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Copyright ©2011 The Church at Brook Hills www.brookhills.org
Family Worship Guide – Week 12
READ This week Pastor David begins a four-‐week preaching series focused on disciple-‐making. The purpose of the series is to provide each Christ-‐follower with a working definition of disciple-‐making and equip each person with the practical tools needed to make disciples. Each Sunday, David will be preaching on one of the four primary components of disciple-‐making: share the Word, show the Word, teach the Word and serve the world. More specifically, he will show us how these four elements are fleshed out by the early church throughout the book of Acts. In this weeks’ family worship guide we will focus on the first component of disciple-‐making, sharing the Word.
Read Acts 16:22-‐40 While in Philippi, false accusations were made against Paul and Silas, which led them to being stripped, beaten and thrown into prison (16:22-‐24). While in prison, praying and singing hymns of praise to God, Paul and Silas were miraculously released. Out of nowhere a great earthquake hits Philippi resulting in the foundation of the prison house shaking, the doors opening and the prisoner’s chains being unfastened (16:25-‐26). When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors open he drew his sword to kill himself since he was responsible for any escaped prisoners (12:1-‐19). Paul intervened and assured the jailer that they had not escaped, leading the jailer to lay down his sword and not take his life. The man then asked the prisoners, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (16:30). To which Paul and Silas replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household” (16:31). After sharing the Word of the Lord with the jailer and his household they apparently believed and were immediately baptized (16:32-‐33). The newly converted jailer then did the unthinkable. He didn’t treat Paul and Silas as prisoners under his watch, instead he invited the men into his home for a meal and treated them as brothers in Christ and fellow disciples of Jesus (16:34). Only the gospel can affect such a change! Questions: What evidence do we see that the Philippian jailer truly believed the gospel message and was saved? In other words, how was the Philippian jailer changed after trusting in the Word of the Lord? How did Paul and Silas respond to being put into prison? What does this teach us? Why were they still able to praise God amidst such difficult circumstances? How do you see God orchestrating circumstances and events, within this passage, in order to advance the gospel? Who has God sovereignly placed in your life with which you can share the gospel? Following the earthquake Paul and Silas could have easily escaped. Why didn’t they? What overall truths does this passage teach us about sharing the gospel with unbelievers? Bottom Line: God brings about even the most difficult of situations as an opportunity for sharing the gospel.
PRAY As followers of Christ, most of us desire to share the gospel and be used by Him to advance the gospel to the ends of the earth. At the same time we must admit that this is much easier said than done. Feelings of fear often surpass our desire to share leading us to miss opportunity after opportunity to give gospel witness. This week ask God to give you boldness to share the gospel. Ask Him to fill you with the same Spirit that filled Peter in Acts and transformed him into a bold witness for Christ (Acts 4:31). Pray that God would provide specific opportunities for you to share the gospel with your neighbors, co-‐workers, family members and so on.
SING For this week’s song we chose ‘Blessed Assurance’. This is a hymn that was written by Fanny Crosby and Phoebe Knapp. It is a great hymn that speaks about the peace we have in walking with God and the confidence we have in His faithfulness. Crosby was blind from infancy and talked about how her blindness affected the way she wrote music. She said, "I verily believe that God intended that I should live my days in physical darkness so that I might be better prepared to sing His praise and lead others from spiritual darkness into eternal light. With sight I would have been too distracted
2
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to have written thousands of hymns." She also credited her education, her influence, and her memory to her affliction. Her faith in God during the midst of her physical limitation allowed her to minister to believers for years to come through the music that she wrote and through her legacy of perseverance.
Similarly, throughout Paul’s life, we see many trials and obstacles that he was faced with. In 2 Corinthians 11:24, he says that five times he received thirty-‐nine lashes, three times he was beaten with rods, he was stoned, shipwrecked, in danger from many people and situations, yet he doesn’t boast in those things, but in the things that make him look weak yet magnify God in his life. Throughout all of these circumstances, Paul displayed great confidence in God’s faithfulness and a desire above all things to know Him. In Philippians 3:8, he says, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” As believers, we have confidence that no matter what, God is faithful, He is sovereign, and He cares for us. We have this wonderful assurance that we are secure in His love and nothing can separate us from Him.
MEMORIZE Acts 16:30-‐31 Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
SUGGESTIONS These suggestions were created by the age-‐group ministry leaders as a way to help parents better communicate the biblical truths discussed in the Family Worship Guide. These suggestions are intended to help parents facilitate God-‐centered discussions with their children. Parents should prayerfully use these suggestions, and any other means necessary, to help their children discover the truths of God’s word and worship Him together.
Preschool
• Before you begin, review the words to the popular children’s song ‘Jesus Loves Me’ Jesus loves me this I know For the Bible tells me so Little ones to Him belong They are weak, but He is strong Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me Yes, Jesus loves me The Bible tells me so
• Read Acts 16:25-‐26 with your preschooler. • Explain to your preschooler that just like Paul and Silas sang a hymn of praise to God, we will sing one today too. • Sing, “Jesus Loves Me” with your family. • Tell your preschooler that this song tells us God loves us. God loves us so much that He sent us his only son, Jesus, to save
us from our sins. God is strong and great. He will be strong even when we can’t be, like when we are sick, afraid, or sad. • Paul and Silas loved God and knew that God is strong. They knew He would be strong for them while they were in prison,
so they prayed and sang songs of praise to Him. That is what God wants us to do. He wants us to pray and praise Him even when we are sad and hurting.
• When we trust in God and believe in Him during the sad times in our lives, other people will see God’s love and strength through us. Then, maybe someone who doesn’t know God will learn from our example. Maybe they will come to know God’s love too.
• Questions: Do you think prison was a strange place to pray and praise God? Yes! But Paul and Silas knew that God was stronger than any problem they had. Does God want us to pray and sing praises to Him even in our sad or bad times? Yes, because God is bigger than any problem we have.
• Conclude by singing “Jesus Loves Me” and praying that other people will see God through your family, especially during the sad or bad times.
Children • This is one of the most engaging and dramatic stories in the New Testament, yet it is easy to miss the "force" of the
passage if only quickly reading through. Re-‐read the passage and help immerse your family in the extraordinary events Paul and Silas are experiencing.
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Copyright ©2011 The Church at Brook Hills www.brookhills.org
• Ask: If Paul and Silas were thinking in merely human or selfish terms, how might they react to their situation? (Angry
people lied about them and they were falsely accused, doubtful of God's goodness since they were beaten badly after being obedient to Jesus, complaining in prison, etc.)
• Amazingly, Paul and Silas do not react in any of these ways. They see their circumstances with "new eyes." These new eyes remind them that every single situation in life is a gospel opportunity. Paul and Silas were surrounded by people who did not believe in Jesus. This was their mission field.
• Acts tells us that Paul and Silas saw their situation so far from human terms, they were even able to pray and sing praises to God (Acts 16:25). All this was after being lied about, beaten, and thrown into a dark and dirty Roman prison!
• Have you ever found it difficult to see the situations in your life with new eyes? Has it ever been much easier to grumble when things don't go your way rather than see a new chance to speak about Jesus?
• The truth is that in our own strength we will never see with new eyes. We will always default to selfishness and turning away from fresh opportunities to share the gospel.
• The great news is that the gospel is able to transform our hearts. See how powerful the gospel was in the life of the Philippian jailer. One hour he is holding Paul and Silas unfairly in prison, and the next he has invited these men to his home to celebrate with them that he has now believed in Jesus.
• Ask God that the power of His gospel would continue to change your heart. Ask for help to see with new eyes, viewing each circumstance in life, especially the tough ones, as an opportunity for the gospel.
Students • Re-‐read Acts 16:27-‐32. • As Christ-‐followers, we sometimes think that because God loves us and wants the best for us, He could never want us to
go through difficult circumstances. How does this passage teach us differently? • The thought of God not just allowing difficult times but bringing them about is foreign to many of us. However, if we are
honest and look back at the times where we grew the most as Christ’s followers, we would most likely point to difficult situations.
• When, if ever, has a difficult situation caused you to run towards Christ? Were their opportunities to point others towards Christ during that time? Explain.
• Just as metal is strengthened under the heat of fire, we too are molded and stretched during hard times. What if we looked for opportunities rather than exits during hard times? Do you think anyone would notice? How do you think your friends would respond?
• Read James 1:2-‐4 and ask the Lord to give you focus and strength when hard times come. Ask Christ to give you the ability to look for ways to share the gospel even when the worst of times come.
Pra
yer
W
eek
12
Loca
l
Loca
l Chu
rch:
Mou
ntai
n Br
ook
Com
mun
ity
Chur
ch: T
im K
alla
m
Focu
s: B
rook
Hill
s’ M
en’s
and
Wom
en’s
Pri
son
Out
reac
h M
inis
try
Mon
day:
Pra
y fo
r th
e ad
vanc
emen
t of t
he
gosp
el th
roug
h Ch
risti
an s
taff
and
vol
unte
ers
at
Julia
Tut
wile
r W
ork
Rele
ase
Cent
er, B
irm
ingh
am
City
Jail,
Jeffe
rson
Cou
nty
Jail,
Life
Tec
h Tr
ansi
tiona
l Fac
ility
and
oth
er a
rea
insti
tutio
ns.
Tues
day:
Pra
y fo
r pr
ison
ers
who
hav
e co
me
to fa
ith in
Chr
ist,
that
they
wou
ld g
row
in
thei
r fa
ith, w
alk
cons
iste
ntly
with
Chr
ist u
nder
di
fficu
lt co
nditi
ons,
and
be
bold
to w
itnes
s to
th
ose
who
stil
l nee
d to
kno
w C
hris
t.
Wed
nesd
ay: P
ray
for
the
Ala
bam
a Ju
stice
M
inis
try
Net
wor
k as
they
see
k to
recr
uit a
nd
trai
n m
ento
rs to
par
tner
with
thos
e le
avin
g in
carc
erati
on fo
r ac
coun
tabi
lity
and
spir
itual
gu
idan
ce a
s th
ey re
turn
to s
ocie
ty.
Thur
sday
: Pra
y fo
r G
od to
sen
d m
ore
Broo
k H
ills’
mem
bers
to te
ach,
faci
litat
e an
d le
ad
wor
ship
for
the
deta
inee
s an
d in
mat
es in
the
Birm
ingh
am C
ity Ja
il an
d Je
ffers
on C
ount
y Ja
il.
Frid
ay: P
ray
for
the
salv
ation
, pro
tecti
on a
nd
care
of c
hild
ren
for
who
m o
ne o
r bo
th p
aren
ts
are
inca
rcer
ated
. M
any
of th
ese
child
ren
are
in
fost
er c
are.
Pra
y fo
r th
eir
care
give
rs a
s w
ell.
Satu
rday
: Pra
y fo
r Br
ook
Hill
s’ m
embe
rs th
at
lead
us
in p
riso
n m
inis
try:
Bet
h Ro
bers
on,
brob
erso
n20@
yaho
o.co
m, C
indy
Lan
drum
, ci
nd31
558@
aol.c
om, W
ayne
Buc
her,
way
ne.
buch
er@
gmai
l.com
, Mik
e D
aven
port
, m
iked
aven
port
7@gm
ail.c
om a
nd Ja
ck H
ause
n,
jack
phau
sen@
gmai
l.com
.
Cop
yrig
ht ©
2011
The
Chu
rch
at B
rook
Hill
s
Glo
bal
Shor
t Ter
m T
eam
s: A
ustr
alia
and
Mid
dle
East
Part
ner:
Josh
and
Tra
ci S
tahl
ey -
our
New
Yor
k Ci
ty c
hurc
h pl
ante
rs
Mon
day:
The
Met
ro N
YC a
rea
is h
ome
to m
ore
than
500
peo
ple
grou
ps a
nd o
ver
22 m
illio
n pe
ople
. Pr
ay th
at G
od w
ill g
ive
the
Stah
leys
w
isdo
m to
kno
w w
here
spe
cific
ally
to p
lant
th
eir
lives
her
e in
ord
er to
mos
t effe
ctive
ly m
ake
disc
iple
s.
Tues
day:
Acc
ordi
ng to
the
2010
Glo
bal C
ities
In
dex,
NYC
is c
onsi
dere
d th
e m
ost i
nflue
ntial
city
in
the
wor
ld.
Pray
that
it w
ould
be
tran
sfor
med
by
the
gosp
el a
nd fo
r th
at in
fluen
ce to
spr
ead
thro
ugho
ut th
e ea
rth.
Wed
nesd
ay: L
ife in
a m
egac
ity li
ke N
YC p
rovi
des
uniq
ue te
mpt
ation
s du
e to
the
acce
ssib
ility
of
vice
s an
d an
onym
ity.
Pray
that
the
Stah
leys
an
d th
eir
team
will
con
tinua
lly g
row
in p
erso
nal
holin
ess,
esp
ecia
lly fo
r st
rong
mar
riag
es a
nd
fam
ilies
.
Thur
sday
: Pra
y th
at G
od w
ould
rais
e up
a
dive
rse
team
of i
ndiv
idua
ls a
nd fa
mili
es fr
om
Broo
k H
ills
and
othe
r ch
urch
es w
ho w
ill a
nsw
er
the
call
to p
lant
thei
r liv
es fo
r th
e gl
ory
of C
hris
t in
NYC
.
Frid
ay: G
od is
alre
ady
wor
king
in N
YC
thro
ugh
Broo
k H
ills’
glo
bal p
artn
ers
and
othe
r ch
urch
es w
ith w
hich
the
Stah
leys
hav
e ex
istin
g re
latio
nshi
ps.
Pray
God
wou
ld g
rant
wis
dom
to
know
how
to m
ost e
ffecti
vely
par
tner
with
them
to
adv
ance
the
gosp
el.
Satu
rday
: Pra
y G
od w
ould
est
ablis
h di
vine
ap
poin
tmen
ts a
nd o
pen
door
s fo
r go
spel
pr
ocla
mati
on, a
nd th
at th
e St
ahle
ys m
ight
de
clar
e it
bold
ly (C
ol. 4
:3-4
).
Live
s/Ch
urch
As
follo
wer
s of
Chr
ist,
we
desi
re to
sha
re th
e go
spel
and
be
used
by
Him
to a
dvan
ce th
e go
spel
. At
the
sam
e tim
e w
e m
ust a
dmit
that
this
is m
uch
easi
er s
aid
than
don
e. F
eelin
gs o
f fea
r oft
en s
urpa
ss
our
desi
re to
sha
re, l
eadi
ng u
s to
mis
s op
port
uniti
es to
giv
e go
spel
witn
ess.
Thi
s w
eek
ask
God
to
give
you
bol
dnes
s to
sha
re th
e go
spel
. Ask
Him
to fi
ll yo
u w
ith th
e sa
me
Spir
it th
at fi
lled
Pete
r in
A
cts
and
tran
sfor
med
him
into
a b
old
witn
ess
for
Chri
st (A
cts
4:31
). Pr
ay G
od w
ould
pro
vide
spe
cific
op
port
uniti
es fo
r yo
u to
sha
re th
e go
spel
with
thos
e ar
ound
you
.
Bles
sed
Ass
uran
ceby
Fan
ny C
rosb
yA
rran
gem
ent b
y Th
ird D
ay
Bles
sed
assu
ranc
e Je
sus
is m
ine
O w
hat a
fore
tast
e of
glo
ry d
ivin
eH
eir
of s
alva
tion
purc
hase
of G
odBo
rn o
f his
Spi
rit w
ashe
d in
his
blo
od
This
is m
y st
ory
this
is m
y so
ngPr
aisi
ng m
y Sa
vior
all
the
day
long
This
is m
y st
ory
this
is m
y so
ngPr
aisi
ng m
y Sa
vior
all
the
day
long
Perf
ect s
ubm
issi
on a
ll is
at r
est
I in
my
Savi
or a
m h
appy
and
ble
ssed
Wat
chin
g an
d w
aitin
g lo
okin
g ab
ove
Fille
d w
ith h
is g
oodn
ess
lost
in h
is lo
ve
(P)2
007
Prov
iden
t Lab
el G
roup
, LLC
Due
to c
opyr
ight
lim
itatio
ns, w
e ar
e on
ly
allo
wed
to p
rint t
he ly
rics
to th
is s
ong
with
no
cho
rds.
We
enco
urag
e yo
u to
dow
nloa
d an
mp3
of t
his
song
from
iTun
es.
Scri
ptur
e M
emor
yTh
en h
e br
ough
t the
m o
ut a
nd s
aid,
“Si
rs, w
hat m
ust I
do
to b
e sa
ved?
” A
nd th
ey s
aid,
“B
elie
ve in
the
Lord
Jesu
s, a
nd y
ou w
ill b
e sa
ved,
you
and
you
r ho
useh
old.
” A
cts
16:3
0-31