Cast vision for their identity in Christ or what God can do through them as they take steps of faith.

• For example: King David was amazed that the God of all creation would be concerned with mankind. In Psalm 8,

  For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David.

  ¹ Lord, our Lord,
      how majestic is your name in all the earth!

  You have set your glory
      in the heavens.
  ² Through the praise of children and infants
      you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
      to silence the foe and the avenger.
  ³ When I consider your heavens,
      the work of your fingers,
  the moon and the stars,
      which you have set in place,
  ⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
      human beings that you care for them?

  ⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
      and crowned them with glory and honor.
  ⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
      you put everything under their feet:
  ⁷ all flocks and herds,
      and the animals of the wild,
  ⁸ the birds in the sky,
      and the fish in the sea,
      all that swim the paths of the seas.

  ⁹ Lord, our Lord,
      how majestic is your name in all the earth!

  he asks the Lord, “What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?” It is amazing that we serve a loving God who is powerful enough to do all things on His own, but who invites us to join Him in His work. He desires to work through us to take His love to the world.

From a leader of ABBA in Austin, TX: “To make the Metro Movement manageable, we have divided the Greater Austin area into 20 sub-regions. Today, the most unified sub-region (the city of Round Rock) had a collaborative serve day where over 40 churches produced over 1,500 volunteers, doing a wide variety of projects. I led a team as part of a smoke detector installation/fire safety survey effort done in partnership with RRFD. As part of the survey, we were allowed to ask residents if there was anything we could pray about for them. One 88-year-old Spanish-speaking lady who lives alone thanked us for coming because she never saw her own children as they were too busy for her. I asked if I could pray for her about this, she agreed, so I prayed that God would move in her children's hearts to love, honor, and respect her as she deserves. We left. About 20 minutes later I sent Elaine back to check on something that I forgot. The lady said that as soon as we left, her son called her on the phone, something that ‘never’ happens.

This is the first introduction to the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) process.

Explain Context

As the early church grew in numbers, a problem arose. Widows from Greek-speaking Jewish backgrounds were being neglected. So, the Apostles decided on a solution to the problem. Let’s read about how the problem was settled.

• We will practice the Discovery Bible Study (DBS) method throughout Sent 6:7. It is a way to both read, discover, and remember what the Bible says. The DBS involves reading, discovering through interaction, and repeating what we read in our own words. So let’s practice each of these three elements.
  • Let’s Read: Acts 6:1-7

    ¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

    ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

    ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

  • For our Discovery Discussion: What caught your attention and why?
  • Then we Retell: Retelling reinforces learning the Scriptures. It allows us to share God’s word more naturally where we live, work, learn, and play as we ask God to advance the mission through us. When you are retelling, it’s important to remember that you’re not changing, contextualizing, or modernizing the story. Simply retell what you just read.

For the first lesson, have the group practice creating a bullet point outline together as a model of how to identify the main points of retelling a story. Then have people pair up and retell the story in their own words.

• If in a large group setting, ask 1 or 2 people to summarize what was discussed.

Transition

• Did you notice what qualities the leaders told the people to look for in Acts 6:1-7?

  ¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

  ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

  ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

  [people full of the Spirit and wisdom] But how did people know who was filled with the Spirit and wisdom? Let’s look at another passage that gives a good description of the qualities that show up in the life of someone who is filled with the Spirit.

If in a large group setting, choose a new facilitator in each small group who will guide the small group discussion.

• Let’s utilize the Discovery Bible Study process once again.
  • Let’s Read: Galatians 5:16-25

    ¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

    ¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

    ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

  • For our Discovery Discussion: What caught your attention and why?

If in a large group setting, ask 1 or 2 people to summarize what was discussed.

Summary

• This passage gives obvious qualities of the fruit that comes from being filled with the Spirit. The people in the story from Acts 6:1-7

  ¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

  ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

  ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

  would have been able to see the fruit in the lives of the seven men who were chosen.

Discuss the following:

• Whom do you know today that best displays this fruit of the Spirit in their lives? (share the name of a person who has the character of those mentioned in Acts 6

  The Choosing of the Seven

  ¹ In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.² So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.³ Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them⁴ and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

  ⁵ This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.⁶ They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

  ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

  ⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen.¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

  ¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

  ¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

  ¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

  and why you chose them.)
• How would our church be different if it were full of Christians who walked in the power of the Holy Spirit? How would our city be different?

Transition

We serve a God who works through us. He doesn't leave us at the mercy of the powers around us, but gives us the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, to obey him in big steps of faith.

• We have seen how submitting to the Holy Spirit produces evident fruit in our lives and enables “the word of God to spread and the number of disciples to multiply (Acts 6:7).

  ⁷ So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

  It is essential for us to allow the Holy Spirit to guide, direct, and empower us.

Walking in the Spirit is a moment by moment decision. For every follower of Christ, we should be inviting the Spirit regularly to fill, guide, and empower us to carry out his mission and purposes.

Dr. Bill Bright, who founded Cru, often said that the most significant thing a Christian could do is explain the Spirit-filled life to another believer. The brief outline and application points called Satisfied? helps to summarize and apply what we have learned about being filled with the Spirit. So, let’s look at it together to learn how to apply it to our own lives and communicate it with others.

• Introducing the Satisfied? booklet or tool. {Pass out the booklet or have each participant download the GodTools app and open the Satisfied? tool. Or use the Satisfied? link directly}.
• Assign each one of the following sections to different people: Satisfied?, The Divine Gift, The Present Danger, The Intimate Journey, The Empowering Presence.
  • Don’t assign Turning Point yet— we will look at that together after their discussion.
  • If using the Satisfied? booklet (not on GodTools), assign 2-3 pages to each person, but don’t assign page 12.
  • If using the GodTools app, be sure participants know to read through each white tab at the bottom of the screen they are assigned to study.
• Have everyone study their assigned screen or page and write down what caught their attention and why.
• After each person has had time to answer the questions, ask each group participant to explain the content of their section to the group and tell how they answered the questions. (Be sure to go in the order it is presented in the Satisfied? booklet.)

Transition

Now, as we finish, I would like for everyone to look at The Turning Point screen (or page 12). This is the most important part of this lesson. Let me read through this with you. There is also a chance to pray to be filled with the Spirit. I will read the prayer twice — once for your understanding and the second time as a prayer.

• Read through the screen (or page) twice, and give participants a chance to pray to be filled with the Spirit the second time.
• Ask if anyone prayed that prayer for the first time. Acknowledge those who respond.

Let me remind you of three things from Satisfied?:

• First, the command and promise found on The Empowering Presence screen (or page 11). [Quickly summarize this.]
• Secondly, God deeply cares about how we feel. Jesus joins us in our feelings and the Holy Spirit empowers us no matter how we feel. A Spirit-filled person doesn't rely on their feelings, but rather, experiences and interprets them through the lenses of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. This is found on The Turning Point (or page 13). [Remind them of the Airplane Diagram on page 14.]
• And thirdly, if you have found this to be helpful, let me encourage you to share this with others. Aside from the gospel, this is the most important thing we can share with others.

• Review the Satisfied? booklet in your free time. (also in GodTools app)
• Let’s take time to practice the Spiritual Breathing principle
  • Exhale ( 1 John 1:9) confess our sins, agree to change our attitude or actions
  • Inhale – surrender control of your life to Christ
• Let’s ask God to fill and empower our lives (See page 12 of Satisfied? booklet) Pursuin