Life Groups // Winter 2021 // Week 7
Posted February 26, 2021 — Lincoln Berean
Unstoppable // Acts 3:1-4:4
Introduction
Pastor Andy MacFarlane from North Point Community Church joined us this past weekend. He asked the question, “What kind of opposition thwarts God’s work of restoration?” As we looked at our passage and saw about 2000 more people become followers of Jesus, he showed us that there is no opposition that will thwart God’s work of restoration.
We don’t provide a lot of space for your answers to these questions, so we suggest having a journal handy to write down your thoughts. You’re not expected to have time for all these questions during your online meeting, but we encourage you to reflect on them and jot down thoughts on your own.
Getting to Know Each Other (Suggested time: 30 min)
Here are some suggestions to get your conversation started:
- What items are on your keychain? What significance do they have?
- What is your all-time favorite meal and how often to you enjoy it?
Getting Started
Begin to transition into group discussion.
1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
- For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
- For openness to what you’re learning together
- For friendships to deepen and grow
2) Invite someone to read this week’s passage to the group.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
Please complete these questions prior to your group’s meeting time.
1) What did you sense the Holy Spirit impressing on you during the message this past weekend?
2) Pastor Andy spoke about the legacy of God using the church to bring about restoration in lives for the last 2000 years. What has God restored in your life?
Perhaps God might be in the middle of a restoration work in your life right now. Would you be willing to share about that with your group?
3) In verse 19, Peter encourages the people to repent and return to the Lord. Andy mentioned that some people may think they have done some things that are so terrible that God could not forgive them, yet they did not actually put to death the Prince of Life (vs. 15) as the people in our passage had done.
- Have you felt forgiven for something you once thought was unforgivable? Would you be willing to share that with the group?
- Is there anything in your life right now, for which you feel like God cannot forgive you?
4) Andy discussed the idea that if you want to be a part of the work of restoration that God is doing through the church, you will probably have to surrender your sense of control in some area of your life.
- What area in your life do you think God is asking you to surrender your sense of control?
- What is it that might be keeping you from surrendering your sense of control in that area?
5) The legacy of God restoring lives through the church will continue until Jesus returns. Peter gives us a beautiful picture of how God works through his people. It is the life-changing power of Jesus that heals the lame man flowing through the hand of Peter. Likewise, our lives touch the people around us in ways that introduce them to new life in Jesus.
- How might God be prompting you to be a part of the legacy of restoring lives through the church? (Serving in kids ministry, leading a Life Group, being a greeter or usher at a weekend service, helping with church snow removal, etc.)
- What is a next step you could take to move towards getting involved?
If you would like to learn more about opportunities to witness or participate in God’s kingdom in Lincoln and around the world, contact outreach@lincolnberean.org or checkout this Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/lincolnbereanlocal
Group Prayer (Suggested time: 10 min)
Take a moment to prepare a prayer request in the form of one or two sentences. Go around the group and have people share their prayer requests.
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new, or it may be familiar to you.
Go around the circle and have each person pray for the person to their right. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud, signaling the next person in the group to pray.
Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.