45 minutes
- Opening
- 4
- Passage
- 5
- Questions
- 25
- Application
- 7
- Prayer
- 4
Total · 45 minutes
Sermon Study · Leader Edition
What Winning Looks Like
June 21, 2026 · Austin Axen
Leader preparation · 2–3 minutes
Your aim for this conversation
The destination is compassionate, honest witness that points to Jesus. Keep the conversation from turning into self-congratulation or a formula for producing results.
Use all four questions in the 45-minute plan. If time runs short, prioritize Q1, Q3, and Q4. Q2 can be omitted without breaking the study's movement.
The sermon intentionally continues the circle theme from June 7 and the winning theme from June 14. The questions move into new territory: seeing a person, discerning faithful help, speaking without overpromising, and directing wonder toward Jesus.
Do not imply that offering Jesus excuses ignoring tangible needs, or that faithful witness guarantees physical healing or an immediate outcome.
Timing plan
The Big Idea
Winning on Team Jesus means seeing people with compassion, sharing the hope found in Jesus, and living changed lives that stir wonder and point to him.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
01
Winning Is Seeing People
Peter and John were going to pray when they stopped and looked directly at a man others passed every day. Austin emphasized seeing people through the Father's heart, with dignity, love, and compassion.
02
Winning Is Sharing Jesus
Peter did not have silver or gold, but he gave what he had in the name of Jesus. Austin distinguished between promising a miracle and faithfully carrying the gospel message of healing, hope, and wholeness.
03
Winning Is Stirring Wonder
The people recognized the same man, now walking and praising God. His changed life stirred wonder, while Peter directed attention away from himself and toward Jesus.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read Acts 3:1-10 together and pray. As you listen, notice what Peter and John see, what they offer, and how the man's changed life affects the people around him.
1
Acts 3:1-5 · Essential · 6 minutes
See the person
Peter and John were on their way to prayer when they stopped and looked directly at the man. What helps us move from noticing a need to seeing a person with dignity and compassion?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Move from general awareness of need to personal attention shaped by dignity and compassion.
Follow-ups to have ready
- What changes when you learn someone's story rather than only seeing the need?
- What keeps compassion from becoming condescension?
Background you may need
- Slowing down, making eye contact, listening, learning a person's story, and praying for attentiveness.
- Labels, hurry, discomfort, fear, and familiarity can make a person easy to overlook.
- Center on Acts 3:1-5, especially Peter and John's decision to stop and direct their attention toward the man.
If it stalls
Protect participants from pressure to disclose a specific sensitive relationship. Seeing a person does not require fixing every problem.
6 minutes in the 45-minute plan. Essential.
2
Acts 3:5-6 · Optional · 6 minutes
Offer faithful help
The man expected money, but Peter offered what he had in Jesus. How can we discern the difference between the help someone asks for and the help we can faithfully offer?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Develop wisdom about responding to a stated need with the help a believer can responsibly and honestly give.
Follow-ups to have ready
- How do we avoid using a spiritual answer to sidestep a practical need?
- When is it wise to involve someone with better resources or expertise?
Background you may need
- Listen carefully, ask questions, distinguish immediate needs from assumptions, and offer practical or spiritual help without pretending to have what you do not.
- Faithful help may include money, time, advocacy, prayer, presence, or speaking about Jesus.
- Use Acts 3:5-6 in the context of the whole healing account, not as a detached slogan.
If it stalls
Peter's response in this unique apostolic sign is not a general rule against material assistance. Do not turn the passage into a reason to withhold practical care.
6 minutes. Optional if time runs short.
3
Acts 3:6-8, 16 · Essential · 6 minutes
Share hope without overpromising
Austin said we cannot guarantee a miracle, but we can carry a message of healing and hope. How can we share Jesus honestly without promising what he will do in another person's immediate circumstances?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Help participants speak about Jesus with confidence while refusing claims the sermon and Scripture do not authorize.
Follow-ups to have ready
- What promise of the gospel can we state with confidence?
- How can humility make a witness more credible rather than less bold?
Background you may need
- Share what Jesus has done, explain the gospel clearly, pray, and leave persuasion and outcomes to God.
- Avoid guaranteeing physical healing, a timetable, or a specific explanation for suffering.
- Use Acts 3:6-8 and 3:16, with Austin's clarification that Jesus is the source of the healing and Christians cannot promise the same immediate result.
If it stalls
Austin explicitly distinguished the message Christians can carry from miracles they cannot guarantee. Do not suggest that a person's faith is deficient when immediate healing does not occur.
6 minutes in the 45-minute plan. Essential.
4
Acts 3:9-10, 12 · Essential · 7 minutes
Let change point to Jesus
The crowd saw the same man living differently and was filled with wonder. What kind of visible change in a Christian's life can stir curiosity while keeping attention on Jesus rather than ourselves?
Leader notes
Where it is headed
Connect visible transformation with witness while keeping the glory directed toward Jesus.
Follow-ups to have ready
- What is the difference between telling your story and making the story about yourself?
- How can a community help one another notice and name God's work honestly?
Background you may need
- Changed priorities, reconciliation, generosity, courage, patience, freedom from destructive patterns, and praise can make grace visible.
- A credible story names God's work without presenting the believer as the hero.
- Center on Acts 3:9-12. The crowd notices the change, and Peter redirects their attention to God's work.
If it stalls
Do not pressure participants to perform transformation or disclose private struggles. The goal is faithful witness, not image management.
7 minutes in the 45-minute plan. Essential.
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Draw or revisit your circle.
- Pray regularly for people in your circle by name when possible.
- Look for opportunities to care and share Jesus.
- Read Acts 3 and 4 this week.
Application
Choose one person in your circle and one faithful next step. Give that person focused attention, meet a need you can responsibly meet, or share how Jesus has changed your life.
My notes
Close in prayer
Ask God for eyes to see people, courage and humility to share Jesus, and lives that stir wonder while directing attention to him.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the June 21, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.
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