Study Questions for September 5, 2004

Acts 8:1-40 - Philip's Pioneer Evangelism

1. What two factors played a significant role in advancing the gospel into Samaria? Do the two factors go hand-in-hand?
 
2. What made evangelism in Samaria very different from evangelism in Jerusalem?    
 
3. How does Simon embody the ethos of today’s popular spirituality?
 
4. Why did the Jerusalem church send Peter and John to Antioch?
 
5. Was Simon’s belief and baptism authentic? If it was, how do you explain Simon’s eagerness to buy the power of the Holy Spirit?
 
6. Was Peter being judgmental when he squared off with Simon and leveled his stinging rebuke? Which do you find more impressive, the strength of Peter’s confrontation or the immediacy of Simon’s appeal?
 
7. Simon may have been an unlikely candidate for conversion, but the Ethiopian eunuch seemed primed for conversion. What made the Ethiopian an exceptional seeker?
 
8. Luke described the essence of Philip’s evangelism as simply, “the good news about Jesus.” What lessons can we draw from this simple description of the message?

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