Before we move on, let’s visit one more passage that deals with the practice of giving and read 2 Corinthians 9.

Verse 7 sums up giving very well by again tying giving with intent. It’s not the amount that you give that counts – it the heart with which you give it!

(It’s only fair to point out that this giving was not really to the local church – but for the use of others!)

As you read Acts 13 you will learn about the beginnings of Pauls’ missionary journeys.

What was the church in Antioch doing in verses 2 and 3?

P______________ & F_____________

Why did some of the Jews want to stop Paul and Barnabas?

How did Paul & Barnabas react to the persecution that they received?

When things are going well for the church, Satan will be ready to attack. See how King Herod became involved as you read Acts chapter 12.

How did the church react to Peter being arrested? (Good for them: prayer was their first response!)

How did the church react to Peter’s miraculous escape? (Bad for them: they didn’t believe it!)

Verse 23 shows us how serious God is when it comes to false gods – they don’t last. But what does verse 24 tell us about the message of the true God?

Read Acts 11 to see how the church reacted to Peter preaching to non-Jews.

How did the church react in verses 1-3 when Peter first came back? How did they react in verse 18? How did they go from criticism to praising God?

Did you notice how God worked when the church kept a strong focus and exercised unity? How could we begin that process today?

Acts 10 will give us the opportunity of seeing how Cornelius comes into a relationship with God. (This is extremely important to us because he was not a Jew.)

Church history is filled with the conflict that occurs between what God says and what man says. I love the way the Message translates verse 15, “If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Jesus had this problem with the religious leaders of His day, and so did the disciples. Can you think of places today where “religion” seems to go against God’s word?

Read about Saul’s ‘introduction’ to Jesus Christ in Acts 9.

According to verse 9, what did Paul do after being struck blind? (Hint: It starts with an “F”) According to verse 11, what else was Saul doing? (Praying and fasting – they go hand-in-hand!)

This story gives us a rare God’s-eye-view of events. We’re able to see how God is at work in the lives of Saul and Ananias, and how He brings it all together. As Christians, that should bring us great encouragement about the God that we serve and His desire to be at work in our lives.

According to verse 20, how long did it take for Paul to start sharing his testimony with others?

Let’s finish off the week by looking at another story on fasting. Read Jonah chapter 3.

When Jonah told the people of Ninevah what God had said, what did they do? (verse 5) What did their king do? (verse 6) And what did God do in response? (verse 10)

Acts 8 contains two very different conversion stories. Compare the two as you read Acts 8.

Simon is a great example of a ‘typical’ conversion: he started out not believing in Jesus, he heard about Jesus and believed on Him, but then he still didn’t completely understand the gospel and needed to repent for wanting to ‘buy’ God’s power. This is an excellent example of why we need to remember that believing in Jesus is not the final destination – we should always be learning and growing!

The eunuch was already searching for God, but Philip had to be willing to share with him, or he might never have found Him. Let that be a strong reminder that we should always be willing to share Jesus with anyone that we meet!

A Christian martyr is someone that dies because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Today we’ll read about Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr, in Acts chapter 7.

Which parts of this story made the biggest impact on you?