2023
Cut to the Heart
Passage: Acts 2
“What caused this release of energy…lies outside the realm in which modern historians are supposed to move…But before I am a historian, I am human… How can I close my eyes to the obvious explanation that something supernatural happened?” Kenneth LaTourette, history professor at Yale
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What is some recent “good news” (a good experience, discovery, recommendation, etc.) you’ve heard or shared? Why do you think we naturally want to tell others about good things?
Read Acts 2:14, 22-30, 36-41. What ideas or phrases surprise, encourage, or spark questions for you?
What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord and Messiah (verse 36)? How did Peter’s sermon shape the people’s understanding of Jesus as Lord and Messiah?
How did Peter speak to peoples’ minds and hearts?
The people were cut to the heart and wanted to know what they should do. When have you been cut to the heart?
The people needed to “rearrange” their lives in response to Jesus being Lord and Messiah. How has your life been “rearranged” to abide in Christ? What does it look like to practice repentance and remember your baptism?
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in you as a follower of Jesus. What does this mean for your life and identity?
PRAYER
Lord, grow my understanding of your grace until it rides me of fear, laziness, and pessimism that keeps me from opening my mouth and identifying as a Christian in public. Forgive me for being silent about all you’ve done for me.
Who is someone in your life the group can pray for that comes to your mind to share Christ with?
Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13