By way of introduction: Do you ever feel like the bad guys are winning against Christianity? What makes you think this?

Read Acts 12

1. As you read verses 1-5, and saw Herod lay violent hands on the church - discuss what you see are his motivations for doing so.

2. Herod then picks another key leader of the church as a target, by having Peter imprisoned.

   • What is the church’s response to Peter’s imprisonment?

   • What is the church’s response to Peter’s “release” from imprisonment?

3. Look at Herod’s response to Peter’s “escape” (verses 18-19), and the way that Herod relates to the people of Tyre and Sidon (verse 20) - what can you tell about Herod’s heart in the overflow of his actions (cross-reference Luke 6:43-45)?

4. In the Book of Acts we have seen people struck down in sudden death before (Ananias and Sapphira), why is Herod struck down?

5. When it looks like bad guys are winning, and persecution seems to put limits on the gospel, what happens here at the end of this episode in Acts 12?

6. This episode shows how the gospel is unhindered under persecution, yet more than that we see a contrast between Herod and Peter, and where their heart’s affections rest. Which man was more free, as in, really free?

7. We can sometimes think the bad guys are winning around us, sometimes we feel less free.

   • Yet what do we know that can help us to sleep like Peter in prison?

   • What can we learn as disciples from the early church in their prayerfulness, even in the way they didn’t expect God’s answer in Peter’s release here?

   • How does Jesus change everything for Peter, and for us, in the face of these situations?

Pray for one another, that the Lord Jesus would change everything