Acts 15-28 Twenty Questions

 1. What were the people who came down from Judea to Antioch teaching the believers in Acts 15?

2. How was this issue resolved?

3. Why did Paul and Barnabas part ways?  What does II Timothy 4:11 reveal about how Paul might have eventually felt about his position?

4. What do you make of the underlying spiritual drama (the resistance of the Holy Spirit and the “Spirit of Jesus” and the vision of the man of Macedonia) in directing Paul’s travel plans in Acts 16:6-10?

5. What does the change in perspective (switching from the third -person point of view to the first-person point of view) starting in Acts 16:11 indicate?

6. Why were Paul and Silas in jail?  What were the providential circumstances leading up to the baptism of the Philippian jailer? 

7. In spite of his distress at their idolatry, how did Paul find “common ground” with the Athenians in his presentation of the gospel?

8. What was Paul’s custom when it came to preaching at a new town?  Would he start with the Jews or the Gentiles? 

9. What caused the riot in Ephesus in Acts 19?

10. In Acts 20:22, Paul says he doesn’t know what will happen to him in Jerusalem.  What warnings does the Spirit give him in Acts 21?

11. What caused the riot in Jerusalem in Acts 21?

12. What statement of Paul’s prompted the crowd to call for his death in Acts 22:22?  Why was this a hot button issue?

13. How did Paul get out of a flogging?

14. How did Paul successfully divide his opponents in the Sanhedrin?

15. Paul’s enemies formed a conspiracy to kill him.  How did he escape their plot?

16. What can we make of the character of Governor Felix based on Acts 24:24-27?

17. Why did Paul decide to invoke his right as a Roman citizen and appeal his case to Caesar?

18. In Acts 26, what clues do we have that Paul is not only presenting his legal defense, but also sharing the gospel to those in attendance?

19. What is your favorite part of the shipwreck story in Acts 27?

20. Where and how does the Book of Acts end?  

Acts 1-14 Twenty Questions

 1. Since Jesus ascended into the sky, does that mean heaven is a physical place in outer space?

2. What qualifications were needed and what process was used to replace Judas Iscariot as an apostle?  Who was chosen?

3. What 3 manifestations of the Holy Spirit occurred on Pentecost?

4. What are the necessary responses to be saved, according to Peter’s answer to the crowd in Acts 2:38?

5. In Acts 3:16, who or what was said to be responsible for healing the lame beggar at the Temple?

6. According to Acts 4:12, how many pathways are there to salvation?

7. What was the difference between Barnabas’ gift and Ananias and Sapphira’s?  What was the couple’s sin?  What happened as a result? 

8. How does Peter’s statement in Acts 5:29-32 reflect earlier passages such as 4:19, 2:38, and 1:8?

9. What was Gamaliel’s advice?  Do you think history has borne out that his counsel was correct?

10. Why was there a need to enlist 7 men as deacons, or “table waiters”?  Why didn’t the apostles take care of this need themselves?

11. What were the last words of Stephen?  Are they reminiscent of any of the last words of his Lord?

12. How is Acts 8:1 a fulfillment of what we read earlier in 1:8?

13. What was Simon the Sorceror’s sin?  (Extra credit: what is the practice of “simony” and how is it related to what Simon did?)

14. In general, how quickly after receiving faith are new Christians in Acts baptized?  Can you give some examples?

15. How did Saul gain acceptance with Ananias?  How did he gain acceptance with the apostles in Jerusalem?

16. Who is the first reported Gentile believer to be baptized?  Who baptized him and how did he know it was okay to do so?

17. How is the first recorded miracle that Paul works (in Acts 13) similar to what he experienced in Acts 9?

18. How do the events of Acts 13:45-48 represent what was happening at large in the advancement of the gospel?

19. What are the extremes that the residents of Lystra went to in their treatment of Paul and Barnabas?

20. What similarities and differences stand out to you in comparing the followers of Jesus in Acts and the followers of Jesus today?

John Twenty Questions

 1. What are some of the claims made about Jesus in John 1:1-18?

2. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple takes place during Holy Week.  In John, the account appears in chapter 2.  What are some ways to explain this difference?

3. How would you describe John the Baptist’s attitude in John 3:22-30?

4. What social and religious conventions did Jesus break in John 4:7?

5. Which testimonies about Himself does Jesus cite in John 5:31-47?

6. How many different kinds of bread are referred to in John 6?

7. In light of John 8:31-47, should we consider everyone to be a “child of God”? 

8. How did the Pharisees react to Jesus’ healing of a man born blind?

9. What makes Jesus “the good shepherd”?

10. The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35.  What theological lessons can we draw from these two words?

11. Was Mary right to use such expensive perfume to pour upon Jesus’ feet?  Why or why not?

12. In John 13:14, Jesus commands His disciples to wash one another’s feet as He has washed theirs.  How can Jesus’ disciples “wash one another’s feet” today?

13. What does John 14:6 mean to you?  How would you explain it to others?

14. How important is it for a Christian to remain deeply connected to Jesus like a branch to a vine?

15. Who does Jesus say He will send in John 16:7?

16. According to Jesus’ prayer in John 17, what is the effect of future generations of Christ followers being as one in complete unity?

17. How would you describe Pilate’s attitude toward Jesus’ statement, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me”?

18. What scriptures are fulfilled in John 19?

19. What evidence did Thomas say he needed before he would believe the resurrection?

20. What did Jesus ask Peter three times in John 21?  Why do you think He would ask three times?

Luke 14-24 Twenty Questions

 1. What’s the difference between humility and humiliation (Luke 14:7-11)?

2. If Jesus said things like Luke 14:26-27 and Luke 14:33, why in the world would anyone want to be His disciple?  Does the Church still preach this message today?  Should it?

3. What are some common threads among the parables of Luke 15?

4. What is the basic message of the Luke 15 parables?  How important must this be if Jesus stressed it in back-to-back-to-back teachings?

5. What is commendable about the behavior of the shrewd manager of Luke 16:1-9?

6. What would you say are some of the messages we should glean from Jesus’ teaching about the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16?

7. What will be the similarities between the “revealing of the Son of Man” and the days of Noah as well as the days of Lot?  Have you ever experienced anything like this?  What is the word to us?

8. How is God like an unjust judge?  How is He unlike one?

9. What does the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector reveal about the importance of our attitude before God?

10. People felt Zacchaeus had disqualified himself from God’s grace by being a tax collector.  Had he?  Who is our “Zacchaeus” today?

11. It is believed Jesus’ prophetic words about the destruction of Jerusalem in Luke 19:41-44 were fulfilled about 35 years later.  What lessons should America today draw from Jesus’ warning and Jerusalem’s experience?

12. In what way could it be said that the poor widow was a “bigger giver” than the rich putting their gifts in the Temple treasury?

13. Why was it appropriate for Jesus to infuse the ancient Passover meal with new meaning concerning His body and His blood?

14. How does Jesus’ healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest exemplify His earlier preaching?

15. What did the Jewish leaders accuse Jesus of before Pilate?

16. Three times (23:35, 23:37, and 23:39) Jesus was challenged to “save Himself.”  Could He have?  If so, why didn’t He?

17. Is there any significance to the fact that the first witnesses to the Resurrection were a group of women?

18. Following His resurrection, what does Jesus say is the connection between Himself and the Old Testament scriptures?

19. What are some clues we are given about Jesus’ resurrection body?  How is it similar or different to our earthly bodies?

20. Matthew, Mark and Luke are sometimes called the “synoptic” gospels because they tell the story of Jesus in a similar way.  What similarities and differences did you find among them?