Series: Acts of Peter
Title: No Perfect Church
Passage: Acts 5:1-11
Speaker: Ross Frisbie (Senior Minister)

Use the following questions based on today’s sermon as a starting point for spiritual discussions with your family or a small group of Christian friends this week.

Fellowship—Relationship with a Purpose

• Would you rather have a church full of perfection or a church full of problems? Explain your answer.
• Do you handle problems in the church with grace and truth? Or is your reaction different? Why?

Growth—Thinking About Spiritual Matters

• Review Acts 4:32-37. What was the motivation for the believers’ caring and provision for each other?
• What do we learn about Joseph, aka Barnabas? What kind of response do you suppose the church had to his generosity? How do you suppose his actions impacted Ananias and Sapphira’s choices in 5:1?
• Are Satan’s attacks on the church more effective from the inside (internal problems) or from the outside (external assaults)? Why?
• What might have been the effect on the church if Ananias and Sapphira’s sins were left unchecked? What does this tell us about the seriousness of sin?
• How can we guard ourselves against Satan? Read James 4:7 for scriptural advice. How do we submit to God?
• In Acts 5:11, a “great fear gripped the entire church.” What does healthy fear of God look like? As you answer, consider C.S. Lewis observation that God is ‘not safe, but He is good.’ See Hebrews 12:28-29 for more thoughts…
• How would the church be different if we grew in our healthy fear of the Lord?

Prayer – Taking Your Thoughts to God

• Use Psalm 90 as a model prayer. Pray the themes that you read in this song. Focus on God’s power, His response to sin, and His glory.