The First Front

• Discussion Questions

  Read Acts 5:1–11 together before you begin.

  1.    Ananias and Sapphira looked really generous on the outside while hiding something on the inside. Where do you feel the most pressure right now to look one way on the outside while something different is happening on the inside?

  2.    The sermon said the devil whispers your own voice back to you, only slightly altered. What is a thought you’ve had recently that felt like just you thinking — but might have been something else?

  3.    Peter asks Ananias, “Why has Satan filled your heart?” Jesus said an empty heart will get filled by something. What is filling yours right now — not what you wish were filling it, but what actually is?

  4.    Where do you push back on this passage? What part of it makes you uncomfortable, suspicious, or want to disagree — and why?

  5.    Some people perform. Some people strive. Some people quietly curate what others see. Which one are you most often — and what are you afraid would happen if you stopped?

  6.    Who is one person in your life that you could actually tell the truth to this week — about something you’ve been managing alone? What would you need to say?

• Kid's Discussion Questions

  Read Acts 5:1–11 together — or tell the story in your own words. The story is hard, so go slowly and answer their questions.

  1.    Ananias and Sapphira tried to make people think they were giving more than they really were. Have you ever wanted people to think you were better at something, or kinder than you really were? What was it?

  2.    The Bible says God sees what is happening inside us, not just what we do on the outside. If God could put a sentence on the screen right now about what is happening inside your heart today, what do you think it would say?

  3.    Sometimes our heart tells us, “It’s okay, no one will know.” Have you ever heard your heart say something like that? What was it about? What happened next?

  4.    What is one thing you do when nobody is watching that you would not do if your mom or dad or teacher walked into the room?

  5.    Jesus is not surprised by the messy parts of you. He already knows, and He still loves you. Is there one thing you’ve been hiding that you could tell God about right now — either out loud or in your head?

  6.    Who is one grown-up you trust enough to tell when something is wrong inside? What makes them safe?

THE FIRST FRONT Why Has Satan Filled Your Heart? Acts 5:1–11

I. The War We Did Not Know We Were In The serpent is back in the garden — only now the garden is the church.

II. The Strategy of the Enemy

1. Filled — The devil's quiet tactic

2. Heart — Where the real battle is fought

3. Lie — The counterfeit that looks like the real thing

III. How We Fight Back

1. We Fear the Lord

2. We Walk in the Light

3. We Stand Where Christ Has Already Won