Many of you have probably taken a test or done some type of group activity where you had to identify whether an image was a rabbit or a duck. If not, can you identify both the rabbit and the duck in the image? While this may seem like a silly exercise, there is a time when an accurate and complete picture is very important as we will discover in this weeks Explore the Bible Study: Incomplete Picture. If we experience an incomplete picture of the gospel it could lead us and possibly others down a path resulting in a very confused faith or even no faith at all.

Acts 18 and 19 introduces individuals who had an incomplete picture of what it meant to believe in Jesus Christ. Fortunately for them, God brought to them a couple, Priscilla and Aquila, and the Apostle Paul to help them understand more clearly the picture of salvation. As you prepare to teach this session be sure to check out the discussion questions and secondary verses included in the teaching helps.

I believe your group has a great opportunity to enter into a deep discussion regarding the importance of understanding that there truly is only one way to be saved, how baptism fits into that picture, and the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life. I highly recommend you listen to the following audio sermons to gain a better understanding of all that is unfolding in Acts 18:24-26 and Acts 19:1-7. I would fast forward the audio of John MacArthur's sermon to the 25:00 minute marker. This is where he begins his exposition of Acts 18:24-26.

BACKGROUND STUDY

John MacArthur - Acts 18:24-26 (Go to the 25:00 minute marker)
Alistair Begg - Acts 19:1-7

How does our culture teach us to view humanity? How can we avoid the trap of this fallen world to view people as means to our own ends? How do we avoid exploiting the human life? These questions have reached a precipice in our current culture as we see people exploiting human beings on so many fronts. The answer is only found in Christ. LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: Value All will explore this very topic.

Because this Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, we are going to revisit Acts 16:16-19. It is an example of how a vulnerable demon-possessed slave girl was exploited for money by her owners. This passage is used in this week's teaching ideas to launch a discussion regarding how people exploit others today and how, as believers, we can avoid being guilty of the same actions.

Discussion Points
The following is used in the teaching ideas to guide the discussion on how exploitation of humans is practiced today. Consider adding your own additional information as well.

There are many different ways in which one person can be exploited. For example:

• Abortion – The baby is exploited for profit by the abortionist. The mom’s vulnerability is exploited by the abortionist. The mom might view the baby as an inconvenience; therefore the baby is exploited. The politicians might exploit it for political gain.
• Pornography – Women, children, and men are exploited for others' personal, perverted pleasure. When profits are at stake, many times the pornography is ignored.

• How are the posters of young ladies on the fronts of certain mall retail stores examples of human exploitation? Are they just exploiting the women in the posters? (No) They also exploit the desires of men and young boys and exploit the women who feel they need to look like the ladies on the posters.
• How does the #MeToo movement demonstrate that people are willing to overlook human sexual exploitation?

Scripture To Help Us Remember the Value of Human Life

• Genesis 1:27
• Jeremiah 1:5 
• Romans 13:8-10 
• Psalm 139:13-16
• John 3:16 
• 1 John 3:17 
• Matthew 9:36 
• Deuteronomy 24:17 
• Romans 12:10
• Philippians 2:3
• 1 Corinthians 10:33

Paul’s view of humanity was changed when he received Christ. At one point, he had exploited Christians for his own personal gain. He had a reputation to uphold and to build upon as he moved up the Jewish leadership chain. His power and fame would have grown on the backs of persecuted Christians had Jesus Christ not come into his heart and changed his view of humanity. That view was only changed because of a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ.

While we have gross examples of human exploitation dominating the headlines, we must be aware of the fact that any one of us can be tempted to exploit people around us in order to gain something. Our sin nature gives us a tendency to treat people as things. But, through Jesus Christ, we have a different view of people. Humans are not just animals in the string of the evolutionary chain; they are humans made by God’s hand and in His image. They are loved by God so much that Jesus Christ died for them. As believers, we are to demonstrate our love for and the value of humanity by showing the love of God and by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What if you were walking through a city and you observed a community consumed with the worship of perverted pleasures, vain philosophies, inanimate objects, etc.? How would you respond? How would you feel? What would you say? Oh, and by the way, just in case the community had missed a god or two, they had an idol the the Unknown God! Paul encountered this and made the unknown known to the people of Athens. Enjoy teaching this weeks Explore The Bible session!

We would do well to learn from Paul's response because the culture he encountered sounds very similar to that which we are facing today.

The Teaching Pan
I have fashioned my plan to answer the following questions:

1. What did Paul see? 
2. What did Paul feel? 
3. Where did Paul go and why? 
4. What did Paul say?
5. How did the people respond?
6. What can we learn from Paul?

I am sure most of you have family members who don't know Christ. If so, then you understand the pain that comes with knowing they haven't responded to the gift of salvation. You understand the stress that comes with spending time with them when you don't have much in common. But, what would happen if your entire household came to know Christ on the same night? Imagine the joy and peace that would come if this were to take place! We see this happen in the Explore The Bible: A Changed Family session this week.

Through the obedience and unwavering faith of Paul and Silas, a jailer and his entire household come to know Christ in Acts 16:22-34. Who knows what impact this had on others in the community of Philippi and beyond. One can only imagine what God would do through the conversion of this jailer and his family. But, what if Paul and Silas had responded differently to their circumstances? What if they had escaped when the prison doors were opened? What if they were moaning and groaning because of their circumstances instead of singing to God? What if they had let the jailer kill himself? But . . . they remained faithful and God changed an entire family!

EXPANDED PASSAGES
I have expanded the passages to include Acts 16:19-40 in order to help keep a focus on the context.

ILLUSTRATION
The following illustration and/or video could be used to reinforce the emphasis on responding in a way that helps us present the gospel, even in the most difficult situations.

• Illustration Option - In the movie, The Insanity of God, the true story is documented of Dmitri, a Russian Pastor imprisoned for not recanting his faith. Every morning in jail he would stand up, face the east, raise his hands, and sing a hymn to God while the other prisoners spit, mocked, and cursed him. When he was finally being taken to his execution 17 years later, those same prisoners stood up, faced the east, raised their hands, and started singing "O God Give Me Strength!" Dmitri's life was spared! 
• Video Option: This video recounts the story of Dmitri as described above.