Error
Group Discussion
Questions for facilitating dynamic discussion
Wilderness Essentials
October 31,2026
Week 1: Attentiveness
Jeff Griffin
Acts 13:2-4
Life with the Lord is an adventure: fulfilling, significant, and yet never easy. There are four essential character traits we need if we want to follow God’s lead in our lives. Pay attention to learn more about this week’s trait.
What is an extreme activity you secretly (or openly) wish you could try?
1. Let’s back up to see how Paul and Barnabas got to the moment we learned about in Jeff’s sermon. Read Acts 9:19b-20 & 26-30. This is just after Paul’s conversion. Where is he to start? What is he doing there? Then where does he go? Who helps him there? What does Paul do while he’s in Jerusalem?
2. Now read Acts 11:25-26. What do Barnabas and Saul do at Antioch?
3. Create a timeline for Paul to this point (you can assign a scribe to draw this out, if you like): AD 30 – Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ; AD 34 – Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus; AD 36 – Paul visits the disciples in Jerusalem, then flees to Tarsus for safety; AD 46 – Barnabas goes to Tarsus to seek Saul; AD 47 – Barnabas and Saul go to Antioch to be part of the church there.
How many years passed between the crucifixion and Saul’s conversion? How long after becoming a believer did he wait to meet the original disciples in Jerusalem? And how long between this and Saul’s time at Antioch? What do you make of these stretches of time?
4. Compare this with your own timeline. When did you become a believer? What Christian communities have you been a part of since then? Who encouraged you, and what roles have you played in the church?
5. Read Acts 13:2. Thinking about this moment in time as your “Antioch church moment,” of the four ways of hearing from the Holy Spirit that Jeff outlined (taking action to serve, pursuing knowing God better, fasting with a posture of listening, discerning with an eye on what the Bible says) which do you need to practice more right now?
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2, NIV)
Encourage your group to be attentive to God’s work across the timeline of their faith journey. Pray that you will all have the courage to take the next step toward hearing from the Holy Spirit.
“We were made for the adventure of following God in tasks of eternal significance.” ~ Jeff Griffin