MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
with Rev. Shawn Barkley
Let’s take a deeper dive into the message of November 15, 2020
Below are some questions, thoughts and additional insights that we invite you to participate in providing in the comments below your thoughts as we reflect on this week’s message:
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Were there any new ideas or insights you gained from this message?
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Did the message leave you with any additional questions? If so, what were they?
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If you were teaching from Acts 16, what would YOU want to be sure to communicate?
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Do you identify with any of the three people Paul dealt with (Lyndia, Slave Girl, Jailer)?
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Is there a struggle in your life that God might be using to help reach a person with the Gospel?
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Shawn taught that the act of service melted the heart of the Jailer . . . does this prompt anything in you today?
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Is there anything Shawn touched on that you would like to have further explained?
Feel free to leave your thoughts, comments and insights to this message in the comments section below.
Re the slave girl: I believe Paul discerned the evil spirit in her because the Bible tells us to test the spirits whether they be of God. Being a Spirit-filled believer, Paul exercised his authority over the enemy as one empowered by God, and set the slave girl free from the harassing demon.
Yes! That’s how I read the story as well Diane. My guess is that she eventually became a disciple after this experience of grace.
As I think about these three encounters, it strikes me how very different these individuals were in their stations in life, their life’s journey, their gender..in each one Paul’s approach is different, but the message is the same. Paul too is in different places when he finds these three. This is a reminder I think, that wherever we are in life we need to be open to God’s messengers, and whoever we encounter we should be attentive. God may well be opening their heart to hear. As God’s people, we need to be prepared to speak the message Paul spoke.
Thank you Kathie! I think these encounters informed Paul when he wrote” “I am all things to all people.” Not to say that he was a phony, rather that he discerned how God could use him to reach all kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds, experiences and world-views.
I like your comments, Kathie. Reminds me of the verse in II Timothy (4:2) that reads ( in the Phillips translation): “I URGE YOU, TIMOTHY, AS WE LIVE IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND OF CHRIST JESUS (WHOSE COMING IN POWER WILL JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD), TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD. NEVER LOSE YOUR SENSE OF URGENCY, IN SEASON OR OUT OF SEASON. PROVE, CORRECT, AND ENCOURAGE, USING THE UTMOST PATIENCE IN YOUR TEACHING.” Most of us aren’ t preachers, but Jesus said we are His witnesses, so I think it applies to us laymen, as well.
It certainly does Diane. In fact, I think non-preacher types often have more opportunities to witness because it’s not your vocation and you can appear to be more earnest. If the witness of Crestview were solely up to people like me…that would not be good! I thank God for my faithful friends here – like the two of you.
You surely are , Diane. You have taught me so much by word and deed.