NOTES: 1] See LK 4:1-13, & MK 1:12-13 for a different slant on things.2] The word usually translated as 'tempt' also means 'test', or 'try'. 3] By NT times devil & Satan both mean the embodiment of evil. 4) Moses & Elijah also fast in the desert. Each time Jesus rebuffs the devil, he uses words used by Moses to convey God's Law in DEUT (8:3, 6:16, 6:13).

WARMING UP: How long can we go without food without feeling the need for a 'little something'?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything that's happened this week?

EXPLORING GOSPEL:

1-2        Do we think of tempting / testing / trying as coming primarily from the devil, God, or our inner self? What are the differences between being tempted to do something; being tested by doing it; & being tried by doing it? How much does it matter that we recognize whatever it is for what it is?

3-4        Do we ever feel we have to prove who we are to someone else? To ourself? Does 'every word ...mouth of God' just mean reading & quoting Scripture? What other means are there of 'living by every word that........God'?

5-7, 11  Would God ever ask us to do things like throw ourself down from the church tower (if we have one.)? Can we  expect God to save us from mad things we're tempted to do, even allegedly in God's name?
             How much do we believe in: a) angels; b) their ability to protect us from harm; c) their caring for us after testing / trial / temptation? If it's not legitimate to 'put God to the test', how do we 'check out' something we think may be God's will without doing that?

8-10      Does today's emphasis on building up self-esteem; egos; becoming a high flier; building empires of one kind or another; any of that kind of thing, ever tempt us to do other than worship & serve the Lord our God? How high is it legitimate or safe to climb before temptation to dominate cuts in & cuts God out? Or isn't that really an issue?
 
 

NOTES: 1] Stephen continues his defence. Moses, rejected by those he was sent to save, & performing signs & wonders, thus becomes a 'proto-type' of Jesus (whom Christians now see as 'the prophet' of v.37). See also AC 3: 22 re this.
2] 'Oracles' in v.38 means 'sayings' (of God)  = God's word.

WARMING UP: When was the last time we had to defend ourselves in any sense?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything that's happened since last week's Group?

EXPLORING ACTS:

35-41   Given the experience of both Moses & Jesus (not to mention other prophets) being rejected, do we do well to be wary of leaders or would-be leaders who are only, or too, success oriented? When the going gets tough in congregational life, not least when any leadership we believe we're called to offer is challenged or rejected, are we ever tempted to get out & go somewhere / do something less demanding? How do we test whether that's the way to go?
             What makes an oracle 'living' as distinct from just an oracle? Has the church / have we turned too many scriptural 'oracles' into pretty lifeless stuff? What's the only way we can ensure Scripture is 'living' & life-giving? Do we ever 'turn back to Egypt' in our hearts? What happens if & when we do? Do we ever make gods we look to to take the place of God?

42-53   Do we ever give God cause to feel about us as the Hebrews perceived God to be feeling about them because of what they were getting up to in the wilderness? Do we take spiritual wilderness as seriously as we take geographical wilderness? Is it time we took 'geography of the soul' more seriously? Where do we start?
            Do we lose some connectedness with God if we shut him too much into, say, a permanent church building rather than taking him with us 'in a tent' as we journey? Are we as a congregation using our sanctuary to maximise God's glory & our benefit without making our faith centre round it & dependent on it? Does heaven as 'God's throne' & earth as 'his footstool'
smack a little too much of flat earth theology?
            Are we ever 'stiff-necked' people? Are we in any sense, 'uncircumcised in heart & ears'? What on earth do those terms mean now? What might they mean, if anything, to those of us not from a Jewish background? Have we ever thought of God's law as 'ordained by angels'? Or is that too far over our head to cope with?

54-60  Do we ever get enraged when someone targets us with some home truth? Is it still far easier to 'shoot the messenger'?
Can we ever really see (understand?) heaven, the glory of God / Jesus, any of that kind of thing, if we aren't, like Stephen, 'filled with the Holy Spirit'? Why have teachings about Holy Spirit become so divisive within, among, & between churches? Or is it our spirit that's divisive? What might it mean to us in our situation to 'see the heavens opened & the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'? Or is this now just flat earth theology, too?

           How much violence of one kind or another still exists in a) our community; b) our congregation? c) the wider church? Are we ourselves out on the edge, somewhere, of any violence, as Saul was, or are we closer in to its centre? If either is the  case, is it time we prayed, with Stephen (& Jesus!) that any enemies we have may be forgiven? And do that now?!