How You and Your Children May Live Like the Book of Acts
Every article in this series “Rain on Fire” is written simply as a tool for your family to use in exploring and living like the believers in the book of Acts. Do not attempt without coming to Jesus in humble prayer asking for His grace and power. Review Principle #1: Be Directed by the Holy Spirit, Principle #2: Jesus is ALIVE, So Live Like it! and Principle #3: Wait to Open the Gift!
Principle #4: BE a Witness!
A Bible Study for the Whole Family:
Connect
- Invite everyone in the family to step outside and stand an arm’s length away from each other. Give everyone 60 seconds to observe (without talking) everything they can smell, taste, touch, hear, and see.
- When the 60 seconds ends, invite everyone back into the house. Ask each one to share what they observed with all their senses.
- Ask: Did we all observe the same things? If not, why not?
- Every day you have the potential of knowing Jesus more than the day before. Because God created us all different, we all have our own special relationship with Jesus as our Friend, Savior, and Lord. Every one of us has our own story to tell about what we have experienced with Jesus. Today we will discover what it means to be a witness for Jesus.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to teach each one in your family to know Jesus through His Word.
Discover
- Read Acts 1:8. Did Jesus command us to DO witnessing or to BE a witness? What is the difference between doing a witnessing activity and being a witness wherever we go? (Being a witness for Jesus is something we are ALL the time, EVERYWHERE we go. We can’t turn “being a witness” on and off.)
- Jesus is always our example! Read Luke 19:1-10. How was Jesus a witness to the love of His Father God in this story? What did Jesus do to be a walking picture of God’s love?
- Read Acts 1:8 again. What special Help does Jesus promise us in being a witness for Him? How does this special Helper change the way we are a witness for Jesus? Read Galatians 5:22,23 and Matthew 10:19,20 to discover two of the ways the Holy Spirit helps you to be a witness. (One of the ways points to what the Holy Spirit does IN us. The other way is one of the ways the Holy Spirit works THROUGH us.)
- Based on Acts 1:8, where are we to be a witness? Where should we begin?
**For Additional Study: The Holy Spirit empowered many people in the early church to be a witness for Jesus: Acts 4:7-13, 7:54-60, 8:29-35, 9:17-21.
Call to Action: Apply
- What fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) do you most want God to grow in you at this time in your life? How would those fruits change the way you are a witness for Jesus at home? School? Work? In the neighborhood?
- What kind of witness for Jesus are we as a family to those who live near us? How could we be a more powerful witness for Jesus? What are our next steps as a family to be a witness to those around us?
Challenge
Every day ask God to give you what He promised you in Acts 1:8…then go through the day praying that both your words and your actions will point others to Jesus.
Prayer
Ask God to help each one in the family to point others to Jesus by words and actions.
Do you long to live, love, and lead your family by the power of the Holy Spirit? Do you hunger for your home to be a Holy Spirit led disciple-making center in your neighborhood? Come and join me in discovering how the Holy Spirit worked with imperfect believers in the book of Acts who dared to surrender to Jesus as Lord. What the Spirit of God did in the first century is an inspiring prophecy of what He is ready to do now in your life and family today!
When will the next article in this series be published? The next article will be published in 4-5 weeks. Click here to access part 1 in this series.
Consider sharing how this Bible study has blessed you, your family and others by commenting below.
Add new comment