Discuss the following questions during Family Meal and Discipleship Group (see How To Use This Booklet).
Family Meal
As the gospel is spreading throughout Jerusalem, we see Satan on the prowl trying to stall the Mission of God. Within the Church, Ananias and Sapphira act deceitfully with their giving, threatening to cripple the church by falsehood and breeding division. One of the core sins behind the story of Ananias and Sapphira was a desire to look better than they were.
- In what ways do you present yourself as better than you are? In what ways do you show people a “false self”?
Think about the brokenness and struggles within the Church and out in culture. In Acts 5, we read about the sin of Ananias and Sapphira and the persecution from the Jewish authorities. Yet despite these attacks, the Mission advances as more and more people believe.
- Read Acts 5:14. What hope can we draw from this passage?
Prayer: Spend some time together praying that God would take off our masks of “false self.”
Discipleship Group
- Talk about the current brokenness in the Church and in culture. Read Acts 5:14. In what ways does this passage keep us from having a defeatist mentality?
- One of the core sins behind the story of Ananias and Sapphira was a desire to look better than they were. In what ways are you being deceptive or hiding sin? In this, think through ways you try to deceive God, others, and even yourself.
- How does the gospel speak to these sins? How does God feel towards you? How does this empower you to take off the mask of the “false self”?
- What do you need to confess to those closest to you (spouse, roommate, friend, family)? Are there ways you are deceiving them and putting your relationship at risk?
Prayer: Spend some time together praying that God would take off our masks of “false self” and give us boldness to confess hidden sin.
Record any insights from family meal and/or discipleship groups...