Read a scripture and sing worship songs.

(Optional) Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all. (Philippians 2:11b; 1 Timothy 2:4-6a)

Choose a way to cast vision for who they can become in Christ or what God can do through them by:

• a scripture that reminds them of the Father’s Heart and of the end vision.
• reflecting on the changes in their life since they started following Christ
• reminding them of what God wants to do through them

Share BIG vision “A church for every village and community, and the gospel for every person.”

Peter Explains His Actions

¹ The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him³ and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”

⁴ Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story:⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.⁶ I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds.⁷ Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’

⁸ “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’

⁹ “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’¹⁰ This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.

¹¹ “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.¹² The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house.¹³ He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.¹⁴ He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’

¹⁵ “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.¹⁶ Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’¹⁷ So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”

¹⁸ When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

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News spread quickly back to Jerusalem of the new work among the Gentiles. Peter returns home from his ministry tour (Acts 8:32) 

 and is confronted by Jewish believers for breaking the Jewish Laws about entering a Gentile’s home, eating with them, and even staying with them. Some believers still did not understand the implications of the gospel mission. They doubted the Lord’s heart for the non-Jewish peoples. Jesus used this event to begin a process of breaking down their focus on their own culture that was a barrier to the global mission of making disciples of all peoples. It was the combination of the vision Peter received, the Lord’s teaching, and evidence of the Holy Spirit's presence that proved God had indeed fully accepted the Gentiles. After hearing this, the Jewish believers finally praised God for providing salvation to the Gentiles. Their criticism and concern turned to worship.

 

Practice needed skills or previous topics to help prepare to minister to others:

• Prayer, Care, Share
• Gospel
• Foundational Bible Studies.