(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)
Caring for each other
Minister to one another’s needs in prayer, biblical counsel and encouragement.
Ask each person to tell one highlight and explain one challenge they experienced this week.
Ask, “What do you want Jesus to do for you this week?” Pray for each other’s needs.
Celebrating Faithfulness
Encourage loving accountability to obey Jesus
Ask, “What happened as you trusted God with your goals and I will statements?”
+ Motivation and Encouragement
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.”
LOOKING UP
Context
Ask the group to tell the story from last week.
Read
Read or watch Acts 15:36-16:5 two times as others listen.
Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them,38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16:1 Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
What caught your attention or what did you like best? Why?
What is new or has developed at this point in the story?
What is being modeled about a Spirit-dependent life, making disciples or leadership?
How can we live differently now that we know this story?
Additional questions you can use:
How are Jesus’ followers continuing His work of making disciples and church planting?
How is the gospel impacting people and society?
What barriers or obstacles were overcome and how were they overcome?
Read, Tell and Correct
Read the story again. Have someone tell the story and ask the group to correct if necessary.
+ Summary
Paul wanted to continue following his calling to bring about obedience to the faith among all peoples (Romans 1:5).
5 Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake.
As Paul and Barnabas prepared to leave, they had a big disagreement over Barnabas’ cousin John Mark. Paul did not trust that John Mark was up to the task because he had deserted them on the first journey. Barnabas saw John Mark’s leadership potential and wanted to give him a second chance. As a result, Paul and Barnabas separated and formed two mission teams. Barnabas took John Mark and travelled back to Cyprus. Paul chose Silas, a prophet from the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:32),
32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.
as a new partner and revisited the churches from the previous trip to Galatia. They strengthened the young churches and Paul also recruited a new believer in Lystra named Timothy to assist in the ministry. This story includes the fourth summary statement found in Acts: as a result of the team’s encouragement and teaching, the churches grew stronger in faith and increased daily in numbers (Acts 16:5).
5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
Practice giving and communion here or in the Preparing for Mission section
LOOKING FORWARD
+ Preparing for Mission
Practice needed skills or previous topics to help prepare to minister to others:
Prayer, Care, Share
Gospel
Foundational Bible Studies.
Going on the Mission
Identify people or places you will take the initiative to minister to this week.
Write “I will by when” statements and share with your small group.
Praying For the Mission
Commit everyone's goals to the Lord. Ask the Lord to help us be faithful and use us to start a movement of disciple-makers.
