Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10:1-11:18)

PRAY: Practice prayer meditation. Find a quiet time and place, clear your mind of everything else, and allow God to speak to you in the silence.
PONDER:
God communicates with Peter and Cornelius through dreams and angels (literally, messengers). Who else in the Bible hears God’s Word in this way? What does God communicate with them?



Does God still communicate like this? How does God most often communicate with you?



What is Cornelius doing when the angel appears to him? What is Peter doing? What do you think they might have been praying about (would they have been expecting this)?



Do you have a regular routine and / or place for prayer? What do you pray about?



What can we learn about prayer from this story? How, if at all, does it change your expectations?



Peter responds to the Lord’s command to eat by saying, “I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean” (Acts 10:14). What do you know about Jewish food laws? (see Leviticus 11) What was the purpose of these laws?



What sort of “purity laws” do we practice (consciously or unconsciously) in our culture?




DO: Talk to somebody you wouldn’t ordinarily talk to (or better yet, whom you would ordinarily avoid). Show kindness and hospitality to this person (Acts 10:23).

Call of Saul / Paul (Acts 9:1-31; 21:37-22:21; 26:1-23; Gal 1:11-2:10; 1 Cor 15:3-11; Phil 3:3-9)

PRAY: Paul’s prayer for the Philippians (Phil 1:9-11). Pray for yourself, your faith community, and those in your life for whom you give thanks because of their sharing in the Gospel.
PONDER:
Many people title this story the “Conversion” of Saul / Paul. Paul never refers to this experience in his life as a conversion, instead, he uses the word “Call”. Why do you think this is? What is the difference between the two words?



Acts 9 is the narrative of Paul’s call. In all of the other passages above, Paul is recounting this experience for a particular purpose. Under what circumstances (for what reasons) does Paul tell his call story?



Paul tells his story a little different (with a different focus) each time. What are the common (core) elements in each telling?



Why do you suppose Paul tailors the way he tells his call story for his various audiences? Is one more accurate or true than another? Why or why not?



Whether or not we’ve seen a “bright light,” we all experience a call from God. Paul is able to narrate his call by looking back on his life and identifying formative experiences in his faith, leading up to his life changing call. Where have you experienced God forming you in your faith life?



Is there one moment (or moments) you can point to as your call to follow Jesus? How (in what ways) is God calling you to serve Christ? How (in what ways) did God call Paul to serve?



DO: Tell your call story to someone else this week. (Talking about it might help you compose your call story and identify God’s calling for you more clearly).