Week of May 27, 2012

1. Read Acts 2:1-21.
2. What do you know about the Holy Spirit?  What do you think it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit?  Is this something you are comfortable with?
3. Luke says that they were all together in one place (v. 1).  How important is unity to the church?  How should we handle conflict?  Do you think there is a connection between division in the church and the absence of the presence of the Holy Spirit?
4. Read v. 2-4.  What do you think was happening here?
5. Do you think people are filled with the Holy Spirit today?  How does it happen?  How do you know if it is happened to you?
6. Note how the Lord immediately uses them to reach the people in town for Pentecost (v. 5-12).  Father Mike made the point that the Holy Spirit will empower us to reach our mission field "in a language that they can understand".  What do you think he meant by this?  Who are the people he is gathering around us?  Where are they from?  What do they need?
7. Peter gets up and quotes from Joel 2:28-32 (v. 14-21).  In it, he mentions things like prophesy, visions and dreams.  Has the Holy Spirit ever spoken to you like this?  What happened?
8. Father Mike talked about how prophesy is a simple, encouraging word that the Lord inspires and gifts you to articulate.  What words of encouragement might the Holy Spirit be giving members of your group to encourage others?
9. Pray for one another....