SERMON NOTES: Week 4, April 24, 2016 FROM THIS DAY FORWARD... DIRECTED Questin: Hw are we t accmplish Gd s wrk? Acts 15:40 41, 40 but Paul chse Silas and left, cmmended by the brthers t the grace f the Lrd. 41 He went thrugh Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. BE AN AMBASSADOR OF HOPE: SALVATION BY GRACE DISCIPLES MAKING DISCIPLES (MATTHEW 28:18-20) GO... (Make One) BAPTIZE TEACH... (Be One) Acts 16:1 5, 1 He came t Derbe and then t Lystra, where a disciple named Timthy lived, whse mther was a Jewess and a believer, but whse father was a Greek. 2 The brthers at Lystra and Icnium spke well f him. 3 Paul wanted t take him alng n the jurney, s he circumcised him because f the Jews wh lived in that area, fr they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled frm twn t twn, they delivered the decisins reached by the apstles and
elders in Jerusalem fr the peple t bey. 5 S the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. LOOK FOR GOD S PROVISIONS: LABORERS DISCERNMENT CONTENT Acts 16:6 12, 6 Paul and his cmpanins traveled thrughut the regin f Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Hly Spirit frm preaching the wrd in the prvince f Asia. 7 When they came t the brder f Mysia, they tried t enter Bithynia, but the Spirit f Jesus wuld nt allw them t. 8 S they passed by Mysia and went dwn t Tras. 9 During the night Paul had a visin f a man f Macednia standing and begging him, Cme ver t Macednia and help us. 10 After Paul had seen the visin, we gt ready at nce t leave fr Macednia, cncluding that Gd had called us t preach the gspel t them. 11 Frm Tras we put ut t sea and sailed straight fr Samthrace, and the next day n t Neaplis. 12 Frm there we traveled t Philippi, a Rman clny and the leading city f that district f Macednia. And we stayed there several days. WAIT FOR GOD S DIRECTIVES: Trust Obey
Cnnect Grup Discussin Guide OPENING The first three cnverts in Philippi were unlikely characters, a businesswman (nt cmmn t have a successful businesswman in that day), a slave girl and a Rman jailer. Discuss yur experience f hw yu have seen Gd use unlikely characters t great things fr His kingdm? GOING DEEPER 1. Read Acts 15:24-29 and 16:1-5. The Jerusalem Cuncil had determined that Gentiles did nt need t be circumcised, fllwing the Old Testament law, in rder t be saved. Why then did Paul have Timthy circumcised befre they began their jurney tgether? Timthy was a Jew but had been influenced by his Gentile father. As a result, he had nt fllwed the Old Testament law and was nt circumcised. The Jews t whm Paul wuld be preaching the gspel wuld be ffended if a man with a Jewish mther was uncircumcised. The fllwing qute gives a great explanatin behind Paul s actins, with many crss references fr t take yu deeper int the discuss if yu s desire: This appears t cntradict Paul s thinking in Galatians 2:3 5 where he refused t let Titus be circumcised. The situatins, hwever, were different. In Galatians 2 the issue was the methd f justificatin; here it was a questin f nt giving ffense (cf. 1 Cr. 9:19 23). The Jerusalem Cuncil, f curse, had determined circumcisin was nt
necessary fr salvatin (Acts 15:10 11, 19). In Acts 16 Paul acted as he did fr the sake f the ministry; it was a wise mve. 1 2. Read Acts 16:11-15. What des Luke refer t when he writes, The Lrd pened [Lydia s] heart t respnd t Paul s message? Sme passages t cnsider when studying this tpic - 2 Crinthians 2:4-6; Luke 24:36-49. Click belw t read a great article n the illuminating wrk f the Hly Spirit by J.I. Packer https://www.mnergism.cm/thethreshld/articles/nsite/packer/illu minatin.html 3. Lydia was a businesswman, a seller f purple clth. What benefits r influence d yu believe this psitin affrded her in the cmmunity? As a fllwer f Christ, hw culd she have capitalized n these pprtunities fr the benefit f the Kingdm f Gd? In what ways can a businessman r businesswman tday use the psitin affrded them fr Gd s Kingdm wrk? 4. Read Acts 16:16-40. Describe Paul and Silas attitude and spirit when they were lcked in the Philippian prisn? In what ways can we act in a similar fashin when we find urselves in a difficult situatin (cf. Philippians 4:4-7)? 5. Paul and Silas did nt flee when they were in prisn, either when the prisn drs were pened r when they were at the jailer s hme? This 1 Stanley D. Tussaint, Acts, in The Bible Knwledge Cmmentary: An Expsitin f the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvrd and R. B. Zuck, vl. 2 (Wheatn, IL: Victr Bks, 1985), 398.
shws us that they were mre cncerned with smething r smene ther than themselves. What d yu believe they were cncerned abut and why did it s drastically affect their actins? Paul and Silas were dedicated and cncerned primarily with the t prclamatin f the Gspel f Christ abve all csts. They were truly living ut what it means t be a disciple f Jesus wh was cmmitted t making ther disciples f Jesus. CHALLENGE Last week yu were challenged t cmmit t pray each day fr ne persn in yur grup fr strength and bldness. This week, cnnect with that persn t see hw they are fairing and encurage them t keep fllwing Christ despite any ppsitin they may face. Read thrugh Acts 16 in preparatin fr next week.