ACTS - WEEK 7
The Sovereignty of God over opposition.
Leader Note:
If you didn’t meet last week, or didn’t get up to the Alpha Promo video, start this week by watching the video and briefly praying for those whom you might be able to invite.
Also mention: There is a chance to get a taste for what Alpha is like at our ‘Alpha Preview Night’
The preview night is a chance for church members to get a feeling for what Alpha is before inviting non-christian friends and family along.
It will be run exactly how the actual Alpha course will be the following week.
PREVIEW NIGHT - Monday Night - 15th May - 7:30-8:30 pm. Includes Dinner.. RSVP Required (on the facebook event)
ALPHA WEEK 1 - Monday Night - 22nd May - 7:30-8:30 pm. Includes Dinner… Bring your friends!
READ ACTS 4:23-31
23 When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,[d] said by the Holy Spirit,
“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’[e]—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
DISCUSS
1. Have you ever felt anxious or discouraged as you’ve thought about the possibility of there being increasing opposition to the gospel?
2. What did the chief priests and elders say to Peter and John that they reported to their friends? (skim back over the previous section)
3. How does the church respond to the news that they are going to face persecution?
4. What aspects of God’s character does the church draw to mind at the opening of the prayer?
Read Psalm 2 which is quoted in verse 25 and 26.
5. What Insights does this Psalm give about God views those who oppose him?
Re-read Acts 4:27-28.
6. What do these verses tell us about God’s sovereignty over evil and opposition?
Read the following two verses:
Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today”
Romans 8:28: “ And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
7. What is challenging about the idea that God is sovereign, even over suffering?
8. What is comforting about the idea that God is sovereign, even over suffering?
Read over the quote by John Piper that was mentioned in the sermon on Sunday:
The lesson here is not just that God is sovereign and turns setbacks into triumphs. The lesson is that comfort and ease and affluence and prosperity and safety and freedom often cause a tremendous inertia in the church. The very things that we think would produce personnel and energy and creative investment of time and money for the missionary cause instead produce the exact opposite: weakness, apathy, lethargy, self-centeredness, and preoccupation with security. Studies have shown that the richer we are, the smaller the percentage of our income we give to the church and its mission. The poorest fifth of the church give 3.4 percent of their income to the church and the richest fifth give 1.6 percent—half as much as the poorer church members. It is a strange principle, one that probably goes right to the heart of our sinfulness and Christ’s sufficiency, that hard times, like persecution, often produce more personnel, more prayer, more power, more open purses than easy times.
Persecution can have harmful effects on the church, but prosperity seems even more devastating to the mission God calls us to. My point here is not that we should seek persecution. That would be presumption—like jumping off the temple. The point is that we should be very wary of prosperity and excessive ease and comfort and affluence. And we should not be disheartened but filled with hope if we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake”
9. In what ways can you see that God might actually use opposition to grow the Church and spread the Gospel?
10: what do the disciples ask God to do in light of his sovereignty in verses 29-30
11: What should we be praying for now as we seek to share the same heart as the early church?
Close in prayer.