Radical Apprentices: Week 3 Readings and Discussion Questions

Readings: Acts 3: 1-10; Acts 4: 13-31; Acts 9: 1-22; Radical Apprentices, Chapters 5 and 6

Discussion Questions:

Discussion 1:

• What do you think it means to be a “radical witness”?
• What were the three reasons for the growth of the Jerusalem Church as a result of the disciples’ radical witness?
• Consider Peter’s actions in Acts 3: 1-10 and compare this to his behaviour in Luke 22: 54-62. How radically has Peter’s life changed?
• How do Peter and John demonstrate a bold witness in Acts 4: 13-20? How does telling the truth about Jesus simply and honestly show boldness? How can we show boldness in our witness for Jesus?
• In Acts 4: 23-31, how does the quality of the believers’ faith and spirituality contribute to the boldness of their witness? Why is prayer so essential to the boldness of our witness as Christians?

Discussion 2:

• How is the story of the Apostle Paul an example of “radical transformation”?
• How does Paul’s transformation through encountering Jesus show us that we should never “write off” anyone as a person who could never receive the Gospel? What does this teach us about Jesus as a friend of sinners?
• What does Paul’s reception into the Church say to us about the kind of love and forgiveness we should show as Christians toward those who have persecuted us?
• Although our experiences of transformation may not be as dramatic as Paul’s experience, what can we do to be receptive to God’s transformative work in our own lives?