Week 21
Bible Reading
Daily readings from the last week:
John 19 - Acts 4
Reflect
What stood out to you from your daily readings over the last week? Any questions?
How did you go with what you said you’d do last week?
Discuss
Have someone read the passage and use the SOAP method to explore the text.
Don’t miss
Prayer
The religious leaders had turned the temple - intended to be a house of prayer for all nations - into a marketplace of commerce and greed. Jesus’ righteous indignation causes him to turn over tables and return the temple courts into what it was designed for: prayer. Such is Jesus’ zeal for the purity of worship and prayer that he comes into conflict again with the religious elite. Jesus is concerned for both Jew and Gentiles to have access to God in prayer - so much so that he will soon give his life to make such access available to anyone, anywhere who would believe. If Jesus was this concerned about prayer - how much should we make it a priority in our lives?
Learn
A helpful spiritual practice that often accompanies prayer is fasting. If this is a new practice for you, you might want to watch this message before leading someone in this section. Fasting is about aligning our physical bodies with our spiritual desire - hungering for the presence of God, both in our lives now, and the desire to be fully united with him in the future. Fasting from food helps reveal the idols we rely on and often brings sinful habits to the surface and allows us to address them. Fasting focuses us in prayer as we get many reminders (tummy rumbles!) throughout the day. Discuss what a rhythm of fasting could look like for you, and if there’s a way you could do it together. What would a next step look like for you here?
Pray
Spend time praying about what you’re learning.
Next Steps
What is a key takeaway from today?
Who are you going to tell about what you’ve been learning?
Read Acts 5-11 before you come back next time