Use one or both of these questions to introduce the lesson:

1. Are you familiar with websites such as Angieslist.com and HomeAdvisor.com? Look them up on your computer or smart device and describe their services. Why do you think these sites are popular?

2. Many phones today allow us to program frequently called numbers so that we can access a person or service with just a digit or two. Whom do you have on “speed dial?” How did you choose the people or organizations for that list? 

Read Acts 9:36-38.

1. Tabitha “was always doing good” (v. 36). What are some results of believers doing good (Romans 2:7; Galatians 6:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13; Titus 2:7; 3:7; 1 Peter 2:12, 15)?

2. Imagine a conversation among believers in Joppa when Tabitha died. How do you think Peter’s name came up? Try to put together such a conversation with information gathered from Acts 3:1-10; 5:1-11; 8:17; 9:32-35).

Read Acts 9:39-41.

3. Funeral customs differ from culture to culture, but some seem to be similar regardless of time or place. What elements of Tabitha’s funeral were very similar to today’s funerals? What function did these actions serve?

4. Examine the similarities between the healing of Tabitha and Jesus’ healing of the daughter of Jairus (Luke 8:40-42, 49-55). Do you think these similarities are coincidental, or was Luke trying to point out them out? Defend your opinion.

Read Acts 9:42, 43.

5. Joppa is not mentioned often in Scripture, but we learn a little about it from 2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jonah 1:3. What can we infer about the city’s location and function? 

6. Would you say Joppa would more likely be a permanent residence for someone or a temporary stop on a longer journey? Explain. Why does this make the fact that Tabitha’s healing was known all over Joppa more significant?

7. Skip ahead and skim the next two chapters of Acts. How do you see Peter’s stopover in Joppa as part of God’s greater design for Peter’s ministry? Consider your own life journey. What evidence do you see that God is not finished with you yet? How can you get ready for a call from someone who has you on speed dial?