THREE THINGS TO KNOW
DON’T MISS THIS
Thrive Women’s Summer Study launches June 7! Groups will discuss the book by Priscilla Shirer called Discerning the Voice of God. This study looks at how spending time in the Bible helps us recognize God’s character, language, and tone of voice and better understand the Holy Spirit’s role. For more information and to sign up, visit adabible.org/ThriveSummerStudy.
GROUP VALUES
This month we focus on serving. Jesus’s service example challenges us to serve. Serving as a group helps us look outside what’s going on in our lives and think about others. There are opportunities to serve our church community or to serve our local community. Have a conversation about serving together as a group this summer. Choose someone to be the serving champion to get started on making it happen.
GROW AS A LEADER
The last Small Group Leader Huddle covered some super helpful and practical tips on serving. If you weren’t able to attend or want a refresher on the key points, check out the huddle recap available on our Small Group Leader training platform. If you haven’t joined the Small Group Leader training platform, signup at learning.adabible.org/small-groups. Reach out to your staff contact if you have any problems.
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Welcome to the first week of our series with John Dickson called Dream Church. This week, we look at the first two ideals of the early church.
What kind of student were you?
Read Acts 2:42-47 aloud. What stands out to you?
IDEALS
Pastor John Dickson explains how important it is to read Acts as a narrative. What are some reasons it might be significant to pay attention to the genre of the different books of the Bible?
The paragraph we discuss this week is the only complete summary of church life in the Book of Acts. How does paying attention to the ideals of the first church help us today?
STUDENTS
Pastor John Dickson said the central message of the apostles was Christ’s lordship and his forgiveness. What do those two things mean?
The first Jesus-followers were students devoted to the apostles’ teaching. When you think of following Jesus, do you usually think it requires you to be a student?
It’s common for us to know more about our hobbies than we do about Jesus and what it means to live for him. What are some ways we can be students of Jesus, and what it means to follow him?
FAMILY
The early church devoted themselves to each other. What did regularly eating together mean in the first century? What are some equivalents of that today?
The early Christians were so convinced they were family that they moved resources around to look after each other. How do you think our group is doing looking after each other?
Throughout history, Christians have been known for sharing resources to help those in need. They served each other individually and also pooled resources for bigger projects. What are some ways our Ada Bible community helps those in need?
The early church’s love for each other and how they took care of each other played a prominent role in the church’s growth. How can our group be more like a family?
WRAP UP
This week we discussed two of the founding ideals of the first church: (1) students and (2) family. Which ideal do you think you need to focus on this week, and what’s one way you want to do that?
Download a printable PDF.