Acts 19:1-10

1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" 
 "John's baptism," they replied.
4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." 5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

• How does Paul explain the true significance of John’s baptism? How do these people show
their faith in Jesus?
• What is Paul’s reaction to stubbornness, disbelief, and slander?
• What steps are you now taking to bring a situation in your own community similar to verse
10?

Possibilities for prayer:

Paul is all about the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit should definitely be an important part of what we believe and how we live our lives. Today, let’s ask for an increase of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so that we might not be like those at Ephesus who had never heard of the Holy Spirit, but rather people who see the Spirit’s work in our lives on a daily basis.