This week’s readings: Acts 6–9
Don’t forget to record your impressions and read the ideas outlined in the new Come, Follow Me manuals on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
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Scriptural Insight
This scriptural insight comes from Verse by Verse: Volume 2 by Andrew C. Skinner and D. Kelly Ogden.
“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”: a prick (Greek, kentra) was a goad, a sharp stick for pricking the hides of animals to make them move; balking or kicking back made the pain worse. Thus, though Paul is zealous in his quest to keep Judaism and the Mosaic law pure by eradicating the polluting and destructive influence of Christianity, he is kicking against God’s foreordained plan. He probably regards Jesus as an apostate and Christianity as a perversion seeking to weaken or destroy the Mosaic system. Nevertheless, Paul is working against the God and creator of this earth. It is possible that Paul may have even experienced pricks or pangs of conscience, perhaps nagging doubts, about the correctness of the course he was pursuing as the Holy Spirit worked on him—a chosen vessel of the Lord.
Study Ideas
These ideas and topics are compiled from Come, Follow Me and have been adapted for specific situations. Check out the manuals online for more ideas, or come up with your own as you study!
For couples:
As you study the book of Acts this week, you might consider studying Stephen’s teachings and his warning to the Jews to not “resist the Holy Ghost.” Perhaps you can talk together about how you are doing as a couple about following the promptings of the Spirit in your own relationship and family. You can also make some goals together or individually to help you hear and follow the Spirit better this week.
For singles:
This week, you might take a deeper dive into the story of Saul. Consider writing down Saul’s characteristics before his conversion and after. As you ponder this, you can take some time to think of things in your own life that you would like to change and pick one to work on this week. How are you similar to Saul? What does his story teach us about our own ability to repent and change?
For families with young children:
As your family reads the story of Saul and Stephen’s teachings about the Holy Ghost this week, you might focus your study discussion on how and why we should choose the right path. An object lesson might be a good way to illustrate this. Come, Follow Me suggests asking your children to name a place that they want to go (Disneyland, Grandma’s, the park, etc.) and placing them at one end of a drawn or created forked road and then discuss what happens if you go down the wrong path. You might even give each of your children their very own CTR ring.
For families with teens:
There are several stories of discipleship that you might consider studying more closely with your family this week. Perhaps you could appoint a scribe and have family members list the qualities that these disciples had. Then you could encourage each family member to pick one of these qualities to work on themselves in the upcoming week.
Stay in the loop on Come, Follow Me discussions and insights throughout the week by following the Brightly Beams Instagram account, or check out this week's related Come, Follow Me FHE lesson: A Changed Heart.