Acts: Jesus at Work Through the Church – Part 7

Acts 15

Acts: Jesus at Work Through the Church – Part 7

A Gospel Shaped Community

I. Paul & Barnabas: INDWELT, EMPOWERED, WITNESSING (Acts 13-14)
A. A Multi-ETHNIC FAITH Community Following KING JESUS (Acts 11:19-30; 13:1-3)
B. SIGNS, SERMONS, and STONINGS! (Acts 13:4-14:20)
C. “REPORTING all that GOD had DONE” (Acts 14:21-28)

II. A DISPUTE Over the Very HEART of CHRISTIANITY (Acts 15)
A. Do You Have to be CUT to make the CUT? (Acts 15:1-2, 5; Galatians 2:11-16; 5:1-6; 6:15)
B. The Slow GROWTH of Planted SEEDS (Acts 10-15)
C. A SPIRIT Led and STORY Formed People (Acts 15:6-21, 28)

III. A COMMUNITY Defined by JESUS and Nothing Else will…
A. Be Radically INCLUSIVE (Acts 13:1-3; 15:10, 14, 30-35; Galatians 3:26-29)
B. Be Staunchly Non-RELIGIOUS and Non-RELATIVISTIC (Acts 15:9, 11, 19-20)
C. Still SOMETIMES FAIL… (Acts 15:36-41)
D. But it’s DEFINED by GRACE (I Timothy 1:15-16; 2 Cor. 4:6-7)

Questions for Further Reflection:

1. Kid’s Question: What does it mean to be a Christian? (This is a great adult question, too!)
2. As you look at the rhythm of Indwelt, Empowered, and Witnessing in Paul and Barnabas’life, how does it compare to the rhythm of your own life?
3. Reflect on a time in your life when you have felt empowered by God’s Spirit. What wasunique about that time? How would your life change if that were an ongoing experience?
4. What are some of the larger disputes within the church that you have been aware of in yourlifetime? In the grand scheme of things, how important have they been?
5. When have you experienced the slow growth of sanctification and revelation?
6. What role does community play in being a spirit led and story formed people?
7. In what ways has GBC failed to be radically inclusive? What can we change?
8. How do you react to the exhortation to be “non-religious”? While it is an issue ofsemantics, partly, how do you feel about this emphasis on grace?