Acts: The Plan of the Church // Travis Cook
Channel: Park Cities Baptist Church
Date: 18/04/2021

SERMON RESPONSE GUIDE

PRIMARY SCRIPTURE: ACTS 3:1-26
KEY POINTS
The plan of the church is simple, but it’s not easy:
1)    Stop, look, and listen to those around us
2)    Serve others based on what they say and what the Holy Spirit helps us see
3)    Speak to others about the refreshing, restorative love of Jesus available to all who repent from our own way of life and turn to Jesus for true life
MEMORY VERSE
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:

“Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,”
- Acts 3:19-20 ESV

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
 
1: Who have you not seen lately? Stop and ask God to show you who you have recently overlooked.
 
2: Has there ever been a time in your life when you did not feel seen? If so, what was that like? If not, what do you imagine it might be like?
 
3: Who do you know who truly sees you? What is it about that person that allows them to consistently and actively see you? How does it feel to be seen by that person?
 
4: Why do you think part of God’s plan for the church is for us to stop and see one another?
 
5: Read Acts 3:6-10. How does Peter serve the man who was lame from birth?
 
6: Based on Acts 3, what does service look like in the Kingdom of God? In other words, what are distinctives of Christ-like service?
 
7: Why do you think part of God’s plan for the church is for us to serve one another?
 
8: Why do you think part of God’s plan for the church is for us to speak about Jesus to one another?
 
9: Reflect on this week’s memory verses (Acts 3:19-20). What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you through these two verses? How will you respond?

PRAY
Lord, you have saved us and set us apart to stop and see one another, serve one another, and speak to one another about you. Yet, we confess we have failed to follow your plan for the church, because we have failed to follow you. Forgive us for selecting our own way rather than submitting to your own way. Lord, we long to see you, we seek to serve you, and we love to speak with you. Help us to come back to you, and in so doing, be sent out with you.

REFERENCES
For those interested in further study, our pastors want to share resources that have aided them in their sermon preparation (in conjunction with the Bible and the Holy Spirit):
 
·      Acts of the Apostles (The Pillar New Testament Commentary) by David Peterson
·      Acts (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) by Darrell Bock
·      Christians as the Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken