Week 4 - TRY IT
CONNECT
What are you thankful for?
What challenge are you facing?
Have there been any answers to prayer?
Pray for each other.
Did anything stand out to you from last week’s follow-up Bible readings?
How did your “I will …” statement from last week go?
How did your sharing goal from last week go?
How’s your memory work coming along?
Acts 4:31 (NIV)
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
DISCOVER
Let’s start with a review.
NEED IT
As we partner with Jesus in mission to those around us, we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
BELIEVE IT
Just as Jesus ministered through the Person and power of the Holy Spirit, so can we.
SEEK IT
Because we continually need the filling of the Holy Spirit, we need to continually seek it.
And now …
TRY IT
As you are led by the Holy Spirit, act on these leadings from the Holy Spirit.
Ask God to speak to you as you read His Word.
Acts 13:1-12 (NIV)
1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
4 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.
6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”
Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Have someone retell the passage in their own words.
What stands out to you in this passage?
What does this passage say about God (The Father, His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit)?
What does this passage say about people, including ourselves?
What does this passage say about the life God invites us to live?
Digging Deeper
How do you think the leadership team in the church in Antioch knew what the Holy Spirit was saying?
How do you think Paul knew what to say to Elymas the sorcerer?
Think of time when you believe the Holy Spirit was speaking to you? How did you know it was the Spirit and how did you know what the Spirit was saying? How did you respond? What were the results?
Why is simply trying out what you believe the Holy Spirit is saying one of the only ways of finding out if it is the Spirit or not?
Why might faith be spelled R-I-S-K or simply T-R-Y?
Clare De Graaf has written a practical book entitled The 10-Second Rule: Following Jesus Made Simple. Here’s the premise: Just do the next thing you're reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do (and do it within the next ten seconds before you change your mind!). So simple. Doesn’t the same thing apply to following the Holy Spirit? If you sense the Spirit leading you, just do it … within ten seconds!
Watch and react to this video—Say Yes to The Spirit.
Obviously, if you think the Holy Spirit is telling to do something against God’s will, that’s NOT the Holy Spirit. Or if you think the Holy Spirit is telling you to make a huge life change, you’ll want to process that with other Christians for wisdom and confirmation. But generally when it comes to leadings from the Spirit our attitude should be “to hear is to obey.”
Acts 8:29-30 (NLT)
29 The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
How did Philip respond when the Holy Spirit told him to Go over and walk along beside the carriage?
Spend some time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you and through you to your group. What do you sense the Holy Spirit saying? What will you do about it?
LIVE
What truth have you discovered from today’s Bible passage(s) and conversation?
What would stop you from believing and obeying this truth?
How will you live out this truth this coming week? Finish this statement: “I will ….”
Who else needs to hear this truth? How could you share it with them?
When will we meet again?
Who will facilitate that meeting?
Pray for God’s help as you seek to follow Jesus this coming week.
FOLLOW-UP BIBLE READINGS
Here are the Bible passages you are encouraged to read this coming week:
BUDDY SYSTEM
Connect with your buddy this week and ask each other these questions:
How are your readings going?
How’s your “I will …” statement coming along?
How’s your sharing goal coming along?
How can I pray for you?
PRINTABLE PDF
FILLING - Week 4 printable PDF
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