In the Street—Lesson 4 - Having Ears to Hear — Acts 1-6

Discussion Questions:

1. How does the Wizard of Oz present a wrong view of who God is and what our role is in receiving His grace and help?  Why is Satan so effective in getting us to be more dependent upon ourselves than God?

2. What does it take for God to be pleased with you?  How much of His being pleased with you is based upon what you do and how much is based upon His nature?

3. How did Jesus show dependence upon God?  What role did prayer and knowing/following God’s word play in His dependence upon God

4. What does it mean to have ears to hear?  What kind of ears don’t hear?  How does the parable of the soils show the issues we face when it comes to our hearing God’s will? What kinds of things work to harden your heart or distract you from taking what you hear and producing fruit for the Kingdom from it?

5. How did Pontius Pilate demonstrate ears that don’t hear?  Why does the crowd or threats of losing position or power have such a strong hold over us when it comes to hearing and obeying the will of God?

6. When is the last time you believed God and His promises to the point that you would wrestle and not let go until He fulfilled what He said He would?  Is that a sign of faith, or presumption and arrogance?  How can you act in faith without crossing over into presumption or arrogance?

7. How devoted are you to prayer and the ministry of the word?  Why are these the place to start to accomplish powerful things for the Kingdom of God?   How did the apostles demonstrate the importance of these things in the first six chapters of Acts?  What can Garden Ridge change to have prayer and the ministry of the word as more foundational in what we do as the body of Jesus?

8. Why was the lighthouse keeper wrong in helping people out?  Are there things in your life or in the activities of Garden Ridge that are good, but that take away from the one key thing God wants us to accomplish?

9. Do you believe in the power of God to transform lives?  What lies from our culture do we listen to that diminish God’s power to transform stubborn areas of addiction or character flaws?  How much of what Jesus was able to do through the power of the Spirit should we be able to do?