FirstSF

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Where have you seen Jesus change your life or the life of someone else? Are there areas of your life where you still feel stuck in the same patterns of sin? How might you learn to rely more on His power to change you rather than your own strength?

2. Saul needed a Barnabas to help the church see that Jesus had truly changed his life. How can we become more like Barnabas by welcoming, encouraging, and coming alongside people who are growing in Christ? Are there people we might be tempted to define by their past rather than by what God is doing in their lives?

3. Saul’s life was radically changed by Jesus, and he immediately began

proclaiming Him to others, even when it came at great personal cost. Who are the people God has placed in your life who need to hear about Jesus? What keeps you from sharing the gospel with them, and how can Saul’s example encourage you to speak more boldly about Christ?

4. Acts 9:31 describes a church that was being built up, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and multiplying. How can we share the comfort, encouragement, and hope of the Holy Spirit not only with one another but also with those outside the church? What would it look like for us to be a church that strengthens believers while also drawing others to faith in Jesus?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Saul was convinced he was doing the right thing, even as he was opposing Jesus. Are there areas of your life where you might be resisting God's Word or pursuing your own way? How can we learn to receive God's correction as an expression of His grace?

2. Saul's conversion was dramatic, but the same power that transformed his life is at work in every believer. How does remembering God's power in your own salvation encourage you in your struggle against sin? How does it give you hope for people in your life who don't yet know Jesus?

3. Jesus takes our relationships with other Christians personally because we are members of His body. How should this truth shape the way we treat other believers, especially when they hurt us, frustrate us, or are difficult to love? What is one step you can take toward greater love, forgiveness, or unity with someone in the church?

4. God didn't just save Saul from something; He saved him for something. The same is true for every Christian. How might God be calling you to serve Him more faithfully in this season of your life? What is one step of obedience you can take this week?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Have you ever experienced a time when God clearly opened a door for you to share the gospel with someone? What was that experience like? How can you be more intentional about praying for and looking for opportunities like that?

2. Philip was willing to leave what he was doing and follow where the Spirit led him. Are there things in your schedule, budget, or daily routines that might need to change so that you have more space to join in God’s work? What might it look like for you to be more available to the people God has placed around you?

3. The Ethiopian eunuch was humble enough to admit that he needed help understanding Scripture and that he couldn’t meet his own deepest needs. Where do you find it difficult to admit that you need help or that you cannot fix something on your own? How can you grow in humility and dependence on Jesus?

4. Our salvation in Christ not only brings us into a relationship with God but also into a community of believers, which we celebrate through baptism and the Lord’s Supper. How can you more faithfully live out your identity as someone who belongs to Christ and His people? What might it look like for you to grow in your participation in the life of the church and your relationships with other believers?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. How would your prayer life change if you approached life with a greater awareness of the spiritual battle around you and the urgency of the mission God has given us? What practical steps can you take to become more consistent in prayer and to cultivate a heart of gratitude rather than discouragement?

2. When was the last time you prayed for God to open a door for you to share the gospel with someone? Who are some people in your life for whom you can begin praying regularly, and how might you pray for God to give you opportunities and the words to make the gospel clear to them?

3. Paul calls us to make the best use of our time and to walk in wisdom toward those who don't know Christ. What tends to keep you from investing intentionally in people around you? What is one way you could use your time, relationships, or involvement at FirstSF—including the firehouse—to make an eternal investment in someone's life?

4. Paul calls us to speak with grace and wisdom as we interact with those who don't know Christ. Think about your conversations with unbelieving friends, family members, or coworkers. What might it look like for you to communicate both the truth and the goodness of the gospel in a way that is clear, gracious, and appropriate to the person you're speaking with?

President, Co-Founder of The Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Think of some evangelistic or spiritual conversations you’ve had in the past. What led up to those conversations? What types of questions were helpful to open up those conversations?

2.Who are some people in your life you can begin, or continue to have, these types of spiritual conversations with? What are some questions you can use and prepare to be more curious about them and lead into spiritual conversations?

3. Paul knew enough about the Athenian philosophers (Epicureans and Stoics) to address their worldviews. What are the dominant worldviews/cultural beliefs we should be familiar with today? How can we make gospel connections to those beliefs?

4. What are some “Gospel Nuggets” or connections you can have prepared when talking about common topics of conversation with friends and family?

5. What are some ways you can contextualize the gospel to the non-believers in your life? What are their own concepts of sin and morality, and how can you show how the gospel is an answer to it?

1. Why is it often easier for us to see people’s physical, emotional, or relational needs while overlooking their need for Jesus? How can we open our eyes to recognize the great spiritual need each person has?

2. How deeply do you believe that Jesus is the only hope for those who don’t know Him? How might that belief change the way you pray for, care for, and speak to the unbelievers God has placed around you?

3. What obstacles tend to keep you from speaking about Jesus or inviting people to follow Him? What would it look like for you to persevere through one of those obstacles rather than letting it stop you?

4. Who is one person you could intentionally bring one step closer to Jesus in the coming week? What specific action could you take—starting a conversation, inviting them into your home, meeting a need, inviting them to church, or sharing the gospel?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. Where are you most tempted to see circumstances as obstacles to the gospel rather than opportunities for the gospel advance? How might Acts 8 change the way you respond to difficulty, opposition, or discomfort?

2. The gospel crossed a deep divide between Jews and Samaritans. What kinds of differences—ethnic, cultural, political, religious, or personal—can make it difficult for you to see someone as a person who needs and can receive the gospel? How does the cross change the way you view those people?

3. Many Samaritans had been captivated by Simon, but they were awakened by the truth of the gospel. Who in your life might seem unlikely to become a Christian? How can you grow in believing that God can open their eyes—and how might that confidence affect the way you pray for and speak with them?

4. Simon wanted to use the power of God for his own purposes rather than surrendering himself to God. Where are you tempted to use your relationship with God for your own ambitions, recognition, control, or advantage? What would genuine repentance and surrender look like in that area?

SERMON REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What are some things—other than Jesus—that you are tempted to look to for security, identity, or hope? How can those things become like the temple or the law for us—good things that we begin to trust in more than we trust in God?

2. Where do you most need to remember that God is with you right now? How might consciously trusting in God’s presence change the way you walk through that situation?

3. When you fail, sin, or realize that you have not lived the way God wants you to, what is your typical response? Do you tend to hide, justify yourself, beat yourself up, or simply try harder? How would it change your response to remember that Jesus—not your performance—is your hope?

4. How should our hope in Jesus change the way we respond when someone hurts, rejects, or wrongs us? Stephen asked Jesus not to hold the sin of his killers against them. Is there someone you are struggling to forgive? What difference would it make to remember that your hope is secure in Jesus and that you have been forgiven by him?