True Greatness | Acts 4:32-5:11
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1. What drew you to this passage — and what part of it are you quietly hoping the group skips over?
Facilitation note: Invitation. Give people time. The second half of the question is the one that matters; don’t let the first half answer for it.
2. Luke says “there was not a needy person among them.” The sermon made the case this is about souls, a posture to the world, not just resources. Where in your life are you still hungry for something — approval, security, significance, control — that Christ has already promised you?
Facilitation note: Ownership. Resist the urge to move on quickly. If someone answers fast and theologically, gently ask: “Where does that show up in an ordinary Tuesday?”
3. Think about what you hold onto most tightly — your money, your calendar, your reputation, your family’s future, your home. What is that grip actually protecting you from? What would loosening it cost you?
Facilitation note: Ownership + Dissent. This is the hinge. The question isn’t “are you generous?” — it’s “what is your clinging keeping you safe from?” Let people sit with it.
4. Ananias and Sapphira wanted the reputation of Barnabas without the reality of Barnabas. Where do you find yourself managing an image that’s ahead of the real thing — and what would it mean to let the real you catch up?
Facilitation note: Dissent. Most people will flinch here. Name the flinch gently: “Where does that question land uncomfortably?”
5. Paul said contentment is something he learned — meaning it was given, not manufactured. What would it look like this week to stop trying to produce contentment and start receiving it from Christ?
Facilitation note: Invitation + Commitment. Push back gently if answers drift into self-improvement language (“I’ll try harder to…”). That’s the opposite of what this question is asking.
6. What is one promise you’re willing to make to this group — something you’re not sure you can keep — about loosening your grip on what you’ve been holding? And who in this room will you tell, not to judge you, but to walk with you?
Facilitation note: Commitment + Gifts. Keep this concrete. Vague promises evaporate. If someone says “I’ll pray about it,” ask what specifically they’re promising.
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1. What part of this passage makes you want to check your phone? Seriously — what feels boring, or weird, or like it has nothing to do with your actual life?
Facilitation note: Invitation + Dissent. This gives permission to push back, which teenagers will often do privately anyway. Honoring the pushback out loud is the first step to real engagement.
2. Pastor Ben said we’re all needy in different ways — emotionally needy, relationally needy, even spiritually needy. Where does neediness show up for you? Think about what happens when someone doesn’t like your post, or your friend group shifts, or your parents don’t notice something you did.
Facilitation note: Ownership. Be ready for silence. Share a real example of your own neediness first if they’re stuck — not a packaged one.
3. Ananias and Sapphira wanted people to think they were more generous than they really were. Where in your life are you performing — at school, on social media, at church, with friends — and what would it feel like to stop?
Facilitation note: Dissent + Ownership. Don’t let “social media” be the only answer. Press in: “Where else?” Church performance is often the hardest for teenagers to name.
4. If Christ is actually enough — like, really, fully enough — what is something you’d stop caring about as much as you do right now?
Facilitation note: Possibility + Commitment. This is the imagination question. Give time. Some of the most honest answers will come from the quietest kids.
5. What is the hardest thing about believing that Jesus is enough? Not the right answer — the honest one.
Facilitation note: Dissent. This is where doubt gets permission to speak. Don’t correct doubt — welcome it. According to Peter Block, the author of Community, authentic community requires the freedom to disagree.
6. What is one thing you want to try this week — something small, something risky — that would look like trusting Jesus instead of clinging to something else? And who in this group is going to ask you about it next week?
Facilitation note: Commitment. Name the accountability piece specifically. “Who’s going to ask” is more important than the promise itself.
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For leaders: Resist turning these into Bible trivia. If a kid says “I don’t know,” say “That’s okay — what do you think?” Let the answer be theirs.
1. What part of this story from the Bible is most interesting to you — and what part is kind of confusing or doesn’t make sense yet?
Facilitation note: Invitation. The second half matters. Confusion is a sign of honest engagement, not failure.
2. The people in this story were really good at sharing. What is something you have a hard time sharing — a toy, your time, your parents’ attention — and why do you think it’s hard?
Facilitation note: Ownership. Keep it concrete. If they say “nothing,” ask “What about when your sibling wants the thing you just put down?”
3. Sometimes we want people to THINK we’re being good or nice, even when we’re not really being good or nice on the inside. Can you think of a time you did that? What happened?
Facilitation note: Dissent + Ownership. This is the Ananias/Sapphira question in kid language. Most kids can name this immediately. Adults often can’t.
4. Jesus said He is like bread that fills us up so we’re never hungry for the most important things. What is something you try to fill up with that doesn’t really work — like screen time, or being the best, or always being right?
Facilitation note: Invitation + Ownership. Give them time. Kids are surprisingly good at naming this if they trust you.
5. What is something you really don’t want to share, or give away, or let go of? And what would help you start to let it go, even a little bit?
Facilitation note: Commitment. Don’t rush to resolution. Naming the thing IS the first step.
6. Who is someone in this room, or in your family, who could help you practice trusting Jesus this week? What would you want them to ask you about next Sunday?
Facilitation note: Commitment + Gifts. This builds the community thread. Make sure they say a specific name out loud.
Key Idea: There is something in all of us that wants to be great. But the world measures greatness by visibility, influence, and admiration. In Acts 4 and 5, Luke shows us a different kind of greatness — the kind produced when Christ is truly present among His people.
1. When Christ is proclaimed, there is great POWER
2. When Christ provides, there is great GRACE
3. When Christ purifies, there is great FEAR
