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Discovery Bible Study

The Book of Acts

Contents

  • How a Discovery Bible Study works
  • How to use this plan
  1. 1Acts 1–2 — The Spirit comes and the church is born Acts 1 · Acts 2
  2. 2Acts 3–4 — Healing, boldness, and the first opposition Acts 3 · Acts 4
  3. 3Acts 5–6 — Honesty inside, servants appointed Acts 5 · Acts 6
  4. 4Acts 7–8 — Stephen dies, the gospel scatters Acts 7 · Acts 8
  5. 5Acts 9–10 — Saul is stopped, Cornelius is found Acts 9 · Acts 10
  6. 6Acts 11–12 — Antioch, and a prison door opens Acts 11 · Acts 12
  7. 7Acts 13–14 — Sent out, and elders appointed Acts 13 · Acts 14
  8. 8Acts 15–16 — The council, and a door into Europe Acts 15 · Acts 16
  9. 9Acts 17–18 — Reasoning in the marketplace Acts 17 · Acts 18
  10. 10Acts 19–20 — Ephesus, and a farewell to the elders Acts 19 · Acts 20
  11. 11Acts 21–22 — Arrested in Jerusalem Acts 21 · Acts 22
  12. 12Acts 23–24 — On trial, and waiting Acts 23 · Acts 24
  13. 13Acts 25–26 — Before kings Acts 25 · Acts 26
  14. 14Acts 27–28 — Shipwreck, and Rome Acts 27 · Acts 28

More Bible study plans at comission.cc

How a Discovery Bible Study works

This page is for whoever leads the study. Everyone else only needs the passage.

A Discovery Bible Study has no teacher. The person leading only asks the questions; the Bible does the teaching. That is what makes it simple enough for anyone to lead — no title, no training, no materials, no money.

Eat, digest, grow

  1. Eat the WordRead the passage aloud, read it again, then close the Bible and have someone retell it in their own words. Reading is the bite, re-reading the chewing, the retelling the swallow. If the group can't retell it, read it once more before going on.
  2. DigestWork through the four questions. This is where the passage turns into faith and obedience — answered from what the text actually says, not from what someone already knew.
  3. GrowGrowth is God's part, not yours. One plants, another waters, but God gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6–7). Do the cycle faithfully and leave the growing to Him.

The four questions

Answer from what the passage actually says — stay in the text.

  1. What does this passage show me about God?
  2. What does it show me about people — and about myself?
  3. What will I obey this week? (a concrete step, with a day)
  4. Who will I tell?

The shape of a meeting

  • Look backWhat are you thankful for? What is hard right now? How did you obey what we found last time, and who did you tell? Pray briefly for each other.
  • Look upRead, re-read, retell — then the four questions.
  • Look forwardEach person says out loud one concrete commitment — a sentence that starts “I will…” — and names one person they will tell. Next time, the group asks about both. Asking is what turns a discussion into obedience.

The one rule: don't teach

The moment you start explaining, the group stops discovering. If someone says something that is not in the passage, do not correct them — ask, kindly, “Where do you see that in this passage?” and let them look. The text and the group sort it out. This is the rule that lets someone who has been in two studies lead the third.

Four to fifteen people. About an hour, once a week. Nothing else required.

How to use this plan

Who this is for

  • Established groups of committed disciples — not new believers. Each study covers two whole chapters — the longest readings of any plan here. A group should already have the DBS habits — reading, retelling, the four questions (what does this show us about God? about people? what will I obey this week? who will I tell?), a commitment (the one specific thing each person will do this week) — and ideally a whole book like Mark behind it before taking on Acts.
  • The point is still faith, not knowledge. Acts is not a church-history course. Resist the pull toward commentary, maps, and background trivia. The same simple question drives every study: what is God showing us, and what will we obey? Let the group discover church multiplication in the text instead of being taught it.

How to use it

  • Two chapters per study, the DBS way. Read both chapters (aloud, in sections, if that helps), retell them in your own words, then work the four questions. With this much text, it’s fine for the retelling to trace the main movements of the two chapters rather than every detail.
  • Let the follow-up prompts serve, not steer. Each study’s extra prompts under the four questions point at one thread running through the two chapters. If the group discovers a different thread, follow the group — the prompts are a help, never the agenda.
  • End every study in obedience. An honest commitment and one person you’ll tell — the same discipline as every other plan. Longer readings never excuse skipping the response.
  • Pace to the group, not the calendar. One study a week finishes Acts in about three and a half months. Linger where the text opens up — especially the sending in chapters 13–14 and the farewell in chapter 20 — and never rush what the group is discovering.
  • Facilitate, don’t teach. With more text on the table the temptation to lecture grows. Keep asking, “Where do you see that in these chapters?” Don’t chew their food for them.