Beginning Discipleship Lesson 2: Spiritually Empowered
Continue to conduct small group worship. Be sure to let them lead as much as possible in all aspects of your worship.
Review previous lesson
Spiritual Emphasis: Being filled with and walking in the Spirit
Story – [Tell the 2 small stories from Acts. Make it as interesting as possible, using the other verses for clarifying the spiritual emphasis.
Read Acts 1:1-5. Right before Jesus left he told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. They would be baptized or immersed in God’s Spirit.
Read Acts 1:12-14 What were they doing while they waited? ([They were praying.)
Read Acts 2:1-4 What strange things happened? What was seen and heard? ([They heard a sound like a violent wind, and saw tongues of fire that came upon each person’s head)] What did they start doing after the wind and the tongues of fire? (They started speaking and sharing as the Spirit enabled them.)
Read Acts 4:1-4 This is another time. What were the disciples doing in the temple? (They were speaking about God to all the people.) What happened to them in v. 3? (They were seized and put in prison.) Do you think this might happen to you if you were to preach/speak about God to others? (Any answer is ok. This is their opinion.)
Read Acts 4:21-31 What did Peter and John do when they were released in v. 23? (They went back to their own people and reported all that had been said to them.) What was the first thing they did after hearing Peter and John’s report in v. 24? (They prayed (and praised). Does their prayer sound like they are scared? (No) What did they pray for in verse 29? (They asked for more boldness.) What happened after they had prayed in verse 31? (The place they were meeting in was shaken and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God boldly.) This is the pattern: You pray for boldness. You get filled with the Holy Spirit. Then you are bold. You don’t get filled with boldness. You get filled with the Spirit. And the Spirit in you is bold. We obey Him and act boldly. So the principle is “Pray, Receive the Filling of the Spirit, and then you will be bold to witness.” (Pray-Filling-Boldness)
Read Eph. 5:18 What do you think it means to be “continually” filled with the Spirit? (Use a glass as an illustration of “filling.” ) If there are rocks or trash in the glass first, you can still fill it, but will there be as much water in the glass [of the Holy Spirit] as if it is cleaned out first? (No. There’s more if you clean it first.)
So another important requirment to being completely filled is to first be cleansed. Without going into any details, what kinds of things might be keeping you from being filled? (personal answer here.)
8. Read 1 John 1:9. So how do we get cleansed from sin? (By confessing them to God.)
Have them practice retelling the lesson to each other in pairs.
How to Obey: Challenge them to set up a special time of prayer for cleansing and filling of the Holy Spirit. They can use their Prayer Journal (if written) or their response to their daily Quiet Time to demonstrate their instant obedience to the Spirit’s leading and/or their boldness in witnessing. Next meeting they should be able to show the journal for their accountability.
Verse to Memorize: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Acts 4:31
Prayer – Pray for needs in group and ask for God to confirm His message in their lives through Spirit’s witness.
