God Does Not Play Favorites (Easter 6B 1st Reading)

Download a PDF of the Word One Bible Study for Easter 6B 1st Reading.

Text: Acts 10:34-48 for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Lectionary Series B

OBJECTIVES

Focusing on verses 34-38, participants will:

1. Recognize that God wants all people to be saved.
2. See that we should love people of all nations just as God does.

GROUP GUIDELINES

Divide into small groups of 6-8 people. Choose as leader the person who has the most pets. The leader’s sole purpose is to keep the group moving through the study. One of the leader’s most important functions is to encourage the participation of all members.

COMMUNITY BUILDING

1. Give each person a small piece of paper. Have them write any question on one side of the paper, and then the answer on the reverse side. Collect all of the papers and redistribute them, but have the group members look at the answer side of the paper. After reading the answer, have them write a new question that matches the answer. Once everyone is finished, go around the group and have them read the answer, the question that they wrote and then the original question. How many of the new questions matched the original questions? How many were really far off?
2. Have you ever had a teacher who played favorites? How did you feel about that teacher? How did the favorites feel about that teacher?

LOOKING AT GOD’S WORD

1. Read Acts 10:34-38. After reading just this passage, what do you think the question was that Peter was asking? What was the concern of that time?
2. Read Acts 10:23b-33. What is the context of Peter’s message that you read earlier?
3. Peter gives a quick summary of what has happened in the past few years in that part of the world since Jesus came to earth. Read Acts 10:36-38. Sum up in your own words what happened during Jesus’ time on earth.
4. These verses mark a significant change. In the past, the Jews were God’s chosen people. But Paul makes it clear that God wants both Jews and Gentiles to be saved. How do you think the Jewish people would react to the fact the God does not show favoritism? How do you think the Gentiles would react?

REINFORCING WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED

1. What about racism? Does your church include people from different cultures and races? If not–why not? What can be done about this?
2. What attitudes and feelings do we sometimes have about people who are not like ourselves? What should our attitude be?
3. Read 1 John 4:11. Who does God love? And if our love for others should be a reflection of His love, who should we love? Likewise with whom should we be sharing Jesus?

CLOSING

We are sinful people and we have all, at times, shown favoritism to some people while discriminating against others. Close in prayer, asking for forgiveness for these times and asking God to give us the power to love others as he does.

by Gretchen Gorline

Originally published in Discovery Bible Studies 12, 1999.

Updated for youthESource in May 2015