By Doug Redford
1. Did you compile your “prescription for heart health” over the past week?
- Which item on your prescription would you say is most urgent for you to follow?
Ask two people to read aloud Acts 9:32-43 one after the other, preferably from different Bible versions. Then ask a third person to briefly summarize the passage.
2. Try to put yourself in the place of Aeneas, paralyzed and bedridden for eight years—then miraculously healed and able to walk! What would be on your “to-do list” for your first day up and moving after eight years of paralysis?
3. When you think of “always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36), who (or what) comes to mind in terms of:
- a person?
- a ministry or nonprofit organization?
- a special event?
4. David Faust describes some of the sounds and fragrances associated with doing good. What sounds and fragrances could you add, based on how you have seen others doing good in action?
5. The widows in Joppa showed Peter the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made when she was alive. What do you possess that someone made especially for you? (If there is a story behind that item, share it with your class or small group.)
6. What factors can keep us from doing good and helping the poor as often as we might like?
- How can we lessen the influence of these factors?
7. Peter got down on his knees and prayed for Dorcas.
- Have you ever gone to your knees in prayer for someone or during a time of great need? What were the circumstances?
- What spiritual impact does kneeling in prayer have?
8. How do you think Dorcas’s ministry was affected following Peter’s miracle of raising her from the dead?
9. Based on our study and discussion, complete the sentence: “I will . . .”
10. Go back to the items listed in Question 3 under “always doing good and helping the poor.” Commit to helping a person, a ministry, a nonprofit organization, or assist with a special event this coming week in one of the following ways:
- volunteering
- financial support
- encouraging note, email, or text
- daily prayer (let the person or group know of your prayer commitment)
For Next Week: Read and reflect on Acts 10:17-24, 34-48 as we begin Acts (Part 2) with the theme, “The Church Goes Global.” You can also read next week’s supplemental texts as well as the Study and Application sections as part of your personal study.
Author: Doug Redford
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
