How many of you have watched the Winter Olympics over the past couple of weeks? What was your favorite sport? Who were your favorite athletes? Did you listen to any of the background stories of some of the athletes who were persistent, despite facing so many injuries and failures in the past? These are some questions you could use to open your discussion of this week's Explore the Bible study: Always on Mission.

This week focuses on the persistence of Paul in Acts 28:17-28, to remain on mission to share the gospel, no matter the situation or the response of others. This is a great way to end the study of the book of Acts.

Opening Illustration
Consider using the following illustration as a part of the opening discussion related the persistence of the Olympic athletes:

Perhaps one of the most amazing examples of persistence was that of Alexa Knierim and her husband, Chris who are Olympic pair skaters.  In 2016, Alexa came down with a rare, life-threatening gastrointestinal illness right after she married her skating partner, Chris Knierim. Alexa describes her experience in a PEOPLE magazine interview,

"In April of 2016 I started feeling very sick at a competition. It was the last one of the year, and issues continued to develop all the way through August of 2016 when I was finally diagnosed and had immediate surgery in my abdomen. I ended up having three surgeries, and we had to withdraw from all of our events for the first half of the year. My life, our lives, changed drastically in that time period - life was on hold and we weren't really sure what life would be for the two of us."

"I'm 5-foot-2 and I was about just over 80 lbs. before and after surgery," Alexa said. "I lost all of my muscle, and my body mechanics when I started getting back into working out were like next to none … the very first time I stepped back on the ice after my surgeries, Chris had to hold me up because my body was not capable of standing on its own."

Amazingly, because of their persistence, they went on to skate in the 2018 Olympics helping USA win bronze in the team event.

Closing Illustration
Use the following interview from faithwire.com as a part of your closing challenge:

Speaking to reporters not long after their free skate, Chris and Alexa Knierim also discussed the key role their Christian faith has played in their lives, from Alexa's worsening condition, her diagnosis on through her recovery. Listen to what they said about their persistence, not only about ice-skating, but about being a witness for Christ.

"It's the reason I was able to get back on the ice," Alexa said, "because I stopped worrying and stopped trying to control life, because I couldn't. In the moment, you know, I was so sick and didn't really know where things were going to go for me, whether it was skating or life in general. So I finally just threw my hands up and said like, 'You lead the way,' and it's my testimony and I stay true to it."

Alexa and Chris could not imagine that this year they would finish fourth in the free skate portion of the Winter Olympics held at Gangneung, South Korea. For Alexa, their victory is to "glorify God."

"And even here at the Games, it's no longer about me," she added. "I have fans out there who know that I am a true believer in the Lord and I'm trying my best to shine His light and let people know that it's okay to promote Him and do things for Him, because in the Christian life that's kind of what we're supposed to do."

Closing Optional Illustration: Billy Graham
This week we lost one of the most persistent Christian leaders of our time. As you know Billy Graham passed away on Thursday, February 21.

Throughout his life, Billy Graham preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to some 215 million people who attended one of his more than 400 Crusades, simulcasts and evangelistic rallies in more than 185 countries and territories. He reached millions more through TV, video, film, the internet and 34 books.

"I have one message: that Jesus Christ came, he died on a cross, he rose again, and he asked us to repent of our sins and receive him by faith as Lord and Savior, and if we do, we have forgiveness of all of our sins," said Graham at his final Crusade in June 2005 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in New York. (billygraham.org)

His persistence to share the gospel should be a model for all believers.
Additional Ideas

• The teaching plan provides an explanation of Acts 28:28 based upon Paul's writings from Romans 11:1-25 regarding salvation for the people of Israel.
• The personal evaluation question in the LOOK OUT portion of the outline could help your group evaluate their persistence in sharing the gospel: How would someone describe your persistence in sharing the gospel with others? Based on how they would describe your persistence, what needs to change regarding your view of the mission God has given us to "be witnesses" (Acts 1:8)?

TWO DECISIONS MADE IN ACTS 26:19-29
There were actually two major decisions made in the dialogue between Paul and King Agrippa. First, Paul had to decide he was going to ask King Agrippa to decide what he would do with the gospel. Second, King Agrippa had to decide how he would respond to the gospel. Paul did what God led him to do. He was obedient even to the point of calling on King Agrippa to make a decision. But, what about King Agrippa, how did he respond? Focus on these two decisions and responses as you guide your group.
PAUL DID NOT GET DISTRACTED - ACTS 26:24-26
God led Paul to realize that, if he had begun an argument with Festus, he would have never finished his conversation with King Agrippa. He made sure that he kept the dialogue directed back to King Agrippa. We need to learn this very important lesson from Paul. We can't get sidetracked by arguments from others when God has led us to talk to a certain person. It is o.k. to listen to the other person, but try to stay focused on the person you originally started a conversation with.

NOT THE DECISION PAUL HOPED FOR - Acts 26:30-32
This is not the response any of us might have hoped for. While they didn't kill Paul, they did soften their attitudes toward him at this point. Sadly, they did not do what Paul hoped for and "listen to him and become as he was" (A follower of Christ). If we only focused on this one experience of Paul's, then we might grow discouraged regarding telling others about Christ, but we must remember that there were times when Paul got to see many others decide to follow Christ.

LEAD YOUR GROUP TO DECIDE
Both Explore the Bible study guides include a great discussion question to help your group decide how they will apply the text to their lives. The question is located in the Apply the Text in the Daily Discipleship Study Guide, p.104 or In My Context in the Personal Study Guide, p.117. If the study guide isn't available consider using the following: List those with whom you have had discussions regarding spiritual things, but you did not ask for them to make a decision to follow Christ. How could you give them another opportunity to make a decision? What types of questions could you ask to reignite the conversation?

Asking someone to decide about responding to Christ might be the most difficult conversation to have, but when we have an opportunity, we have to ask people to respond to the gospel.
I hope this session will help your group understand the importance of asking people to make a decision about Christ.

I love to hear people tell stories about their families, travel, or work experiences. I have a friend who is a great storyteller. When he tells a story about one of his life experiences, you are captivated by the details and the first-hand account. The Apostle Paul was also a great storyteller, especially when it came to telling his story of how he received Jesus Christ. In this weeks Explore the Bible Study: The Testimony, from LifeWay, Paul's story of salvation will help us understand how to tell our own stories: the testimonies of our encounters with Jesus Christ.

You can use Paul's testimony to guide your group to focus on how they can better share their salvation story. Their personal story is perhaps the greatest gospel they can share with others. Because of its value, it is vitally important that we confidently and accurately share our stories and the gospel.

Expanded Passages
The teaching ideas expand the passages to include the following - Acts: 21:39-40 and Acts 22:1-22

Assignment
Consider asking each group member to write down the following points on a blank sheet of paper, an index card, or in their Explore The Bible study guide during the session. These points will help guide the discussion during the session. I have provided a brief explanation of each point as well.

1. Identify with People. As was the case for Paul, our experiences from the past can help us have meaningful conversations that could lead to gospel discussions.
2. Tell our Story. Paul was ready to talk about the events that took place leading up to his salvation, those involved in leading him to Christ, the need to call on Jesus for salvation and for the forgiveness of sins, and the importance of being baptized in order to proclaim his faith in Christ. We should be able to tell this part of our stories as well.
3. Describe our Life and Purpose Now.  We, like Paul, should be able to clearly describe how God has changed our lives since we were saved and how He is working in our lives.

Saying farewell is always a challenge in my family. When Becky and I were first married and we would leave my parents house after a visit, we knew we would have to plan at least 30 minutes of time to say goodbye because my parents just didn't want us to go. In LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: Farewell (The original title was Delivered) based on Acts 20:22-35, Paul is basically saying goodbye to a group, explaining to them that he most likely won't ever see them again. Because of this, he provides them with some final words of wisdom regarding how to live for Christ.

In a world that is driven by power and greed we see Paul demonstrate and communicate with us an example of how a Christian should lead.  We lead in our homes or in the church by being on guard, being alert, and serving alongside of fellow believers or those "who are weak" in their faith. We do everything we can in order to fulfill our appointed course and ministry which is ultimately to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. We leave nothing on the table; we give it our all.

The teaching helps provides several video options as well as some very specific discussion questions that will lead your group to evaluate what needs to change in order for them to live according to Paul's words of wisdom.

Video Option: Consider using one of these video clips to open the session:

• The Hunger Games - Saying Goodbye - https://youtu.be/KAal6-tvckw
• Shane - Shane, Come Back! - https://youtu.be/DtoCw2iOTSc
• Toy Story 3 - So Long Partner - https://youtu.be/Xq4zWbtgbN8
• The Help - You is . . . goodbye scene - https://youtu.be/6TOnzKMaAP4
• Monsters Inc. - Touching Goodbye Scene - https://youtu.be/BPaTaEN2wxY

Video Option: Humorous video to illustrate Paul's Advice Related to Being a Shepherd