Sermon Study · Study Guide
The Gospel Paradigm
August 9, 2026 · Conrad Wozniak
The Big Idea
The gospel expands how we see people: God sends us face to face with people unlike us, one step at a time, to be joined heart to heart with Jesus at the center.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
The Narrative: Cornelius and Peter
Cornelius prayed and gave generously, but he stood outside God's people. In all four tellings of his vision the angel says to send for Simon, who is called Peter, and Conrad said this shows we have a relational gospel.
Stereotypes and Shifts in Perspective
Peter first answered the vision with "By no means, Lord," because it went against everything he knew. Conrad's charge was to take one step out of our culture and comfort zone, because that is how relationships across cultures grow.
Desegregation vs. Integration
The food laws had come to separate clean and unclean people, and we still keep apart from each other in many ways. Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Conrad said the goal is not only elbows together but hearts together.
Peter's Message to Cornelius's Household
Peter said that God shows no partiality and that Jesus is Lord of all. Conrad said Jesus has to be at the center of the church's unity, and baptism unites people whom other marks keep apart.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read Acts 10:1–11:18 together in the ESV.
Send for Simon
Conrad pointed out that the angel could have given Cornelius the message himself, but told him instead to send for Simon, who is called Peter. When has God used a face-to-face conversation with another person to draw you closer to him, and what did that person do that made a difference?
One step from home
Peter first answered the vision with "By no means, Lord," and Conrad compared the step Peter had to take to Frodo and Sam at the edge of a field, where one more step would take one of them farther from home than he had ever been. When has one step outside what you were used to opened up your world, and what made you willing to take it?
Elbows and hearts
Conrad read Martin Luther King Jr.'s warning about a society "where elbows are together but hearts are apart." Where are you near the same people every week without really knowing them, and what would help one of those relationships become heart to heart?
Jesus at the center
Peter told Cornelius's household that "God shows no partiality," and Conrad said Jesus has to be at the center, not worshiping the same way or thinking the same thoughts. What besides Jesus do you tend to look for before you feel close to another believer, and what is one step you will take before next Wednesday toward a believer who is different from you?
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Read all of Acts 10:1–11:18 in your own devotions this week, including the verses not read aloud on Sunday.
- Read Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 to see the food laws behind Peter's answer.
- Make room for face-to-face relationships with people who may be different from you, so you can share the gospel in relationship.
- Take one step out of your culture and your comfort zone.
Application
Before next Wednesday, ask one person at church whom you know only by sight how they came to follow Jesus, and pray for them afterward.
My notes
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 9, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.
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