45 minutes
- Opening
- 4
- Passage
- 5
- Questions
- 24
- Application
- 7
- Prayer
- 5
Total · 45 minutes
Sermon Study · Leader Edition
The Ups And Downs
August 23, 2026 · Austin Axen
Leader preparation · 2–3 minutes
Your aim for this conversation
Read Acts 12:6–17. Notice the night before the trial in verses 6–7, the escape in verses 8–11, and Peter at Mary's house in verses 12–17.
The conversation is for each person to see God at work in their own ups and downs, including prayers still waiting for an answer. Some in the room may be in a season of down; let them speak without trying to fix it.
Essential questions: Q2, Q3, Q4. Use Q1 when time permits.
Timing plan
The Big Idea
God is in control of the ups and downs: in every season he is with us, he is for us, and he is using us.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
01
God Is With Me
On the very night before Peter's trial, God sent an angel into the cell. Austin said God is never early and never late, and he is present when and where we need him, even while we sleep.
02
God Is For Me
Herod's soldiers, chains and iron gate could not hold Peter, and Austin called it child's play for God. He could not promise that God will end every hardship right away, but he said God works all things for our good and for his glory.
03
God Is Using Me
Peter's arrival brought joy to Rhoda and amazement to the praying church. Austin said that when we tell how God has brought us through, our story gives others hope.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read Acts 12:6–17 together in the ESV.
1
Acts 12:6–7 · Optional · 5 minutes
Asleep in the cell
On the night before his trial, Peter was asleep between two soldiers, and Austin said that while Peter was sleeping, God was working. When something you cannot fix is still unresolved, what helps you rest, and what keeps you awake?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Austin gave three readings of Peter's sleep: trust, giving in to God's will, or being plain tired. Which one sounds most like you on a hard night?
- What do you say to God, if anything, before you go to sleep when something is still unsettled?
If it stalls
Read verse 6 aloud, point out the two soldiers, the two chains and the guards at the door, and ask how anyone could sleep there.
2
Acts 12:6 · Essential · 7 minutes
Never early, never late
Austin said, "God is never early and God is never late," and told of a prayer he prayed for years before it was answered, while some of his prayers still have no answer. What have you prayed about for a long time, and what has kept you praying or made it hard to keep going?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Optional, more personal: Is there a prayer you have stopped praying because the wait got too long? What would it take to pick it up again?
- Austin reminded the church that people are praying for you. How has it helped you to know that others were praying while you waited?
Background you may need
- Some in the room may still be waiting, as Austin said he is on some prayers. Do not promise a particular answer or a timeline, and do not suggest that a long wait means God has forgotten anyone.
If it stalls
Allow silence. Then offer a general example, such as praying for years for a family member's faith, and let people pass.
3
Acts 12:8–11 · Essential · 8 minutes
Seen in hindsight
Peter did not know the escape was real until the angel left him in the street, and Austin reminded us that hindsight is 20-20. Looking back on a hard season you have come through, what can you see now of God's care that you could not see while you were in it?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Optional, more personal: Austin said not to "confuse the moment for the story because your story isn't finished yet." If you are in a hard season now, what would it look like to hold on to that this week?
- When God has brought you through something, how did you thank him or give him the credit?
Background you may need
- Austin said he cannot guarantee that God will deliver anyone right away. Do not explain why God allowed anyone's hardship, and do not press someone still in a hard season to name a lesson from it.
If it stalls
Read verse 11 aloud and ask what Peter could say out on the street that he could not say in the cell.
4
Acts 12:12–17 · Essential · 8 minutes
A story that gives hope
Once inside, Peter told the praying church how the Lord had brought him out of prison, and Austin said our stories of what God has done bring others hope. What has God brought you through that someone in a season of down might need to hear, and how could you tell it before next Wednesday?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- The church was praying for Peter and still told Rhoda she was out of her mind. When have you been surprised that God answered something you prayed for?
- How could this group tell each other about answered prayers more often?
If it stalls
Read verses 14 to 16 aloud and ask what the people inside felt when they finally opened the gate.
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Speak three truths to God as a prayer: "God is with me. God is for me. God is using me."
- Write them down, choose one to focus on, and remind yourself of it each day this week.
- Do not give up on the prayers you are waiting on. Keep praying and keep asking.
- When God answers a prayer or shows himself strong, pause to thank him and give him the credit.
- Share your story of how God has brought you through, so that it brings others joy and hope.
Application
Before next Wednesday, pray each day by name for one person you know who is in a season of down, and send them a short note to say you are praying.
My notes
Close in prayer
Thank God that he is with us, for us and using us, and ask him to hold close everyone here who is still waiting in a season of down.
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 August 23, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.
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