(a) In the lead-up to this imprisonment, Paul deals with a slave girl ‘who had a spirit’. It is not immediately obvious that this was an evil spirit. Why might we suppose that this was indeed an evil spirit and that Paul was right to make it leave the girl?
(b) Paul’s (and his companions’) visit to Philippi was in direct response to a vision from God (verses 6-10). But it led them into big trouble with the authorities, and to flogging and imprisonment.…
Lydia is described as a woman who ‘worshiped’ God, whose heart the Lord ‘opened…to respond to Paul’s message’.
(a) What do you think it meant for Lydia to have been a ‘worshiper of God’? Who today might be similarly described, but has yet to hear and respond to the Christian message?
(b) Lydia’s experience of coming to Christian faith seems to have been quite calm and unspectacular. Paul’s, on the other hand, had been much more dramatic. …
To Rome! Acts 27-28
‘Agrippa said to Festus, “[Paul] could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”’ (Acts 26:32).
Do you ever think about ‘what might have been’?
Chapter 27
Using a map, track the progress of Paul and his companions on their journey from Caesarea to Rome. (I hope you do not feel too seasick!)
Why do you think that this journey is related in such vivid detail? (I don’t think the answer is very complicated!)…
Icebreaker
Tell us something about your name. What does it mean? Why were you given it? What do you like, or dislike, about it?
Read verses 17-19
Which of these men do we know most about? And which do we know least about?
What do you think these disciples were expecting when they first responded to Jesus’ call to follow him?
Look back at Luke 1:1-4. What aspects of this list of disciples gives us confidence that they were reliable ‘eyewitnesses’ of Jesus?…
In 1 Kings 18:17 King Ahab says to Elijah, “Is that you, troubler of Israel?”
(a) How does the story of Joshua relate to the great promise that Abraham had been given in Genesis 12:1-3?
(b) The story of Rahab in Joshua 2 is the story of how a Gentile woman of dubious morals found that she mattered to God. The Old Testament focuses on the Lord’s dealings with his chosen people, the Jews; but can you think of other instances where Gentile people find God’s favour? And what do you make of Matthew 1:5?…
(a) Daniel found himself, as a young man, in a very alien environment. To what extent do find yourself, as a young Christian, to be in an environment where you are made to feel that you don’t belong?
(b) One of the most striking things about Daniel is his discipline. Quickly scan these chapters to see how much evidence you can find for this. What do you thing we can learn from Daniel’s example in this regard?…
(a) Israel wanted a king (why?). The Lord didn’t want them to have a king (why?). And yet the Lord allowed them to have their king (again, why?).
(b) Some people assume that God has a single, fixed, plan for everyone. If we depart from that plan, then we can never experience God’s full blessing again. In what ways does this passage tell us that things are not as simple as that?…
