Acts 10:24-48 - Fellowship Group Notes – March 12/13
We should not forget the significance, impact and stupendous truth of what is happening here in this passage; the truth that Christ is Lord and Saviour of people from ALL nations! This is a key part of God’s enormous plan. 

24-26 - Introductions
•	Reminder; who is Cornelius? A Gentile. But no ‘average Joe-Gentile’. Cornelius is a centurion under the authority of the successor to Pontius Pilate. Cornelius’s base barracks was the same as the troops who killed Jesus. Peter would know this. 
•	Bearing in mind who Cornelius is, how boldly is God demonstrating to Peter what he’s now revealing regarding the Jew/Gentile split? How has God acted boldly in demonstrating things to you?
•	What’s a crucial part in evangelism? Simply inviting people!
•	How can we see the Jew/Gentile split changing here? Who’s greater? Peter or Cornelius? Galatians 3:28. 
27-29 – ‘Why have you invited me?’
•	Note: The Bible doesn’t prohibit Jews interacting with Gentiles. However because of various ‘cleanliness’ rules it does place limitations on interaction. Jewish tradition then implemented further rules to prevent Jew/Gentile interaction (Acts 11:2-3, John 18:28). 
•	Today, do we put perhaps unnecessary and gospel-harming restrictions as to where we should and shouldn’t go? Where should the Gospel be preached? 
•	What people today do we think are ‘impure or unclean’? How do our attitudes need to change?
30-33 – The invite made clear
•	Pause for a moment. Remember Peter’s reaction to the vision earlier in the chapter. Do you think Peter’s completely certain and confident in what God is teaching him and telling him to do?
•	Looking closely at Cornelius’ retelling of the vision. Is it vague or detailed? For whose sake could the details be included for? Why so many details? Perhaps to reassure and confirm to Peter that this message of Jew/ Gentile reconciliation really is from God. (Look at 10:34).
•	Do any particular details jump out? Joppa (Peter parallel with Jonah, Jonah 1:3). Simon the tanner. (Tanner’s made leather; an unclean profession). 
•	How does God often use little, seemingly insignificant steps to prepare us for what he has planned?
•	On a Sunday morning. Who have we come to listen to? (Richard Sibbes: “We should not regard men… but consider who speaks by them, who sends them, with what commission they come. Ambassadors are not regarded for themselves, but for them who send them. Cornelius said well, ‘we are here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us’.”)
34-36 – Peter confirms the truth about the Gentiles inclusion!
•	How do we see that Peter really ‘gets it’ regarding the Gentiles inclusion? 
•	‘Who is Lord of all’ – how important is this statement in this context? Why? How is this the theme phrase of this entire passage? (Isaiah 49:6, Daniel 7:13-15)
36-43 – The Gospel preached – Peter evangelises
•	37-41 – The Life of Christ
o	Is Peter’s ‘evangelism’ technique complicated or intellectual? How can we be encouraged in our own evangelism by this? We must remember we are simply ‘witnesses’ to what God has already done (Acts 1:8). 
•	42 – The Command of Christ
o	‘He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead’ – What’s the significance of this truth?
•	43 – The resulting work of Christ
o	Where is Peter’s message based/confirmed from? 
•	Is our evangelism based in and using the scriptures? (Uncover, Word one2one). Why’s this important? Why can opening the bible with non believers be so powerfully effective? It gives what we’re saying a visible basis, but more… it is the very creating word of God. God’s word is living and active.  (Genesis 1:3, Hebrews 4:12-13)
44-48	– The Spirit confirms
•	What is the unique work of the Holy Spirit here? How does this completely confirm the truth of the Gentile inclusion? (Gal 3:27-28, Eph 2:18) How do we see the Trinity at work throughout this entire passage? 

Pray that we would grasp the enormity of these truths that we, Gentiles are grafted into the Kingdom. Pray that we would remember to witness the Gospel like Peter did.  							SU