READ This week as we study Acts we are focusing on all the examples we can find of people showing the Word in the book of Acts. Believers show the Word to both non-‐believers and believers. As we live for Christ, our lives should be pointing people to the gospel and guiding them as they grow in their knowledge and understanding of Christ. Read Acts 2:42-‐47. In this paragraph, we learn a little about how the early Christians lived their lives. Together as a family list all the things that the believers were doing together. Do you think it was important for them to be together so much? This picture of how they were all connected and together allowed them to show the Word to one another. They were able to teach each other how to pray and how to study the Bible. They were able to meet one another’s needs because they were sharing their belongings and money. Their time together and their caring for one another is a great example of Christ-‐followers showing the Word to one another. The great thing is that as they showed the Word to each other they were also showing the Word to non-‐believers. Think about the non-‐believers who were neighbors to the Christians who were gathering to pray, study the Bible, and encourage one another. Do you believe that when the non-‐believers saw this loving community they would want to be a part of it? Seeing the lives of the Christ-‐followers helped non-‐believers to understand the power and love of the gospel. Read Acts 4:32-‐37. In this passage, Luke gives us more details about the early church. Everyone was united in heart and soul. Think through these questions: Why was there not a needy person among them? What all did they sell? Do you think it was important for them to have everything in common? Our memory verse for this week is Acts 4:32. It is an example of showing the Word. Showing what it means to follow Christ begins with uniting with all the other Christ-‐followers in the church. Our thoughts and our actions should be united, and we should look for ways to encourage and care for one another. For the early church, it began by sharing their possessions so that there were not any needy people among them. Their actions were a great witness that helped the apostles to powerfully share the gospel and the truth about Jesus to all the people in Jerusalem (4:33). Questions: How can you show the Word to your family? How can you and your family show the Word to your neighbors and friends? Bottom Line: Showing the Word helps us to share the Word as it makes our testimony powerful, and it helps us to mentor and guide believers as they grow in their understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
PRAY Rock the Block is a series of Backyard Bible Clubs hosted by the Brook Hills faith family throughout the city of Birmingham. Our main week for Rock the Block this summer will be June 6-‐9, but small groups are free to host Backyard Bible Clubs any week that works best for them during the months of June and July. Rock the Block is intended to be an overflow of the disciple-‐making that's already occurring throughout the year. Rock the Block is simply a tool to engage the children and families in your neighborhood through meaningful, gospel-‐advancing relationships. Our Children's Ministry team can provide your small group with gospel-‐centered curriculum, training, and many of the materials that you'll need. Those who would like more information or who would like to sign up to serve this summer can stop by the Rock the Block kiosk in the lobby.
SING For this week’s song, we chose ‘Saviour King’. This is a song that reflects passionate worship of God but also reminds us that the gospel doesn’t end with us. We are to spread it. We are reminded by the lyrics that the fuel and goal of our mission as a church is worship itself. Fuel: when we worship together, we are encouraged to go and spread the gospel in our daily lives. We are motivated by reminding each other that God is good, that He cares for us, and wants to have a relationship with us. Goal: our desire is to see people come to know Him, so that ultimately, they will worship the one true and living God.
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We sing passionately to Him: “You are our God,” “You alone are good,” “We love You Lord.” We recognize His grace in our lives and that He loves us and cares for us, but it doesn’t stop there. We also ask Him to let our “hearts burn with a flame,” a desire to see the weak strengthened, the poor blessed, and the lost come to know Him. Finally, we commit to give our lives to honor Him and spread His love. Our lives are meant to reflect His glory in worship, but also to spread this good news of Christ to the world.
MEMORIZE Acts 4:32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
SUGGESTIONS These suggestions were created by the age-‐group ministry leaders as a way to help parents better communicate the biblical truths discussed in the Family Worship Guide. These suggestions are intended to help parents facilitate God-‐centered discussions with their children. Parents should prayerfully use these suggestions, and any other means necessary, to help their children discover the truths of God’s word and worship Him together.
Preschool
• Before you begin, search magazines, Internet and books for pictures of the following examples to share with your child: families sharing food or meals together, praying together, or studying the Bible together.
• Read Acts 4:32 with your preschooler. • Explain to your preschooler that God is loving and merciful. Because God is loving and merciful, He wants us as His
followers, to be loving and merciful to other people too! • Show your child the pictures you found of the families. Talk about each picture and explain that as followers of God we
can enjoy getting together with other believers and spending time together. We can learn about God’s word together, and pray for one another. We can share meals together and celebrate all of the wonderful food that God has given us.
• Tell your preschooler that when we get together like this, we are “showing the Word” to one another. We are doing what God tells us to do in the Bible, His Word. When we “show the word” to one another, guess what happens? We are also showing the word to others who may see us or live near us. Maybe if they can see how much we enjoy being together, they will want to come and learn about God’s Word with us too.
• Questions: Do you think God wants us to get together to pray, study and celebrate His Word and the blessings He has given us? Yes, He does! Do you think God wants us to share our prayers, His Word and food with other people? Yes! God wants us to show His love to everyone we meet. God is loving and merciful. He wants us to share His love with others.
• Conclude by praying and thanking God for His love and mercy. Ask God to help your family find ways to “show the Word” with one another and with our neighbors.
Children • Re-‐read Acts 4:32-‐33. • Ask your children: Have you ever seen a windsock at an airport? Before modern advances in technology, windsocks
served a crucial purpose. Their purpose was to point out the direction and force of the wind. Without windsocks pilots and ground crews would not be able to direct planes to take off and land safely.
• As followers of Jesus, the purpose of our lives is very similar to that of a windsock. We exist to point out something. We point people the Lord Jesus!
• The believers in the book of Acts realized this, and with their very lives they pointed others to their Savior. Another way to describe this is to say that they showed the Word.
• Acts tells us that these early believers had close fellowship with one another and even gave away their possessions to meet the needs of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This may not seem like a big deal at first, but it certainly seemed radical to the people around them.
• What would you say if you heard of a kid in your neighborhood who sold his Xbox or Nintendo Wii and gave the money from the sale away? What would you say if you heard of a Christian who decided not to receive any new outfits for school for a while so another brother or sister in Christ who was hungry could have food? Reinforce to your children that there is nothing wrong with gaming systems or new clothes in and of themselves, and let the conversation center on grace.
• Some may say these individuals were crazy, but we would know something about them that is even more important. We would know that they considered something more valuable than an Xbox, Wii, or really nice outfit. When the Christians in Acts made sacrifices even more significant than these, they signaled to the rest of the Church and to the world around
them that Jesus and the new life available through faith in Him was more valuable than any treasure or possession on earth.
• As these believers showed the Word, doors were flung wide open for them to share the Word. The world around them could see that these Christians believed in a "better possession" that would never fade away (Heb 10:34).
• Pray that God would give you opportunities individually and as a family to demonstrate that Jesus is your ultimate treasure. As you ask for opportunities to obey Him and point to His value and worth in even greater ways, or to show the Word, ask that God would also give you open doors to share the Word with those who desperately need to hear it.
Students • Re-‐read Acts 4:32-‐37 and Act 2:42-‐47. • How are they similar? How are they different? What difficult circumstance happened in between the passages? • After the first three thousand joined the disciples, there was an immediate persecution because of their testimony. Have
you ever felt the challenged in your faith after having experienced a strong spiritual moment? • When have you felt the need to pray for boldness? Explain. • How did God answer the believers’ prayers for boldness? What was the result of their boldness? • Acts states that believers shared in testimony, food, and belongings. This was not forced on them but was a characteristic
of their belief. How do you see this characteristic revealed in the Christian life you see around you today? • Notice that things were given and distributed. Not taken and allocated. How does this line up with other passages like 2
Cor. 8:9-‐15 on generosity among believers? • Barnabas is singled out as leading by example. We know him later by his journeys with Paul and John Mark. His journeys
and encouragement were used to expand the Church and provide one of the four Gospels. As a student, what examples are you setting for those around you?
