As the book of Acts opens, God is growing His church by the thousands over a period of just a few days. This creates some logistical problems for the apostles, so they decide to recruit seven helpers—people who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. One of these helpers is a guy named Philip, a man who will become a leader in the early church—and someone who helps us see how easy it is to bring the good news to people around us.
1. Digging In (God, Show Me!)
Get Acts 8:26-40 in front of you, either using your Bible, an online Bible, or by printing out the passage. Read the passage and use the prompts below to notice detail:
- Draw a cloud over, or highlight, every mention of God (and any of His representatives, like angels, the Spirit, and so forth).
- Draw an ichthus (the sign of the fish) over, or highlight, every mention of Philip.
- Draw a smiley face, or highlight, every mention of the Ethiopian.
Once you’ve read and marked the passage, look over the things you marked/highlighted and list on a sheet of paper or in an e-doc as many details as you can about God, Philip, and the Ethiopian.
God Philip Ethiopian
2. Taking It Inward (God, Teach Me!)
Use these questions to internalize this scene in Acts 8:
How would you describe the spiritual condition of the Ethiopian when Philip first met him?
What did Philip do to make this a successful experience in sharing the gospel message?
What part did God play in this experience?
3. Seal the Deal (God, Change Me!)
Read John 6:44 and 6:65 from your Bible. What must happen before anyone can come to Jesus?
What in the Acts 8 passage might tell you that God was drawing the Ethiopian to Himself?
Who do you have in your life who is like the Ethiopian—perhaps not yet a believer but showing curiosity about God?
Using Philip as an example, write down at least three things you can do to be more effective in sharing the gospel of Jesus with the “Ethiopians” in your life. Knowing that God is laying the groundwork all around you, sharing your faith may be easier than you think.