Acts: The Church in Action
The Life that Crowned the Church
Acts 6-7
Small Group Questions
RE-CAPPING
Take time to share with your group if you have any follow-up updates, further insights, or questions from your last small
group discussion.
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
 Think back to the first half of your life (e.g., childhood through college years). Excluding family members, describe
one person who positively influenced your life. How did they impact your life? What was it about him/her that
made the biggest impression on you?
Read Acts 6:1-7:2; 7:51-60. Today, we often attribute positive impact only through fame, money, talent, leverage and
popularity. But in our passage, we see Stephen blessing and wondrously impacting others through a different set of criteria
…
 Cultivate a Spirit-filled Life
 Respond to Others
 Obey Faithfully
 Wise and Bold in the Truth
 No Conditions in Loving Others
We will take time to reflect on Stephen’s life and seek to apply several principles as we seek to bring God’s grace in our
world and setting.
ENGAGING WITH THE WORD
1. Why would Luke devote several chapters to describe the life and death of Stephen? What is the importance of
Stephen’s role in the book of Acts?
2.
How can you personally be encouraged through Stephen’s life?
3.
In Acts 7:2-51 Stephen calls out the Israelites’ in that their association to their Land, the Law, the temple, and the
prophets often gave them a false sense of security or even a substitute for their actual relationship with God.
a. What things do we, as a church, hold onto that might serve as a false indicator of a healthy relationship
with God?
4.
b.
How about as a small group?
c.
And lastly, you, individually?
The dominant characteristic of Stephen is that he is Spirit-filled. In light of question 3, why is having a Spirit-Filled
life important?
To be an open door to a life-changing grace
5.
In your own words, describe what a Spirit-filled life looks like. Share about a time when you witnessed a Spiritfilled life.
6.
As Stephen lives a Spirit-filled, Christ-centered life, he bears other Christ-like characteristics (“R-O-W-N”). How can
these characteristics bless and impact others? Share about a time when someone impacted your life in ministry
and how they used “CROWN” to bless you.
ENGAGING WITH YOUR WORLD
7. As you seek to “CROWN” others in Christ which characteristic would be most challenging for you to live out?
Why?
8.
How can we help each other individually, as a small group, and as a church grow to be a church the “CROWNS”
others? Are there any commitments we can make or other barriers we need to overcome?
9.
Where are you called to live as His witness? And how can you CROWN the people around you?
To be an open door to a life-changing grace