Leader
Resources

 

 New Group Member Follow Up

  • Individuals requesting to join via groupfinder are added to your group and their information is sent to you. 
  • Your responsibility is to connect with them within 48 hours. 
  • If you have been unsuccessful over three attempts please update the google sheet (that we send open groups weekly) with that information
  • Review the Google sheet (that we send with potential members) and update accordingly. We will send this weekly as a reminder if you have pending requests. 

System Update – New Attendance Look and Feel

  • First of all, attendance now AUTO-SAVES. This is convenient and confusing. When you enter attendance (by clicking on a person’s name which highlights them with a blue box) this attendance is automatically saved and updated.
  • You can share prayer requests by clicking “Share Prayer Requests”
  • There is no saving or submitting anymore. When you’re finished click “back” or close the page.
  • We are fixing an issue that some of you are not receiving an attendance summary. 
  • You can access your group at: my.venture.cc

Host a Seder at your home and skip the Seder event at church

  • If you (or your group) attended the Seder at church last year, please consider hosting one in your home to make space for others to attend the Seder event at Venture.
  • You can host a Seder with your Life Group in the week leading up to Easter or the week of April 22nd (the actual Passover week this year).
  • I will send out instructions for how to host one in your home next month.

Passover Seder Event on March 28th

 

Current Discussion GUide

Acts 10 & 11

Written by: Liz Ditty & Nathan Gelsinger 

 

  • Introduction – Whose prayers do you think God hears? How do you think God decides which prayers he will answer? Has he ever answered one of yours?

 

Let’s talk about Cornelius.

  • Cornelius feared God, and was seeking God. He was more than intellectually curious, he believed the God of the Jewish people was the true God and aligned his household and values with that. 
  • With the limited information he knew, Cornelius knew that caring for the poor was important to God. In Acts 11:29 (and throughout Acts) we see the early church gave to those in need according to ability and was known for their generosity. 
    • How does your family or your life group shine with generosity for those in need? 
    • Can you think of any ideas of how to be especially caring for those in need this Easter season?

 

Read Acts 10:30-33 then Luke 22:8-13

  • Luke wrote both of these passages, what parallels do you see? 
    • What do these passages say about God? 
    • What do these passages say about some prayers? 
    • Have you ever experienced anything like this in your own life?

 

Let’s talk about Peter.

  • God prepared Peter through a vision that was deeply confusing. You see, God was preparing Peter to be an important part of someone else’s story.
    • Has God ever given you experiences that in hindsight prepared you to enter a new season or serve others better?
    • If you are in a confusing season now, how could God be preparing you to serve new people or in new ways? 
    • What have you found helpful when you are waiting or confused with what God is doing?
  • Peter trusted God’s vision (that went against everything he had been taught!) because of the nature of his experience, the repetition, and also the confirmation of the messengers of Cornelius, and ultimately through the direct confirmation of the Holy Spirit. When you aren’t sure about the direction you perceive God is giving, this is a great pathway to follow in confirming it.

Read Acts 10:28 and 11:17-18

  • Peter was sure that even though eating with Greeks was against Jewish law, that God had told him to do it. He saw that God really was doing a new and exciting thing by inviting the entire non-Jewish world into the goodness of the Gospel.
    • In your life today, how does your obedience to God go against the cultural grain? 

Let’s talk about the Church.

 

Read Acts 10:44-46 then Acts 2:1-4

  • The Holy Spirit came in something like a 2nd Pentecost! This truly was a work of God. 
  • It’s strange to imagine now, but Christianity was originally a Jewish sect. The original followers were primarily Jewish and some of their cultural laws got in the way of the Gospel reaching everyone. 

 

Read Acts 11:19-22

  • After Steven’s martyrdom, the followers of Jesus spread out and they only told other Jews about the Messiah, Jesus. Some unnamed disciples started preaching the gospel to the Greeks as well, and thank goodness they did! Their church in Antioch is where “Christians” first got their name.
    • Is there anyone who you assume isn’t interested in the good news of Jesus because of their background or story?
    • Who could you invite to Venture this Easter season if you weren’t filtering who you thought would likely say “yes”?

 

Group Prayer Time:

  • God heard Cornelius’ prayers, and he hears ours as well. 
    • If you could have any prayer in your life answered with the detail and clarity of Cornelius’, what would you ask God for? 
      • Can we pray with you?
      • What do you need if/while you are waiting in uncertainty and mystery instead of miraculous detailed answers?
  • Who could you make yourself available to, that you may not know is searching for God?
    • Who can you invite to Easter events?
      • How can we support you?
      • What are you nervous about? Let’s pray courage over one another and be prepared to celebrate the opportunity to obey God even if it feels counter-cultural or we are worried about what others will think.

 

 

Click Here for a Downloadable Version of the Discussion Questions

Past Discussion Guides

Acts 1:12-26

Acts 2:1-41

Acts 2:42-47

More Resources

Various Life Group
Schedules

The art of
Asking questions

Venture Connect
Leader Portal

RightNow
Media