HOME GUIDE | JULY 26, 2020

HOME GUIDE | JULY 26,2020
SUMMARY | Church on mission Assigns ministry opportunities to mature disciples (Acts 6:1-7). 

​Acts 6:1-7
The Choosing of the Seven
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews[a] among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.


SUMMARY |
Have you ever sat at the dinner table with some church friends only to find yourselves discussing 'church' practices that didn't seem fair? Did you find a solution? 
This type of discussion is typical when multiple family units gather. We all come to the table with different backgrounds and points of view that create different expectations. In Acts 6, we discover a tension between the Hellenistic Jews (Greek Speaking) and the Hebraic Jews (Hebrew Speaking). The issue at hand, some of the widows were not receiving the daily distribution of food. It was apparent the Apostles’ time was overextended between serving, praying, and teaching.  Take a few moments to read Acts 6:1-7 to see how they handled the problem before them. Use the discussion questions to guide the conversation.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS |

1. [Children] Activity: Have the children draw what comes to mind throughout today’s discussion. Help them use their words to describe what GOD is doing in this storyline. 
2. [Children - Adult] Some bible words to google: Apostle, Disciple, ‘Word of God’, Holy Spirit, Biblical wisdom, Convert, Priest and Proselyte. 
3. [Children - Adults] Discuss what the complaint is and its significance to the Christian movement. Can you define the hierarchy of leadership within this group? (Acts 6:1-2)
4. [Children - Adults] Take a few moments to identify the characteristics of a church leader, defined in these passages.  Give an example of what those might look like in action?
   (Example: 'ministry to the word' = Preaching and teaching about God and Jesus (see examples Acts 2:14-41, Acts 3:11-36, Acts 4, Acts 5:12-16)
5. [Teens - Adults] The church needed servant leaders to help direct the distributions to those in need so others might teach and pray. When you look at 'the church' today, what roles might be required?
6. What characteristics suits a person of church leadership? (Acts 6:3-6, 1 Cor 12:12-27, Ephesians 4:11 and Galatians 5:22-23)
7. [Teens - Adults] In verse 7, “So, the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith." Take a few moments and define what it means "to be obedient to the faith”. Find some passages to support these points. 
8. [Children - Adults] In today's lesson, Tim will make a similar statement "Church on mission assigns ministry opportunities to mature disciples." If you were to consider the conversation from the previous questions, what roles would come to mind, and how would you define "mature disciples?" 
9. [Teens - Adults] What role would you place yourself in as a disciple of Christ?  Servant Leader or Evangelistic? 

BONUS | As the church matures, Paul set forth some guidelines in 1 Timothy 5:9 that help define a widow in need. These guidelines helped keep the burden to the church, focused on people who were really in need. 
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS | Family Activity for the summer
[Children - Adults] For several weeks now we have encouraged a family prayer board. How is that going?   Here is what that looks like: Find a blank piece of paper or a whiteboard, go around the room asking about any concerns or thanksgivings before a time of Prayer.   Leave this paper where you can see it all week, discuss them everyday and see where God might be working in them. [Deu 6]
Additional Resource | Mission and Vision of the West Side Church of Christ: https://www.westsidear.org/mission-and-vision.html