Begin by sharing prayer requests and praying for one another
Getting Started
The message opened with the Cowardly Lion. Think of a time you had an opening to say something about Jesus and let it pass. What made it hard in the moment?
Read Acts 3:1-10
Peter and John went to the temple at the ninth hour (3pm), where the same leaders who condemned Jesus were likely to be. A few weeks earlier, Peter denied Jesus three times. What changed in him?
The message gave a few examples: inviting neighbors at a townhome party, asking a server "How can we pray for you?", handing flowers to a widow in a grocery store parking lot. Which one feels closest to something you could actually do?
Verse 4 says Peter "directed his gaze at him." The man was laid at that gate every day, and plenty of people walked past him. Who in your week is easy to look past?
he message named things that keep us at a distance from people: how they look, how they live, the signs in their yards. What tends to put distance between you and someone else? What would it take to see them as someone God is looking for?
Read Acts 4:5-13
Peter stood before the Sanhedrin, the same court that tried Jesus. Verse 13 says they "perceived that they were uneducated, common men" and "recognized that they had been with Jesus." What does that say to someone who feels unqualified to talk about their faith?
Acts 4:12 says, "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." How does believing that affect how you think about the people around you? How do you hold that conviction with love in an actual conversation?
Read Acts 4:23-31
Peter's boldness came from the Holy Spirit, not from working up courage on his own. Where have you been trying to manufacture boldness instead of asking for it?
They prayed together, and the place was shaken. How can this group help each other be bold with the people God has put in our lives?
Application
Write down one name: a person in your Jerusalem who doesn't know Jesus yet. What is one way you can bless them this week? Would you be willing to invite them to Constance this month?
Pray
Share the names you wrote down. Pray Acts 4:29 over each one, and ask God for the boldness to take one step with that person before you meet again.