Persecution, Prayer and Deliverance (Acts 12:1-24)

• If you live out Acts 1:8, you will experience Acts 8:1 (Ac 12:1-4; 2 Tim 3:12).

Acts 12 is one of the most colorful and entertaining narratives in all of Acts with the humorous scene where Peter is prodded by an angel to put on his clothes (Ac 12:8), and how later he was left standing and locked out at the gate of the home of his Christian friends by an excited gatekeeper (Ac 12:13-14) after having been led through numerous gates manned by his captors (Ac 12:9-10)!

Exclusivity and Inclusivity (Acts 10)

• How can you be both exclusive (Jn 14:6; Mt 11:27; Lk 10:22; Ac 4:12; Eph 3:12; Heb 10:20) and inclusive (Jn 3:16; Mt 5:45)--like Jesus (Mt 5:46-48; 1 Cor 5:21)? What happens when you're exclusive or inclusive or both?

1. As Cornelius and Paul encountered God (Ac 10:3, 13), has God ever "said" or shown anything to you? How do you "hear" or "listen" to God (Ps 1:2; 119:97)?
2. Why did Cornelius call together his relatives and close friends (Ac 10:24)? Should one with a higher status expect to be honored more than others (Ac 10:25-26; Jas 4:10; Mt 11:29)?
3. How many Acts messages by Peter are there (Ac 2:14-39; 3:12-26; 4:8-12? How does God show no favoritism (Ac 10:34; Mt 5:45)? How can we (Mt 5:46-48)? How should we regard others (Dt 10:17-19; Ac 10:28, 34; Gal 3:28)? Who does God accept (Ac 10:35, 4, 22)? Does fearing God and doing what is right save us (Jn 1:12)?

Peter Replicates Jesus' Ministry (Acts 9:31-43)

• Are you healed? From what?
• Since Jesus and Peter (also Elijah and Elisha) healed a paralytic and raised the dead, should we expect this today?
• What "paralyzes" people (Jn 8:34)? What causes them to be "dead" even though they're still alive (Eph 2:1)? 
• If I trust God should I expect to be healed if I have a terminal illness? If "No" why are healings recorded in Scripture?
  

The church continues to expand into new areas--cities on the Mediterranean coast. In preparation for the great event of the conversion of Cornelius [the 1st Gentile convert] in Acts 10-11, Peter travels to Lydda and then to Joppa, moving further and further away from Jerusalem into Gentile territory.

• Distances: Jerusalem to Damascus (Ac 9:2) - 135 miles.
• Jerusalem to Caesarea (Ac 9:30) - 65 miles north.
• Jerusalem to Lydda (Ac 9:32) - 25 miles north.
• Lydda to Joppa (Ac 9:36) - 12 miles northwest of Lydda on the coast.
• Joppa to Caesarea (Ac 10:1, 5) - 35 miles north.