Acts 12-28 GGprep+podcaststudy4

Acts Podcast 4

(This is a transcript generated by AI and has not been reviewed for accuracy or content by Crossroads)

Welcome. Crossroads Grice, group leader. This is a Prep Plus podcast. It's a podcast to help you prep each week for our studies in Acts. You'll need your Bible, a pen, and your study booklet. I'm joined by Ayesha. Hello. Who wrote these wonderful studies and went now up to study for X 2312 to 2632. We are sweeping through this room.

It's going to be a privilege to be looking at that in our groups this week. So, Ayesha, would you pray? It's always good to pray before we pray. So would you pray for us, please? Heavenly Father, thank you so much that we get to sit in your word today. Just pray that you would encourage us, and rebuke us by a word, and that you would be equipping us, that we might equip your saints for love and good works.

As we wait for your son to return. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen. And. All right. Acts 2312 to 2632. We're going to cover a lot of ground in this study. We're going to be thinking about a lot of people. We're going to get a bit creative. Yeah. What is our kind of big goal?

If there is one big takeaway we really wanted people to take away, or a kind of place to be in when they leave our group time. What would it be? What's your big prayer for you? Big prayer is that we, like Paul, would keep sharing the gospel over seasons and seasons of time. Yeah. Yeah. Before powers and authorities and before friends and family.

And before strangers. That we would just keep on sharing the gospel. Love it. Love it. So let's get stuck in. Great opening question. You might want to take, kind of take the temperature of your group and how kind of how you're going and getting to know each other. If there are lots of new people in the group, you can always toss in another get to know you question if you want or some more.

Now this study is a bit more interactive. It's a bit more creative. Why have you. Oh, we should pause and prep. Oh, yeah, you should pause. Pause. And so press pause. Do your prep, and we'll be back.

Now we're back. Yeah. So we're kind of going interview style. Yeah. With these sections. Can you just explain why we're doing it that way this week? Yeah. Why are we doing it? It's a massive chunk of text. Yeah. And so you can't do everything, and not everyone can do everything in it. However, there's so much richnes,s and there's a reason why Luke has put all of this in.

Even though sometimes it feels repetitive. Yeah. Yeah. I'm like, come on. We'll write right at once. We get the picture anyway. But he's chosen to do that. And why has he chosen to do that, though? I think there's like an element of time, like it takes a really long time, and there's an element of don't just keep saying the same thing when he doesn't change before anyone.

He's never tried. I don't know, it's his message. It's the same before his fellow Jews, before the Gentiles, and before these powers. And he's willing to be patient. He knows he's supposed to be going to Rome. And this is taking a long time like this. All of these things. Why, Luke? So it's really this is it. Jesus.

He's chosen these stories and chosen to include these long speeches, even though they feel like they're kind of saying similar things. Because this is what encourages us and get a steal us to do that kind of not even just truth to power, but speak God to power. Jeremy, with the cards that Paul got. So this is a it's like it.

Yeah. In terms of the creative side of it. Yes, I just want to encourage people who feel a bit nervous or just a bit dismissive even of this kind of thing, that hopefully our groups are places that we can be a bit foolish in, that we can ask silly questions because there are no silly questions and where we can be vulnerable with one another.

And one great way to do that is to do something that looks a bit silly and foolish. A, because this helps us to be real about our last, but be. Hopefully, it makes it easier for us to be foolish outside of our groups and share the gospel and be bold. And then my second reason is just that people learn really differently.

Yeah. And this might help something click for someone who's not feeling very academic. Yeah, it's more on the creative side. So give it a go. Has leanings right. Yeah. Okay. So part one, we're looking at Paul. We've got these three checks. We're probably going to split into three groups. Yeah. Yeah. Aren't we each take one of those chunks 24:10 to 27.

And now the group taking 25:1 to 12. Another group taking 26: 1 to 29. You might be thoughtful about which group takes which, since some are different lengths. Yeah. And then they each look at pulling in their chunk and then report back together. Yeah. You might want to ask all the groups: "What are you on trial for?"

And then all of the groups. What is true or false about the accusations made against you? So you can kind of do that all at once. Yeah. Okay. So we go through the passages, but then ask those questions kind of all three groups at once. Yeah. And you could do, and then part two, we're now looking at these side characters.

Yeah. Who come across quite vividly, even though they're kind of small roles. It's kind of an ensemble cast. Yeah. If we don't hit all those characters, who are the ones we can kind of combine, or if it works better to do kind of full? Yeah. I mean, maybe the high priests and the Jews are key. Yeah.

You could group Festus, Agrippa and Bernie's. The story kind of goes, all together. Yeah. And then, with the Tribune and Felix, it's a lot of the same in some ways. It's intriguing to see these characters and their responses. They're a bit quirky sometimes. Very real. Yeah. So you're probably going to split people up into those different characters.

They might choose a spokesperson or a performer. And then you might kind of get all those up and ask those three questions. Why is Paul on trial? Yeah. And they're in character. In character. Yes. And answer. I'm wondering if we're going to get tea towels from the kitchen. Yeah. Come on. Anyway, I'll leave it to you.

And so then they can present it that way. And it's a great way of unpacking the text. I love this understanding question that you have down the bottom of the page, that's why Paul included all these accounts. And I guess we've chatted about a bit of that. I just want to say I love your paragraphs in your introduction.

Right at the back, right at the start of these studies. You write the final. This is the second, the final second, the last paragraph. The final chapter shows the kingdom of God advancing unhindered despite every obstacle. These chapters are meant to convince the early church and us today that Christ truly is the reigning King, and his mission cannot fail.

It's written to give confidence and confirm what the truth about Christ is, and his plans are then and now. And that's really what that question is getting to the guts of this part of the book, isn't it? And then your application question, what kind of discussions might we be having there? Yeah. I mean, what are our expectations about evangelism?

I think my assumption is that I'll finally get the courage to tell someone about Jesus or invite them along. And then yes or no, then and that's it. And that's it. It's about conversation. Yes. Or like all the. Oh, which maybe is a little bit lazy, but also it's high pressure, then, for that one moment to be the moment it all happens.

But Paul, he just keeps going. He just keeps preaching the gospel. He keeps being rejected. Yes. He has this plan to go to Rome, but it's taking years to get there. Yes. But that's what evangelism in this time is. Now that we keep on speaking the gospel patiently. Yeah. And truthfully. Yeah. And God does his work, and he.

That's so helpful, isn't it, that I think we think I'm going to have this one conversation, I'm going to explain the whole gospel, and that's going to be it. But really, and we know I don't, we that people come to faith generally, you know, takes 1 to 2 years, is lots of little conversations. It's lots of little books, little snippets, and little this and that.

And coming to this, saying no to that, and saying yes to that. And also, if there's rejection, it doesn't mean we've done it. Yeah, exactly. We could be doing it just right. Yeah. That's a really helpful question to think through. What are our expectations of evangelism, and are they the right ones?

So it's worth it with any application question, sometimes we can switch off as late as and think, oh, I don't have to do the final prep on that. But often we do actually need a lot of prep for those questions because we've got to think to ourselves, what's the answer that I'm going to give that's going to help stir up this discussion amongst the great.

Yeah. This is a great study, a great opportunity to give ourselves the courage that God's Word is giving us here. So we're praying that it's a great week for your group. Thanks for listening.