Relevant Verses: Acts 6, 10, 11, 15

Leading Question: How does a community, or an individual, know when a conflict is one that needs to be solved by firm confrontation, or by finding a way to allow both views to exist or co-exist within the community?

This week’s lesson addresses three specific instances when the early Christian community faced conflict, and worked their way through to a solution. These are represented by the narratives in Acts 6, 10, and 15.

1. Question: When it came to the distribution of food and other supplies to Jewish and Greek widows, the Greek widows claimed ...

Relevant Verses: John 10:1-18; 1 Pet. 2:9; Exod. 19:5-6; 1 Cor. 3, 12

Leading Question: How does the New Testament build on an Old Testament foundation when it comes to illustrating the idea of unity?

Although our overall theme of “Oneness in Christ” could be taken to suggest that one doesn’t really find oneness and unity until the appearance of the Incarnate God in the New Testament, some remarkable images in the Old Testament provide a bridge between the Testaments.

1. Question: To what extent are the images give in 1 Peter 2:9 (“chosen race,” “royal priesthood,” “holy nation,” “God’s own people”) rooted ...

Relevant Verses: Acts 1-2, 4- 5

Leading Question: With reference to unity, how should one assess the NT evidence: Positively? Negatively? Or as a toss-up?

In light of what one finds in the New Testament and in the history of Adventism, I have found one line to be both truthful and helpful: “God’s people have never had their act together for more than a few minutes at a time.”

1. Question: If one considers just Acts 1 and 2, what adjectives might one think appropriate for describing what these chapters depict?

Comment: Words like tumultuous, intense, and marvelous, come to mind as being appropriate ...

Relevant Verses: Ephesians

Leading Question: Among believers today, does being “in Christ” transform everything?

The vision in the book of Ephesians is incredibly expansive, the memory text for this week makes this bold assertion: “And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 1:10, NLT). Could one make an argument for universalism on the basis of this passage?

1. Question: According to the first chapter of Ephesians, God has a plan to bring all things together in him. Is that hyperbole, fantasy, or genuine hope?

Comment: Universalism has ...

Relevant Verses: John 13-17, Mark 9:38-41, John 10:16

Leading Question: Is oneness (in Christ) so important that we should seek unity at any price?

In his famous “unity” prayer, Jesus asked that his disciples be “one,” just as Jesus and his Father are one. The unity of the Godhead looms large in Jesus’ prayer, and he uses that unity as a model for his disciples, a tall order, given the natural tendencies of human beings.

1. Question: In John 13, the chapter immediately preceding Jesus’ famous dialogue with his disciples (John 14-17). Jesus predicted Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial. Were these predictions locked ...

Relevant Verses: Deut. 28, Judges, 1 Kings 12, Jer. 3:14-18; 1 Cor. 1

Leading Question: If Paul admonishes us to think on what is true, honorable, just, and pure (Phil. 4:8), are we justified in focusing on the causes of disunity?

This week’s lesson covers some of the most troubling incidents in the history of God’s people. Even though Paul admonishes us to think on the good things, when there is an illness, one needs to spend some time on the illness if there is to be a cure. The solution to our disunity can be found in Jesus, but diagnosing ...

Relevant Verses: Genesis 1, 3, 11

Leading Question: Why should one little sin in the Garden of Eden Leave such a huge imprint on the human family?

Our topic this quarter is “Oneness in Christ,” suggesting that without Christ there is no “oneness.” Our first lesson focuses on “Creation and Fall.” Scripture makes it clear that a great gulf is fixed between Creation and the Fall. The reasons for that gulf are something we must explore in this lesson.

1. Question: In Genesis 1-2, is there any hint of the coming storm that will engulf God’s creation? Does the complete absence of ...

Relevant Verses: Acts 27-28

Leading Question: Have you ever had someone who is a good person, but a bad traveling companion? What sort of a traveling partner would Paul have been?

1. Paul had always wanted to go to Rome. Now, he gets his chance, but it isn’t quite the journey he had hoped for. Luke, the author of Acts, travels with Paul. This helps to explain the many eyewitness details that are shared in these last two chapters of Acts.

What do you suppose it would have been like to travel with Paul? Would Luke have answered this question in the ...

Relevant Verses: Acts 24-26

Leading Question: Have you ever had to testify on your own behalf in a court of law? What was that like for you?

1. Following Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem, he was transferred to Caesarea, where he was held for about two years. While there, he was questioned by the Roman governors Felix and Festus, and also King Agrippa II.

Paul Before Felix (Acts 24:1-17)

Notice the three charges that are brought against Paul. Are any of them accurate charges?

In his defense, Paul refers to himself as “a follower of the Way” rather than as a Christian, even though the ...

Relevant Verses: Acts 21-23:30

Leading Question: Are religious beliefs personal and private, or are there some religious differences that are worth arguing—even fighting—about?

1. Acts 21 begins with a recitation of the stages in Paul’s journey to Jerusalem. He is warned by fellow believers, and by the prophet Agabus, that to continue to Jerusalem would lead to his arrest. Paul continues on, saying that he is willing to be bound and even to die “for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).

Should Paul have continued on despite these warnings? If so, then what was the purpose of the Holy Spirit ...