Each meeting covers one lesson. The passage, questions and notes are all on the lesson page, and group members can print their own copy.
Leaders need only this guide: first the flow that is the same every time, then the focus points and tips for each lesson.
A lesson takes about an hour. Meet weekly or every other week — whatever fits your group.
Each Meetingabout 55 min
Snacks and catching up
10 min
Read together
10 min
Discussion
25 min
This week
5 min
Close (prayer optional)
5 min
Opening: Start with last time’s ‘This week’: ‘Did you do it? How did it go?’ For the first lesson, ask everyone to say in one sentence why they want to read about this person. The leader goes first.
Read together: Take turns reading the passage, a few verses each. The leader reads the short notes between sections.
Discussion: You don’t need to discuss every question in ‘Think It Through.’ Pick one or two from each group, add this lesson’s focus points, and that is plenty.
This week: Read it together, and ask each person to decide on the one small thing they will do this week.
Close: You can pray using a verse from the lesson. If some aren’t used to praying aloud, a minute of silence together is fine too.
Focus 1 (vv. 4–5): “why do you persecute me?” and “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Ask the group: when you read Jesus calling the persecution of his disciples ‘persecuting me,’ what stirs in you?
Focus 2 (vv. 13–17): Ananias first said he was afraid, then went anyway, and opened with ‘Brother Saul.’ Ask the group what would be hard about saying that word ‘brother.’
Focus 3 (This week): Each person thinks of one person who ‘could never’ believe. Next time, those who are willing can say: when you prayed for them, did anything feel different?
Leader tip: This lesson is easily taught as ‘everyone needs a dramatic conversion like Paul’s,’ or Paul’s experience gets used to measure whose faith is real and whose is not. The passage says neither; each person meets the Lord in a different way. In this lesson he is still Saul; the passage only later says, “Saul, who is also called Paul” (Acts 13:9) — don’t teach it as ‘he changed his name on the road.’ Paul retells the Damascus road twice more himself, in Acts 22 and 26; this lesson reads Acts 9 only, so don’t lay the accounts side by side to compare details. Don’t press on question 9 for a name; let people share only if they want to.
Focus 1 (vv. 26–27): “but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him.” Ask the group: reading that word ‘But,’ what stirs in you?
Focus 2 (Acts 11:25–26): “Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul” (Acts 11:25). Ask the group: what is the difference between ‘going to look for someone’ and ‘waiting for them to come’?
Focus 3 (This week): Each person thinks of someone who is rather alone. Next time, those who are willing can say: when you went to them, what was it like for you?
Leader tip: The disciples’ fear of Saul was natural, and the passage does not rebuke them; don’t teach it as ‘the disciples had little faith and Barnabas was big-hearted.’ Don’t give Barnabas and Saul personality labels either — say, one ‘gentle’ and one ‘forceful’ — the passage does not analyze their characters. The passage does not say how long Saul stayed in Tarsus; don’t supply a number of years. Question 9 may touch experiences of being falsely accused or misunderstood; don’t press, and let people share only if they want to.
Focus 1 (vv. 2–3): “As they served the Lord and fasted” and “when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” Ask the group: what does an assembly that sends people out let go of?
Focus 2 (v. 9): “But Saul, who is also called Paul.” Ask the group to notice that here the passage simply tells us he had another name.
Focus 3 (This week): Each person thinks of someone serving far from home. Next time, those who are willing can say: after you prayed for them and wrote to them, did you hear anything back?
Leader tip: The passage reads “Saul, who is also called Paul”; don’t teach it as ‘he changed his name that day,’ and don’t guess at a link between the name and the proconsul Sergius Paulus — the passage does not say. Tell the Elymas story as written; don’t turn it into a method of ‘spiritual warfare’ or a model for rebuking people. “You son of the devil” is what Paul said when filled with the Holy Spirit; don’t use it to label anyone today. The order of names in the list, and why they went to Cyprus first, the passage does not explain; don’t supply reasons for it. Question 10 may touch loss and the pain of letting go; don’t press, and let people share only if they want to.
Focus 1 (vv. 7–12): Peter says God “made no distinction between us and them” (v. 9), and then “All the multitude kept silence” (v. 12) and listened to Barnabas and Paul. Ask the group: how did a great dispute come to a decision?
Focus 2 (vv. 36–41): In the same chapter, the council reaches a decision, and two co-workers part ways. Ask the group what they notice as they read this.
Focus 3 (This week): Each person thinks of someone they have drifted apart from and prays for them once; next time, those who want to can share what was in their heart as they prayed.
Leader tip: This lesson is easily turned into a doctrine lesson on circumcision and the law, or a debate over whether Paul or Barnabas was right. The passage does neither: in the council, simply follow how they talked it through and reached a decision; in the parting, the passage records only where each man went and does not judge who was right — so don’t make Paul ‘harsh’ or Barnabas ‘soft’; and v. 40, “being commended by the brothers to the grace of God,” is read as written, not as ‘the church took Paul’s side.’ 2 Tim 4:11 is a letter Paul wrote many years later; set it beside the passage only, without concluding ‘they were later reconciled.’ Question 9 touches real people and real wounds; don’t press, and don’t push anyone with ‘you can’t rest until you make up’ — let people share only if they want to.
Focus 1 (vv. 19–24): The real reason was that “the hope of their gain was gone” (v. 19); the charge was that they were “agitating our city” (v. 20). Ask the group: when you are falsely accused, what is hardest?
Focus 2 (vv. 25–28): Singing at midnight, a great earthquake, the doors open — and Paul says, “Don’t harm yourself, for we are all here!” (v. 28). Ask the group what they notice as they read this.
Focus 3 (This week): Each person writes down one thing they were falsely accused of and brings it to God in prayer; next time, those who want to can share whether anything was different in their heart after praying.
Leader tip: This lesson is easily taught as ‘praise brings miracles,’ or ‘believing means being falsely accused.’ The passage says neither: the singing and the earthquake are recorded one after the other, and it does not say one brought about the other; Paul was beaten because the girl’s masters lost their gain (v. 19). Don’t pull v. 31 out on its own for discussion; read on through vv. 32–34. Read the Roman citizenship in v. 37 as written, without commenting on why Paul did this, and without bringing in today’s political topics. Read “becoming greatly annoyed” (v. 18) as written; don’t turn it into Paul’s personality. Question 9 touches real people and events; don’t press, and let people share only if they want to.
Focus 1 (v. 16): “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw the city full of idols.” Ask the group: is there anything around you that stirs you like this?
Focus 2 (vv. 23–31): “What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you” (v. 23). Ask the group to notice: what did Paul go on to say about God? What did he speak of last?
Focus 3 (vv. 32–34, This week): Three responses — mocking, wanting to hear more, believing. Next time, those who wish can share: as you prayed for that person, what was in your heart?
Leader tip: This lesson is easily taught as ‘all religions really worship the same God’ — but Paul says “What therefore you worship in ignorance, I announce to you” (v. 23), and goes on to say who this God is, and to speak of repentance and the resurrection. It is also easily turned into a lesson in evangelism technique (‘start from the other person’s culture’) — the passage only records what Paul said; it does not draw it up into a method. And don’t comment that Paul ‘failed’ in Athens or ‘used the wrong method’: the passage passes no verdict; it only records three responses. Read the names of the Epicureans and Stoics as the passage gives them; there is no need to introduce their philosophies. If question 10 touches on being mocked, don’t press; let those who want to speak do so.
Focus 1 (vv. 19–22): “Having therefore obtained the help that is from God, I stand to this day” (v. 22). Ask the group: what is in your heart as you hear a man who has been held for two years say this?
Focus 2 (vv. 28–29): “except for these bonds” (v. 29). Ask the group to notice: Paul, standing there in bonds — what does he ask of God?
Focus 3 (This week): Each person thinks of someone who once misunderstood them or made things hard for them — there is no pressure in this; do it when you are ready. Next time, those who wish can share: as you prayed for that person, what was in your heart?
Leader tip: Don’t teach this lesson as ‘believers will be falsely accused,’ and don’t use it to comment on governments or politics — the passage simply records that the charges were ones “which they could not prove” (Acts 25:7), and what the king and the governor said in private (vv. 31–32). Vv. 3–18, where Paul retells the Damascus road, are not read in this lesson; don’t set them beside Acts 9 in Lesson 1 to compare details. 2 Tim 4:16–17 is from Paul’s letter; read it alongside only, don’t merge it with Acts into one story, and there is no need to work out which trial “At my first defense” (2 Tim 4:16) refers to. Acts ends with Paul still in Rome; this lesson does not speak of how he died. If question 9 touches the wound of being falsely accused, don’t press; let those who want to speak do so.
Principles
The leader is not a teacher, but someone walking alongside everyone else.
Give everyone a chance to speak. If some talk a lot, you can gently say, ‘Let’s hear from those who haven’t spoken yet.’
Don’t rush to give answers. If there is silence, wait a few more seconds.
If you can’t answer a question, it’s fine to say, ‘I don’t know — let’s look into it together,’ and come back to it next time.
What is said in the group stays in the group.
At the start, the leader can share their own answer first. Keep it simple and honest.
In the lessons, words in double quotes with a reference are scripture. What the passage does not say, we can only guess; guessing is fine, as long as we say we are guessing.
Don’t press on painful things. If someone becomes upset, stay with them after the meeting; if needed, involve a pastor from their church or a professional counselor.