Outline:

1. Your perspective is your responsibility

2. The focus of testing is your faith

3. Trials develop your faith

4. Two essential actions

           Asking for God's Wisdom

          Seeking God Himself

Outline:

1. The Council: Attacking the Truth - vs. 21-28

2. The Apostles: Affirming the Truth - vs. 29-32

3. Gamaliel: Avoiding the Truth - vs. 33-39

4. The Church: Announcing the Truth - vs. 40-42

Application Questions:

1. Have you ever faced any opposition because of Jesus? What happened and how did you respond?

2. When is it right to disobey civil authority? Should Christians try to topple an evil ruler (such as Hitler)?

3. How often do you refer to Jesus’ death and resurrection? When should it come up?

4. Is all “success” a result of God’s involvement and is all “failure” the result of God’s absence?

5. Is it possible to take a neutral position about following Jesus?

6. What does this text call our church to do? What does that look like on a daily/weekly basis and what is your personal role?

Sermon Application Questions

Should we be seeing God work more miracles? Is our little faith to blame?

How can you tell if someone is a true messenger of God?

What are examples of bad responses to those who oppose your faith?

How can we stay encouraged to serve the Lord when we don't get the responses we desire?

What stops you from proclaiming the gospel to others?

How can we encourage each other to persevere in proclaiming Christ to others?

Outline:

1. The Danger of Pride

2. The Benefit of Fear

3. The Joy of Giving

Application Questions:

1. What is your reaction to hearing this account of Ananias and Sapphira dropping dead on the spot?

2. Why would someone lie to God? What would they intend to gain?

3. How would you respond to the unbeliever who charges, “The church is full of hypocrites”?

4. Why is hypocrisy such a deadly sin? How can we detect it and fight it in ourselves?

5. How can a person who is prone to be a people-pleaser become a God-pleaser?

Outline:

1. We must be Changed by the Gospel we Profess - vs. 32

2. A Changed Life is a Powerful Witness - vs. 33

3. A Changed Life is a Selfless Life - vs. 34-37

Application Questions:

1. How can we develop a greater sense of community and unity? What are the boundaries of Christian unity?

2. Should we give to someone who is being irresponsible with his use of money? What guidelines should we follow?

3. American Christians are weighed down with the forces of materialism, consumerism and  wealth accumulation. How can we smash the idol of wealth?

4. Think of ways in which wealth can be a wonderful servant of the gospel, but a dangerous master in our lives.

5. Do you believe God is fully committed to meeting all your needs all the time and that you can therefore dare to be generous—and even reckless from the world’s point of view—with your possessions?

Outline:

1. A Serious Crisis - vs. 23

2. A Fervent Prayer - vs. 24-30

3. An Amazing Answer - vs. 31

Application Questions:

1. Discuss a situation where you had to face hostility. How did it affect you? What temptations did  you face?

2. What do you think is significant about the church's use of Scripture in verses 25-26?

3. To what extent do you actually face hostility for proclaiming Christ? What might this show?

4. Hostility to the gospel is real. How does verse 31 encourage us as we face hostility?

5. What might be the outcome if you were to follow more fully the early church’s example?

Outline:

1. The Display of God's Power - vs. 13-16

Through Uneducated Men

Through an Undeniable Miracle

2. The Denial of God's Son - vs. 17-18

3. The Determination of God's People - vs. 19-22

God's People Listen to God

God's People Speak about God

Application Questions:

1. Is training in theology necessary to be a witness?

2. What role do miracles play in people coming to faith?

3. Will a shy person become bold when he is filled with the Spirit? Does the Spirit change our basic personality?

4. How do you answer the challenge, “Won’t a sincere, good person who has never heard of Jesus go to heaven?” Why must we insist on Jesus as the only way of salvation?

5. How does the world try to silence us from doing and teaching in Jesus' name?

Outline:

1. The work of God fuels our confidence!

God's work is often opposed

God's work is successful

2. The work of the Spirit fuels our confidence!

This is God's work

This is God's plan

This is God's power

3. The work of the Son fuels our confidence!

He is Alive!

He is Active!

Salvation is Available!

Application Questions:

1. How do you respond when someone is annoyed at your talk of Jesus?

2. Tell about a time when you encountered opposition for talking about Jesus.

3. Why is it important to be willing to face opposition in order to become a Christian?

4. How does the Spirit of God fuel our confidence?

5. Who would you speak to about Christ if you knew God's Spirit would fill you?

6. The resurrection of Jesus is central to the preaching in Acts. Why do think that is so?