By Michael C. Mack Why is it difficult for some people to move from an old way to a new way of doing things?  Read Acts 15:1-12.  Divide your group into two camps: the circumcision group (Galatians 2:12) or “party of the Pharisees” (Acts 15:5), a.k.a. the Judaizers, and the salvation through grace group, represented […]

By Michael C. Mack 1. What keeps you up at night?  Read Acts 12:1-11.  2. What possible motivations did Herod have for killing James and imprisoning Peter? (See Acts 11:18, 21, 27, 28; 12:3.) Also note that this was Herod Agrippa I, the grandson of Herod the Great (who had the children in Bethlehem murdered) […]

By Michael C. Mack 1. When have you had to explain your actions to someone? What did you say? What was the result?  Read Acts 11:1-18.  2. What were the assumptions of the Jewish Christians (“circumcised believers”)? How valid were those assumptions, considering the information they had so far?  3. If you had been one […]

By Michael C. Mack 1. What do you think is the biggest cultural or worldview change in your lifetime?  Read Acts 10:24-38. 2. How is this passage a turning point in the book of Acts? in the Bible? in the church?  3. This is the third and final time Peter used the “keys of the […]

By Michael C. Mack “A leopard can’t change its spots”—meaning, people can’t really change their character, especially if it’s bad, even if they pretend they’ve changed. Is this saying true or false? Why?  Read Acts 9:19b-31.  Why did people have such a hard time believing that Paul had become a Christian? (See 7:58; 8:1; 9:1, […]