Discussion Questions

Icebreaker: As a kid, what would your parents do if they caught you in a lie? 

READ ACTS 5:1-11, THEN ANSWER THE QUESTIONS BELOW:

  1. Why do you think God took what Ananias and Sapphira did so seriously leading to such a harsh judgment?
  2. Do we as Christians take sin this seriously today? Why or why not? Should we take it more seriously?
  3. What does this passage tell me about God and about people?
  4. If I believe today's teaching is from God and that He loves me so much He sent Jesus to die for me, what is the appropriate way to respond in my everyday life?
  5. Who can I talk to more about this or share this with?

Spend time sharing prayer requests as a group, and close your time in prayer together.

Scripture

Acts 5:1-11 (NLT):

5 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land? 

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
9 And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 (NLT):

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.
31 But if we would examine ourselves, we would not be judged by God in this way. 32 Yet when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned along with the world.