Discerning Together

Acts 15:1-35

Recap:

• What were your reflections from last week's study (or from Sunday's sermon) about preaching the Gospel in ways that make sense?

Read Acts 15:1-6

• Why do you think some of the Jewish believers thought the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses? In what ways can you identify with how they are thinking about this?

• Why do you think Paul and Barnabas opposed them so strongly?

• Why did they need to go to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders there? Why couldn't they just decide for themselves in the church at Antioch?

• How would you feel if you were an ordinary church member in Antioch while all this was going on? Have you ever experienced anything similar in your own experience of church?

Read Acts 15:6-22

• What did you notice about the process of decision-making here?

  1. Paul and Barnabas made an initial report (v4)

  2. The Pharisees made their report (v5)

  3. The apostles and elders met and discussed (at length - although sadly the content of this discussion isn't recorded for us) (v6-7a)

  4. Peter made a statement (v7b-11)

  5. Barnabas and Paul gave another (more detailed?) report (v12)

  6. James made a judgement, with reference to scripture and included a plan for implementation (v13-21)

  7. The whole church chose men to send with the letter (v22)

• Why do you think this decision needed to be dealt with this way?

• What do you think of the fact that James said that the Gentiles should be told "to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood." (v20)

  • Do we, as Gentile Christians today, need to follow this instruction? Why/why not?

• Are there any principles of decision-making that we can learn from this chapter, things that are applicable for us as we try to make decisions together in a modern church?

  • What (if anything) do you think should be done differently in different contexts or for different types of decision?

  • When we have disagreements on practical, relational, strategic, or theological issues, how do you think we should resolve them together? See if you can develop some kind of simple process as a group, drawing from this chapter and from your own experience. (Don't feel like it needs to be detailed - maybe just 3-5 main steps to take)

• Spend some time praying together:

  • for our church leaders: Elders, Board, Pastors, etc, that God would help them lead well through disagreements or difficult decisions.

  • for ourselves, that we would have wisdom, humility and insight to participate well in group decision-making processes at church, at home, at work, with friends, etc.