Group Discussion Guide
Series Name: OneLife
Message Title: Share Jesus
Teaching Pastor: Jarred Peine
Short Summary: In the final message of OneLife, Jarred Peine taught from Acts 4, tracing Peter's story from fear to boldness. Peter denied Jesus three times out of fear the night before the crucifixion, but after receiving the Holy Spirit, that same Peter stood unflinching before the council that killed Jesus and declared, "We cannot stop talking about Jesus Christ." Jarred showed that what changed Peter wasn't willpower, it was the Holy Spirit living inside him, and that same Spirit is available to us. He closed with a story about his friend David, whose one invitation led to multiple baptisms in his extended family, and gave the church this week's I Will statement: pray boldly for courage to share Jesus with your one. The message ended with the whole church praying together, first for boldness in general, then specifically for their ones.
Small Group Leader Note: This is the series finale, so this discussion is meant to land somewhere, not just inform. Go first and name your own fear around sharing Jesus honestly, and leave real time at the end for people to actually pray for their "one" by name, not just talk about doing it.
ICEBREAKER QUESTION
What's one thing you've always been a little afraid to do, even though you suspected it probably wasn't as bad as you'd built it up to be in your head?
REVIEW LAST WEEK'S "I WILL" STATEMENT
Last week's statement was: "I will pray and share my story with my one." How did last week go? Did you get an opportunity to actually tell your before, Jesus, after to someone, and if so, what happened?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Question 1: When Fear Wins
Fear, like not having all the answers, losing a relationship, or being labeled, is often what keeps us from having faith conversations, the same fear that made Peter deny Jesus in the courtyard and made Jarred hesitate with his friend Jason on the pickleball court. Describe a time fear held you back from sharing your faith or inviting someone to church. What did you feel in that moment, and how do you see it now?
Context: Acts 4 shows that even the first believers and apostles like Peter faced real, high-stakes pressure and threats, yet still had to wrestle with fear just like we do. Peter's courage didn't come from erasing his fear overnight, and it didn't come from a pep talk either; it came later, through the Holy Spirit. Naming your own fear honestly, out loud, is the same starting point his story shows us.
Life Application: Reflect honestly on the root of your hesitation without shame. Even mature believers, including the apostle Peter, have struggled with this exact fear in an unguarded moment. Write down what actually held you back in that moment, and consider how simply acknowledging it tonight, rather than minimizing it, is already the first step toward it changing.
Question 2: Prayer Before Panic
When Peter and John were threatened by the high council, their first reaction wasn't panic or anxiety. They gathered with other believers and lifted their voices together in prayer to the Sovereign Lord. How do you typically respond when you feel resistance, awkwardness, or anxiety about a spiritual conversation? What would it look like to turn immediately to prayer instead of trying to manufacture courage on your own?
Context: Acts 4:24-28 shows the believers opening their prayer by acknowledging God as Creator and placing Him on His rightful throne before they ever made a request of Him. Their very first move after being threatened was toward God together, not toward a plan or a strategy session of their own making, and not toward isolation either.
Life Application: Practice bringing your anxieties and relational fears directly to God, in community, rather than trying to manage them alone in your head. The next time a spiritual conversation makes you nervous this week, pause and pray first, out loud if you can, and let His sovereignty settle your need to control how it goes.
Question 3: A Dangerous Prayer
In Acts 4:29, the believers didn't pray for their threats to disappear or for a safer situation. They prayed, "And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word." Why is it so tempting to pray safe prayers for our circumstances to change, rather than dangerous prayers for boldness? How might changing what we ask for change the way we see everyday opportunities to share Jesus?
Context: Jarred pointed out that we're not being chased by a council the way the apostles were, yet we often wait for the "perfect, wide-open door" before we'll invite someone to church or say anything about what God is doing in our lives. The believers' prayer shows a different way: ask for courage right in the middle of the risk, not an exit from it.
Life Application: Identify one safe prayer you've been praying about your one, something like "make this easier" or "open the door for me." Rewrite it as a dangerous prayer instead, asking God specifically for the courage to take one small step of obedience this week, regardless of how the conversation actually turns out.
Question 4: One Invitation, One Ripple
Jarred told the story of David, a construction worker and drummer from the Valley Center campus, who wrote his brother-in-law Patrick's family on a bracelet at a OneLife vision night, prayed for boldness, and simply extended an invitation, a decision that eventually led to Patrick's whole family taking steps of baptism and faith. You don't have to be a trained theologian to share Jesus; you just have to share what God is doing in your life. Who is your one, and what's one low-pressure way you could share your story or invite them into your life-giving community this month?
Context: Jesus told His followers in Luke 12:12, "the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said," taking the pressure off having the perfect words ready in advance. David didn't have a script either; he just had a name on a bracelet, a prayer for boldness, and one willingness to extend an invitation.
Life Application: Write down the first name of your one, on paper or in a note on your phone, and commit to one concrete relational step this week, whether that's a coffee invite, a meal, or simply asking them to a church gathering, and follow through on it within the next seven days.
Question 5: Filled, Not Just Trying Harder
After the believers prayed, "the meeting place shook and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness." Peter's transformation was never about trying harder; it was about receiving the Holy Spirit as his guide. When have you experienced the Spirit giving you unexpected words or courage in a vulnerable moment? How can this group support each other in relying on the Spirit rather than our own strength?
Context: Acts 4:31 shows that Spirit-filled prayer led immediately to courageous, everyday obedience, not a dramatic personality change, but a new power already at work in the middle of their normal routines, the same way it showed up earlier when Peter gave a lame man what he actually had to give rather than what he didn't.
Life Application: Share with the group one specific area where you feel spiritually weak or hesitant about sharing Jesus, and invite them to pray over you by name for the Spirit's filling in that exact area before you leave tonight, not just in general terms. Let someone actually lay hands on you if that's comfortable for you.
THIS WEEK'S "I WILL" STATEMENT
I will pray boldly for courage to share Jesus with my one.
Personal Application: Say the name of your one out loud to the group if you're comfortable, and commit to praying this exact statement over them daily this week, the same way the whole church did together at the end of the message.
PRAYER PROMPTS
- Open in prayer requests: Ask the group what they need prayer for this week, and take time to pray for those requests together before moving further.
- Pray for boldness, out loud, together: Just like the whole church did at the end of the message, pray out loud as a group for courage and boldness to actually share Jesus this week, not just to keep thinking about it.
- Pray by name for your ones: Have each person say the first name of their "one," and pray specifically that each person would have the courage to share their life, share their story, and share who Jesus is with that person this week.
28 Days of Prayer
The Pathway Family has been praying together throughout this entire series, and this is the last week. It's not too late to join in! Hop on the call at 6:00 AM to seek God, deepen our faith, and grow in community. Just download the Microsoft Teams app on your mobile device, then join us at the link
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