the similarities in Ananias’s story.
7 About three hours later, his wife came in,
not knowing what had happened.
8 “Tell me,” Peter asked her,
“did you sell the land for this price?”
“Yes,” she said, “for that price.”
9 Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door,
and they will carry you out.”
10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet.
When the young men came in, they found her dead,
carried her out, and buried her beside her husband.
11 Then great fear came on the whole church
and on all who heard these things.
guard against following others’ poor examples.
share how the events around Ananias’s death and Sapphira’s death were similar.
We don’t know why Sapphira did not come with Ananias earlier in the day.
we get a picture of the conspiracy between husband and wife.
Sapphira had three hours to think about her decision to deceive
and she decided to lean into her sin rather than into the grace of God.
She repeated her husband’s claim
that the money they had given was the full price they had received from the sale of their land (v. 8).
Sapphira’s first hint that something was wrong came when Peter told her about the death of her husband.
By that time, it was too late for her.
Peter did not serve as judge.
His responsibility was to confront them with the truth
God sent the judgment against them. Peter was the messenger, while God took action.
Testing the Spirit
Peter gave Sapphira an opportunity to do better than her husband had done.
She had the chance to admit their sin and repent.
She did not take advantage of this chance.
Instead, she committed the same sin as her husband.
This time Peter referred to her efforts to test the Spirit of the Lord.
The Greek word relates to a person attempting to get away with something.
In this case, Sapphira (and Ananias) were trying to force God’s hand in some way,
to make Him prove Himself.
While God uses tests to strengthen people,
people’s tests of God are motivated by mischief.
It should be emphasized that Sapphira did not die due to her husband’s sin.
She was held responsible for her own participation in the scheme.
Even if Ananias had exerted a measure of influence (Luke did not mention this),
his influence would not lessen her guilt.
Believers must guard both against following others’ poor examples
and setting a poor example for others.
Sapphira faced the same judgment as Ananias because she shared his guilt.
She was held accountable for her own actions.
Remind adults of the contrast between Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira.
Emphasize that their hearts mattered more than their gifts.
consider how other people influence them-for good or evil-and what God is calling them to do in response to what He shows them.
Review these points from Apply the Text on page 63 of the Personal Study Guide:
Guide the group to consider what they can do individually or collectively to support a needy family in the church. Explore the idea of contributing as individuals or pooling some possessions for a garage sale.
Encourage the group to read and reflect on the second set of questions on page 63 of the PSG.
Direct adults to hold hands. Encourage them to focus on one truth God has shown them in the session. Give them a moment to pray about how they should respond to that truth.
Follow up the session by creating some specific plans for your group project to help someone in need as mentioned in “Challenge.” Send adults an email or text to remind them of the project. Suggest times the group can meet to plan more and divide responsibilities. Encourage each adult to pray about taking on the role of project director.
Research, print, and share or project the lyrics of MercyMe’s “He Is Lord” and play the song while the group joins in the singing. Remind the group that the song highlights one of the key points of last week’s session- that there is no other name given under heaven for salvation- as well as a key theme of this week’s: God has ultimate authority over His creation, and we are accountable to Him.