Session 12: Widening the Invitation (15:36-16:40)
In previous sessions we have seen how God used the Jewish disciples to start the first church in Jerusalem and then extended the call of that ministry to other people groups. First, there was the story of Philip helping an Ethiopian man find salvation, and then the mission among the Samaritans. The persecution caused the gospel to be spread and the beginning of the great missionary church at Antioch came to be. As we begin today’s session we find Paul, once again, visiting churches that he and Barnabas had established. Paul and Barnabas has disagreed over the inclusion of John Mark in their ministry team so they split up. Paul took Silas with him while Barnabas traveled to Cyprus with John Mark, thus another missionary area was opened.
Paul and his group traveled through Syria and Cilicia adding a new member, Timothy, to their group. Paul had planned to move throughout the province of Asia (modern-day Turkey) but the Holy Spirit of God changed his mind. During the night Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia calling to him for help. This was a pivotal decision for in Philippi they found a major center of Greek culture, with their worship of many gods. Their idol worship was well-established so it would be a major challenge to present the gospel to them. But Paul persevered and we shall see three examples of his evangelizing.
Read 16:10-15
1. What is significant about the use of the word “we” in 16:10? __________________
2. What was Paul looking for on the Sabbath day? Why? _____________________
3. What was significant about Lydia being a dealer in purple cloth?
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4. What did the Lord cause to happen to her? ________________________________
5. Why is it important to “listen with your heart” to the message of God?
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6. What does this tell you about your responsibility to share Christ with others?
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7. What practical results came for Paul’s ministry from Lydia’s decision?
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8. How important is it for Christians to show hospitality to others?
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Read 16:16-24
9. What was unusual about the slave girl Paul and his group met on the way to prayer?
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10. How was she valuable to her owners? ____________________________________
11. How long did she continue her outbursts against Paul’s group? ________________
12. How did Paul react to her pronouncements? ________________________________
13. How did her owners respond to Paul’s action? _____________________________
14. What did the authorities do to Paul and Silas? _____________________________
15. How secure did the jailer make them in prison? ____________________________
Read 16:25-34
16. What were Paul and Silas doing at midnight? ______________________________
17. How did God show himself to those in the prison? __________________________
18. What was the jailer’s reaction? Why? ____________________________________
19. What was the significant question asked by the jailer? ______________________
20. What sort of hospitality did the jailer show toward Paul and Silas?
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21. What happened to the jailer and his household? ____________________________
22. Why did the jailer rejoice? ____________________________________________
The gospel is for all people. Today we have seen where an affluent lady, a demon-possessed girl and a jailer all found Christ. Not only is Christ for all people groups but for every person as well.
Sometimes we have the tendency to think only in terms of ourselves – our family, our friends, people from “our” group when it comes to sharing the news of Christ. This is important but we show never overlook the possibility that we are God’s chosen messenger at special times to show His love to others.
How many different types of people do you know who need Christ in their lives? How can you connect with them? Never let it be shown that we are Christians who would deter anyone from being saved.