Acts 8:4-25

Recap:

• What did you take away from the appointment of the 7 in Acts 6:1-7 (in last week's Connect Group Study and sermon)?

  • Did you recommend a ministry to someone?

  • Did someone recommend a ministry to you?

We're skipping ahead to chapter 8 - here we read about Philip, one of the 7 appointed in chapter 6.

Read Acts 8:4-8

• Jews didn't usually associate with Samaritans (consider the famous 'Good Samaritan' in Luke 10:30-37, or the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-42). What do you imagine Philip's ministry would have been like, besides what Luke briefly says here?

Read Acts 8:9-25

• Compare Simon and Philip:

  • What did each most value?

  • What did each work for or pursue?

  • What did each choose to ignore or disregard?

• If Simon 'believed and was baptised' (v13) then how could Peter later say "your heart is not right before God" (v21) and "I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin" (v23)? (Perhaps consider what sort of 'belief' and 'baptism' he had...)

• What attitude of heart do you think is revealed in Simon's desire to buy the gift of God with money?

• What do you think of Simon's response to Peter's rebuke? Do you think he repented? Do you think he was forgiven? Why/why not?

• What does Simon's example reveal about human nature?

  • What should we learn from this?

  • What sort of belief in Jesus do you have - is it the sort that is accompanied by the Holy Spirit and a changed heart?

  • How can we become free from 'bitterness and captivity to sin'?