Baptism Sunday: Chance Encounters

Acts 8:26ff

Connect:

• Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.

Prayer:

Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.

Review:

This was Baptism Sunday where we join and celebrate those who are taking that step of Baptism declaring, “I am now in Christ Jesus, raised to new life!” For our Scriptural reflection, we are looking at the life of Phillip and how God used him in a remarkable way.

The Grand Tour of the message: Thinking back on what you heard this Sunday…

o What did you learn about God?

o What did you learn about people?

o What did you learn about yourself?

o What do you want to commit to putting into practice?

Reflection:

Personal Experience:

• Ask a member of your group to share about how you met your spouse— where do you see the hand of God at work in that story?

  Group Discussion:

• Read Isaiah 53:1-12

  • Giving a verse or two of this chapter to each member of your group, split up into pairs and have each pair identify specific ways Jesus fulfilled the verses they were assigned. Share back with the group.

• Read Acts 8:26-31

  • How do you know when it is time to share about Jesus with someone?

  • What is the “Good News about Jesus”? How would you share that with someone who had absolutely no background at all with the Bible or a Biblical worldview?

  • That was a rapid decision that led to a rapid baptism! If you were Philip, and someone who had only just accepted Jesus as their Savior asked to be baptized, would you baptize them? Why or why not?

• Read Acts 8:32-38

  • There was no follow up here! The guy came up out of the water, and suddenly Philip was no longer there! Discuss why the Lord chose to do that,

  • This clearly demonstrated spiritual power and anointing, but there was no time to instruct and teach the new believer! Why would God choose to do take Phillip away like that?

Response: 

Scott ended the message this week with an invitation to accept Jesus as Savior. Spend some time in prayer together for those in your circle of influence who have yet to make a decision of faith in Jesus. Share some of the back story and spend some time praying together for these people!

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