Acts 2:42-47
ACTS STUDY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How were you encouraged or convicted from our study of Acts 2:42-47 on Sunday?
What characteristics of the early church do you observe in Acts 2:42-47? These characteristics are descriptive, but are they also prescriptive for every church at all times? Why or why not? What do we learn about the heart commitments and values of the earliest gathering of believers from Acts 2:42-47?
What does it mean that they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching? Where did the apostles get their teaching (cf. John 14:26; 16:13; Jn 5:46; Lk 24:27)? If biblical teaching, instruction, and doctrine started the church (Eph 2:19-20), and was the standard diet of the church (Acts 2:42), what does that mean for us? Why is it just as important in our context today?
What else did they devote themselves to, according to Acts 2:42? Why is fellowship so important to the Christian life? In what ways are you experiencing meaningful community with other believers? In what ways are you lacking or longing for more meaningful community and what might be preventing you from experiencing it? What are some ways we can cultivate greater gospel community within our church and small group based on your observations in Acts 2:42-47?
What does it mean that they were together and had all things in common? Why is it important to note that they voluntarily decided to dispossess themselves for the sake of those who had need? What does it teach us about grace (cf. 2 Cor 8:1-9)? Why does gospel generosity naturally overflow from gospel understanding and gospel community?
What does it mean that they had favor in the sight of all? Is this the attitude the larger community has toward our Christian community and your individual witness? Does the larger community see, hear, and experience the joy of our salvation? Why or why not? Would they even notice if we were absent from our workplace, neighborhoods, or community?
Do the characteristics and heart commitments you observe in Acts 2:42-47 exist at both the corporate and the individual level of our church? What influence, leadership, or action steps can you take to cultivate these characteristics and heart commitments further and fill any voids you see?
