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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)
Minister to one another’s needs in prayer, biblical counsel and encouragement.
Encourage loving accountability to obey Jesus
Choose a way to cast vision for who they can become in Christ or what God can do through them by:
Share BIG vision “A church for every village and community, and the gospel for every person.”
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
Additional questions you can use:
The city of Ephesus was full of people practicing occult magic. The Lord was doing unusual miracles through Paul to provide healing to the sick and the possessed. Traveling Jewish exorcists tried to be like Paul but were unsuccessful in using the name of Jesus in their spells. They were powerless because they didn’t have the gift of the Holy Spirit through a personal relationship with Jesus. We learn from this story that evil spirits know about Jesus and His servants. This event caused repentance and revival among the young Ephesian believers who had not yet completely given up unholy things from their past life. Because of Paul’s development of other leaders, he was able to commission Timothy and Erasmus to further disciple the believers in Macedonia. Paul continued to do long-distance coaching and mentoring of the church in Corinth through the writing of letters. This story includes the fifth summary statement found in Acts: the word of the Lord continued to spread widely and have a powerful effect.
The first letter to the church in Corinth can be read here (1 Corinthians).
Practice giving and communion here or in the Preparing for Mission section
Practice needed skills or previous topics to help prepare to minister to others:
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