03 September 2023
Life Group discussion for week following 09.03.23
In the Name of Jesus
Kyle Childress
Acts 3
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: Read Acts 3 & Watch/Listen to 09.03.2023 Sermon
SERMON REVIEW:
The Miracle:
The man’s prior condition.
The name that changed everything.
The man’s new condition.
The Message:
It wasn’t us!
It was all Jesus!
Holy and Righteous One!
Author of Life!
The Method:
Repent.
Turn back.
Receive forgiveness.
Receive a new life.
QUESTIONS:
DIGGING DEEPER: Repentance (v. 19)
How often we have heard that repentance means being sorry for our sin, and often that posture appropriately accompanies genuine repentance. But the word metanoia really refers to a change of mind. Sometimes it describes turning around and walking in a different direction. The Jews in Peter’s audience had rejected and crucified the Messiah; now they needed to accept him as the Savior of Israel.
The Bible often links repentance with faith because saving faith includes genuine repentance. The unbeliever changes to a believer, a complete difference of direction and thought (Acts 11:17–18; Acts 20:21).
Let’s not worry about the order. Somehow, as part of the salvation process, we turn from our sins, reject and repudiate our former behavior, and cast ourselves in total faith upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.[1]
Life Application: Taking Off the Dunce Cap
Have you ever wondered where that expression came from? Actually, right out of church history. John Duns Scotus was a theologian who entered the Franciscan order at the age of fifteen and was ordained a priest in 1291. His intricate theology prompted Roman Catholics to give him the title “Subtle Doctor.” Protestant reformers picked up on the idea, calling anyone whose ideas seemed obscure a “duns” from which, of course, the word “dunce” arose.
On one occasion, Scotus and the Pope walked through the Vatican Gold Chambers. As the story goes, the Pope turned to the theologian and said, “Dr. Scotus, no longer can the church say ‘silver and gold have I none.’ ” To which Scotus reportedly replied, “And no longer can it say, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ ”
Whether true or not, the incident certainly applies to our day as well as the thirteenth century. We build gigantic buildings worth millions of dollars and put on lavish programs to call attention to ourselves, hoping people will come to a certain place, at a certain time, to hear a certain person proclaim a message of importance. Capturing God in a building with some kind of special group often seems like wearing the dunce cap, proclaiming a message nobody wants and nobody heeds. This chapter calls us to be ready for spontaneous ministry, to look for blind beggars in our path, and to trust God to give us the wisdom and the power to do something about every ministry opportunity he affords.
How do you think this applies to the work of the church at Anderson Baptist Church?
Issues for Discussion:
1. How would you and your church respond to a beggar on the steps of your church?
2. What do you have besides financial resources that you could give to God’s work?
3. What is repentance?
PRAYER:
[1] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 52-54.
In the Name of Jesus
Kyle Childress
Acts 3
SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION: Read Acts 3 & Watch/Listen to 09.03.2023 Sermon
SERMON REVIEW:
The Miracle:
The man’s prior condition.
The name that changed everything.
The man’s new condition.
The Message:
It wasn’t us!
It was all Jesus!
Holy and Righteous One!
Author of Life!
The Method:
Repent.
Turn back.
Receive forgiveness.
Receive a new life.
QUESTIONS:
- What did the message teach me about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?
- What did the message teach me about the human condition?
- Is there anything I need to confess, repent, or be grateful for, because of this passage?
- How do I need help in believing and applying this scripture to my life?
- How can I encourage others with this passage?
DIGGING DEEPER: Repentance (v. 19)
How often we have heard that repentance means being sorry for our sin, and often that posture appropriately accompanies genuine repentance. But the word metanoia really refers to a change of mind. Sometimes it describes turning around and walking in a different direction. The Jews in Peter’s audience had rejected and crucified the Messiah; now they needed to accept him as the Savior of Israel.
The Bible often links repentance with faith because saving faith includes genuine repentance. The unbeliever changes to a believer, a complete difference of direction and thought (Acts 11:17–18; Acts 20:21).
Let’s not worry about the order. Somehow, as part of the salvation process, we turn from our sins, reject and repudiate our former behavior, and cast ourselves in total faith upon the finished work of Jesus Christ.[1]
Life Application: Taking Off the Dunce Cap
Have you ever wondered where that expression came from? Actually, right out of church history. John Duns Scotus was a theologian who entered the Franciscan order at the age of fifteen and was ordained a priest in 1291. His intricate theology prompted Roman Catholics to give him the title “Subtle Doctor.” Protestant reformers picked up on the idea, calling anyone whose ideas seemed obscure a “duns” from which, of course, the word “dunce” arose.
On one occasion, Scotus and the Pope walked through the Vatican Gold Chambers. As the story goes, the Pope turned to the theologian and said, “Dr. Scotus, no longer can the church say ‘silver and gold have I none.’ ” To which Scotus reportedly replied, “And no longer can it say, ‘in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ ”
Whether true or not, the incident certainly applies to our day as well as the thirteenth century. We build gigantic buildings worth millions of dollars and put on lavish programs to call attention to ourselves, hoping people will come to a certain place, at a certain time, to hear a certain person proclaim a message of importance. Capturing God in a building with some kind of special group often seems like wearing the dunce cap, proclaiming a message nobody wants and nobody heeds. This chapter calls us to be ready for spontaneous ministry, to look for blind beggars in our path, and to trust God to give us the wisdom and the power to do something about every ministry opportunity he affords.
How do you think this applies to the work of the church at Anderson Baptist Church?
Issues for Discussion:
1. How would you and your church respond to a beggar on the steps of your church?
2. What do you have besides financial resources that you could give to God’s work?
3. What is repentance?
PRAYER:
- Pray for opportunities to share the Gospel where you work, play, or live.
- Pray for the power of Jesus to be used through every member of the church.
[1] Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, vol. 5, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 52-54.