Last week we covered James being martyred and Peter being rescued from prison in Chapter 12. We pickup in verse 12 of Chapter 12 and Peter joining those that had been praying for him.

Acts Lesson 20 Study Questions

1.    He came to the house of Mary…knocked at the door of the gate: Peter naturally went to where he knew Christians would be ________ and ________. They would want to know that their prayers had been answered.

2.    And he departed and went to another place: Except for a brief mention in Acts 15, this is the last Luke speaks of ______. We know that ______ later met Paul in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14), and later he wrote his two letters.

3.    He examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death: The execution of the guards was customary. In that day, if a guard’s prisoner ________, the guard was given the _________ due to the prisoner – in this case, death.

4.    The voice of a god and not of a man! It is in human nature to look for _________ deliverers and messiahs, and the people of Tyre and Sidon seemed to praise Herod as if he were a ____. For his part, Herod enjoyed it, taking the glory unto himself 

5.    He was eaten by worms and died: The manner of Herod’s _______ was appropriate to his spiritual state; he was corrupted from the ________ out.

6.    But the word of God grew and multiplied: The contrast between Herod and the church was clear. Herod believed he had the upper hand against God’s people, but God showed who was really in charge – Herod was ________, and the church was _________.

7.    Herod and Manaen grew up together, but went very different ways. One _______ John the Baptist and presided over one of the trials of Jesus before His crucifixion. The other became a __________, and a leader in the dynamic congregation at Antioch.

8.    As they ministered to the Lord: This was part of what happened at the congregation in Antioch. Barnabas and others certainly ministered to the ___________, and the congregation also ministered one to another. Yet they also ministered to the _____.

9.    The Holy Spirit said: As they ministered unto the Lord, God ______ to them. This was a word of calling that would ______ Barnabas and Saul into a specific work.

10.    Now separate to Me: God gave a timetable – ____. Before, God had told Paul through Ananias what his calling was, but not that it was now. Now meant there was to be no ______.

11.    So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit: The Christians of the church at Antioch sent Barnabas and Saul; but more importantly, the Holy Spirit sent them. Any group of __________ can send someone, but if the _______ doesn’t send them, it won’t amount to eternally effective ministry.

12.    This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God: While ministering in Paphos (presumably after the same fashion – going into the __________ and presenting Jesus), an unexpected door opened – the proconsul wanted to hear the _____ of God.