Discovery Church - Nondenominational Church in Hickory North Carolina
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Sermon Based
​Devotions

Friday: Changing the World - Getting in the Game

11/27/2020

0 Comments

 
Today's Reading:
​Acts 19:5-6 (NIV)
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 
Consider This:
  • What were the disciples willing to do in order to receive the Holy Spirit?
  • Have you ever seen anything like this happen before?
  • Would you participate if something like this happened at Discovery?
  • What would you be willing to do in order to receive the Holy Spirit?
  • Is there any other way to “get in the game?” 
Treasure Application:
  • Did Paul love these disciples well?
  • Do you think in the time after this passage they discovered joy in each other’s company?
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Thursday: Changing the World - Getting in the Game

11/26/2020

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Today's Reading:
​Acts 19:4 (NIV)
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
Consider This:
  • What does Paul say that they need?
  • Why is important for you to know what you need?
  • How will the Holy Spirit help the disciples to “get in the game?”
  • What will the Holy Spirit give them that they don’t have? (see Acts 1:7)
Treasure Application:
  • How was Paul serving these disciples in verse 4?
  • How might this experience furthered healing in the lives and relationships of these disciples?  What resource did they now have access too?
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Wednesday: Changing the World - Getting in the Game

11/25/2020

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Today's Reading:
​Acts 19:1-2 (NIV)
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.  There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
Consider This:
  • What is the first thing Paul did when he met the disciples in Ephesus?
  • Why did Paul ask this question?
  • What does the answer to this question tell us about a person?
  • Have you received the Holy Spirit?
  • How do you know?
  • Why is it important to know the answer to this question?
Treasure Application:
  • How did the disciples see God moving in this passage?
  • Where do you see prayer in action in this passage?
0 Comments

Tuesday: Changing the World - Getting in the Game

11/24/2020

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Today's Reading:
​Acts 19:1-7 (NIV)
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.  There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”  “John’s baptism,” they replied.  4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Consider This:
  • What is happening in this passage?
  • How do you understand it?
  • What “belief systems” are affecting the people in this passage?
  • What is Paul’s motivation?
  • Do you think the “disciples’ were offended?
  • Would you have been offended? 
Treasure Application:
  • What incorrect or incomplete understanding about God did these disciples have?
  • What did learning about the baptism of Jesus set free in these disciples lives?
0 Comments

Monday: Changing the World - Getting in the Game

11/23/2020

0 Comments

 
Today's Reading:
​Acts 19:1-7 (NIV)
1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.  There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”  They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”  “John’s baptism,” they replied.  4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Consider This:
  • Do you think you are “in the game?”  Another way to ask it is “do you think you are a ‘player or a spectator’ in the Christian faith?
    • Explain.
Treasure Application:
  • This passage indicates that the Ephesian disciples in this passage already loved God.  That is, they had already invited God into their lives.  Was there still room for their relationship with God to grow through further invitation?
  • Who were these disciples directing their new invitation towards?
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Friday: Changing the World - Knowing God

11/20/2020

1 Comment

 
Today's Reading:
​Acts 17:27 (NIV)
27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.
Consider This:​
  • Why did God do all of this?
  • What does God want for you?
  • Is it in our best interest to know God?
  • How does knowing God help you?
  • How would your life be different if you didn’t know God?
  • Are you growing in your knowledge of God or are you still in the same place that you have always been? 
Treasure Application:
  • What does this verse say about how God loves others?
  • When others respond to his love who discovers joy?
1 Comment

Thursday: Changing the World - Knowing God

11/19/2020

0 Comments

 
Today's Reading:
Acts 17:24-26 (NIV)
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
Consider This:
  • How does Paul describe God?
  • How does this compare with how the bible starts?
  • What does Romans 1:20 say about God?
  • Is creation part of God’s testimony about Himself?
  • What can you tell about God from creation?
  • Do you know God in this way? 
Treasure Application:
  • How is Paul serving his audience in this passage?
  • How is the audience poised to experience healing because of Paul’s service?
0 Comments

Wednesday: Changing the World - Knowing God

11/18/2020

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Today's Reading:
Matthew 7:23 (NIV)
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
 
John 4:10 (NIV)
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
 
Matthew 25:12 (NIV)
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
 
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
Consider This:
  • Explain what each of these passages have in common.
  • Read verse Why is it important for you to know God?
  • Do you think you know God?
  • Why do you think this? 
Treasure Application:
  • Based on Matthew 7:23 & 25:12, is it always a good thing to see God?
  • What things should you be focused on and praying for to ensure that when you see God at the end of your days, it will be a positive experience?
0 Comments

Tuesday: Changing the World - Knowing God

11/17/2020

0 Comments

 
Today's Reading:
​Acts 17:19-28 (NIV)
19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Consider This:​
  • What stands out to you in this passage?
  • Are there any terms that you need to define before you can understand this passage?
  • How do you picture the scene?
  • What kinds of feelings do the people have?
  • How do you think Paul feels in this passage?
  • How would you explain God to people who did not know Him? 
Treasure Application:
  • From Paul’s perspective, what were some of the things his audience needed to learn?
  • If people learned what Paul was trying to teach them, what types of ideas or bondage would they likely have found freedom from?
0 Comments

Monday: Changing the World - Knowing God

11/16/2020

0 Comments

 
Today's Reading:
Acts 17:19-28 (NIV)
19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’  As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Consider This:
  • What person do you “know” the very best?
  • By what measurement do you rate the depth of your knowledge? i.e. How do you know that you know them the best?
  • What does it mean to “know” God?
  • Is there a difference between knowing God and knowing about God?
Treasure Application:
  • In Acts 17:23, what is clever about how Paul frames his invitation to know God?
  • What are the similarities between Paul’s audience and many of the “spiritual” people today?
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  • Home
    • Visit Discovery
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Discovery Series
    • Discovery Staff
    • Contact Us
  • Connect
    • Kids
    • Youth
    • Young Adult
    • Adults
  • Ministries
    • Congregational Care >
      • Stephen Ministries
      • James Ministry
      • Care Team
    • Missions >
      • Local Missions
      • International Missions >
        • Belize Missions
        • Haiti Missions
      • Helping without Hurting
    • Prayer
    • Worship
    • Library
    • COVID-19 Information
  • Serve
    • HELP WITH COVID-19
    • S.T.A.R. Teams
    • Saturday Serve Day
  • Events
    • What's Happening
    • Lent
    • Outdoor Worship
  • Sermons
    • Live Stream
    • Sermon Series
  • Give
    • Imagine N.O.W.