges?

5. The proconsul believed in the Lord because of the boldness of Paul of Barnabas. Who do you need to step out and share your faith with this week?

Acts chapter 12 gives us the story of Peter being imprisoned, and the miraculous rescue by God.

From this chapter, we get the method we need to take when we face problems in our lives!

Read: Acts 12:1-24

1. In verses 1-4 we see that persecution came to James and Peter and the early church. What does that tell you about your life?

2. Have you faced real persecution for your faith in Jesus? What happened?

3. Verse 5 gives us the blueprint for what to do when we face persecution. Why is our first response not to pray to the Lord?

4. Do you ever fall into the trap of believing that God can't fix your problems? That God doesn't care about your problems?

5. Verse 12 tells us that the disciples were praying all night. When you pray for God to move, how often do you pray? Do you throw up a "hail mary" prayer, or are you constantly praying for God to move?

6. The disciples were all together praying for the Lord to move. Do you let people in to pray with you? Or are you trying to live the Christian life like a lone wolf?

7. Have each member take a piece of paper and write some things they are praying about. Have them fold up the paper, put it in the basket, and then everyone draws a piece of paper so that each member can pray together. (They don't have to put their name on the paper if they don't want to)

In Acts chapter 11 we see Peter defending the Gospel going to the Gentiles
 
We also see the church be called "Christians" for the first time

Read Acts 18

1. When we walk with God the things we do start to change. What changes has God caused in your life?

2. Peter's vision is about the Gospel going to the Gentiles. Are there people in your life that God is calling you to go and share with? What is stopping you?

3. Real Christians are called to repent of sins. Do you have people with whom you can talk about your sin?

4. True Christians must be committed to discipleship. What things are you doing to grow closer to Jesus?

5. Do you have anyone who is intentionally discipling you? If not what is stopping you?

6. A mark of true Christianity is living generously. If people looked at your bank account over the last month would they say you are living generous?

Acts chapter 10 gives us the visions of Cornelius and Peter.

Cornelius a God-fearing gentile gets a vision from God to bring Peter to himself.

Peter gets a vision from God showing that what God made clean, do not call unclean.

These two visions cross when Cornelius and Peter get together and realize that God is calling Peter to share the Gospel with Cornelius and all the Gentiles that are with him.

Read: Acts 10:1-23

1. How did Cornelius know that the Lord was speaking to him?

2. Have you ever had trouble hearing the Lord's voice? Do you feel like the Lord isn't speaking to you?

3. What do you notice about Cornelius and Peter when the Lord spoke to them? What should that tell you about what we should do if we want to hear from God?

4. God's guidance is all over Peter and Cornelius' story. Can you point to moments in your life where God guided you to where you are now?

5. From Acts 10 we see that God's character allows all people to come to faith in Jesus. Do you struggle with this thought? Or are there people in our lives that we feel don't deserve saving? How can we combat those feelings?

6. We won't hear God clearly overnight, intimacy takes time. What are steps you can take today to start building that intimacy with the Lord?

Happy Father's Day!

For Father's Day, we took a reprieve from our traditional study of Acts to instead look at Fathers and see how the Bible calls men to live!

Read: Acts 20:18-36, Philippians 2:19-30

1. Men are called to be the spiritual leaders of their household. What good examples have you seen of men leading? What bad examples have you seen?

2. We know that leaders are meant to prioritize the right things. What should leaders in the home prioritize?

3. Leaders are meant to show consistency. How do you see the men in your life showing consistency? In what ways can you help them stay consistent?

4. Godly men are meant to cooperate with others. Have you seen any good examples of men cooperating with others ahead of the competition?

5. What should you do if you don't have good examples of biblical manhood?

6. God is our heavenly Father. Why should that bring us comfort? 

Acts chapter 9 gives us the conversion story of Saul.

Saul goes from public enemy number one to the author of most of the New Testament.

Saul, on his way to persecute Christians, saw a vision from Jesus that caused Saul to change everything he once believed in.

Read: Acts9:1-19

1. What sticks out to you most about the conversion of Paul? Are there any similarities between your story of life change and Saul's?

2. Saul was in active disobedience when Jesus showed up. What does that tell you about the character and love of God?

3. Jesus said Saul was persecuting Him when he was persecuting Christians. What does that tell you about how you treat others?

4. Jesus told Saul to get up and go, and immediately Saul got up and went. Do you respond in the same manner when God calls you?

5. Saul fasted and prayed after experiencing the Lord. When you experience God what is your first reaction?

6. Ananias was afraid of Saul but ultimately listened to the Lord. Do you fear God more, or do you fear man?

7. The Lord said that Saul would suffer for God's namesake. Why do you think Christians suffer for God? Have you ever suffered for God's namesake?