In the Street--Lesson 9--The Power of Encouragement--Acts 9 & 15

Discussion Questions:

1.  Who in your life could use some encouragement this week?  What specific things will you commit yourself to do to help them feel valued and cared for, and that they have purpose?

2.  What struggles do you have with paying attention to the things going on around you and not merely going through the motions?  What kinds of things help you to be present in each moment you encounter?

3.  What kinds of things did Barnabas do for Paul and then John Mark that you could do for people in your life?  Are there things you do for the Kingdom of God that you could take someone under your wing and mentor them?

4.  What role has encouragement played in times when you have failed or quit or been broken?  Who is someone you can thank and appreciate for their role of encouraging you?

5.  How much greater would the Kingdom of God be if more people saw their main role as being an encourager of others?  How good are you are accepting the encouragement of others?  How does your inability to accept encouragement hurt what God wants to accomplish?

6.  How are you at believing in others?  What role does competition play in your relationships?  How does competition hurt encouragement?  How does the grace of God go against competition?

7.  When has someone had to use the “get off the couch” type of encouragement to help you grow?  What does a person need to have in order to talk to you this way?

8.  Why is it difficult, if not impossible, to be an encourager without community?  How have you seen encouragement build better community?

9.  Why did people feel so comfortable around Jesus?  How can we grow in this area as a welcoming and encouraging place for people to find encouragement of all types?

10.  What kind of legacy are you hoping to leave behind after you are gone?  How have you seen encouragement play a role in building a legacy?

In the Street--Lesson 8--They Are All Around Us--Acts 8 & 10 & II Samuel 9

Discussion Questions:

1.  How do you respond to there being people all around us who have brokenness and need to hear a message from God about redemption and salvation?  How often during a week do you consider these things and pray about them and the role you can have in this?

2.  Why do you suppose we are not told the name of the Ethiopian Eunuch?  Does this have any significance?

3.  How was Peter prepared to go see Cornelius?  Have you seen God work to get someone’s attention like this so someone could be reached with His truth and love?

4.  What lessons should we learn from seeing that the good works of Cornelius were not enough to save him?  How does it help you to see that God pursued Cornelius so he and his family could hear and experience what they needed to be saved?

5.  What similarities do you see with your life and the things Mephibosheth experienced?  How have you felt brokenness and being in a desolate place?  How has the KING offered you more than you can imagine?

6.  Why is it important that God relates to us through covenant love?  How does knowing you are offered love based upon covenant give you security and the ability to see beyond the trials and struggles that come with living in the wilderness?

7.  In what ways have you tried to hide from the King and settle for life in a place of no pasture?  How can we help people better understand what is available to them so they don’t settle for living in places of no pasture, hiding from the One who wants to invite them to His table so He can provide, protect, and give them a position as sons in His Kingdom?

8.  What does Rahab’s story of being rescued and winding up in the lineage of Jesus teach about the nature of God’s love and the importance of faith in Him?

9.  If there are people all around us who need to hear of God’s love and salvation, who can you pray for and reach out to this week?

In the Street--Lesson 7--It Was Just a Half-Truth--Acts 5

Discussion Questions:

1.  Why is the Kingdom of God built upon virtue, sound character and integrity?  How has a lack of these things hindered people from believing in or wanting to be part of the Kingdom of God?

2.  How have sin or shame caused you to hide or run away from facing the music in your life?  Why does shame have such power over us when Jesus paid the price so we don’t have to live in shame?

3.  What is the hardest part about being a witness?  How serious does God take being a reliable and truthful witness?

4.  How has culture shown you it is not very interested in the truth?  How does exaggeration and flattery make things harder to trust what people say?  How was what Ananias & Sapphira did forms of exaggeration and flattery?

5.  Is being politically correct and honest possible at the same time?  How has the quest to not offend anyone led to greater division and struggles of being truly honest about things?

6.  Why does God have times like with Nadab & Abihu, Uzzah, Ananias & Sapphira, etc. where He responds with striking severity?  Why does God not respond that way to more people?

7.  How much do you take into account God’s holiness with the various decisions you have to make each day?  With all of the examples of how serious God takes holiness, why do we have times we treat it so lightly?  What kinds of things cause you to forget or ignore the holy standard He desires from us?  How is holiness your ally?

8.  Why is it difficult to balance grace with holiness/righteousness?  Which do you tend to fall more on the side of?  How does that affect your walk with the LORD?