11.04.07
Small Group Plan - November 4, 2007
“When We Walk His Talk”
Ancient Future Faith
Small Group Plan
November 4, 2007
OPEN IT / INTRODUCE IT …
· Has your faith ever brought you or someone you know trouble? Explain.
· Why do some people abandon their faith in time of trouble?
· Why do others become stronger in time of trouble?
LOOK AT IT / STUDY IT …
The Faith
Acts 22:6-13
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. 10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. 12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
2 Corinthians 12:9
He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
· Given Paul’s past (Acts 8:3, 9:1), describe what went through his head in this moment of insight (Acts 22:8).
· What kind of suspicion did Paul probably receive from other Christians?
· Describe Ananias’ fear as he visits Saul (Paul)?
· What changed in Paul (attitudes, emotions, purpose)?
The Trouble
2 Corinthians 10:10
For Some Say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
2 Corinthians 11:15
5 But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
· Why were Paul’s opponents trying to undermine him?
· Why was Paul sarcastic about the “super-apostles” (11:15)?
· What purpose can suffering serve?
The Response
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 We Do Not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons We Fight with are Not the weapons of the world … 5 We Take Captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:12
We have conducted ourselves … in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so Not According To Worldly Wisdom but according to God’s grace.
2 Corinthians 5:16
From now on we regard No One From A Worldly Point Of View.
· What are the “weapons” of the world?
· What does a spiritual attack look like?
· What are our weapons?
· What would the world call “wise” and how is God’s “point of view” different?
USE IT / APPLY IT …
· “Service” – How has the religion of Jesus survived centuries of attack?
· “Commitment” – How can we maintain our faith when attacked?
· “Confidence” – How can a spiritual attack produce a stronger faith?
· “Humility” – In what sense can weakness be called strength?
Close by asking God for a faith that will not only survive attack, but will grow through it.