Study Guide: Wanted – Faithful Preachers

Theme: Liberty of Conscience, Prophetic Courage, and the Call to Speak Truth

Opening Icebreaker (5-10 minutes)

Have you ever felt pressured to stay silent about something you knew was true? What happened?

Part 1: The Apostolic Pattern – Silenced but Not Stopped

Read: Acts 5:27-42

The sermon opened with the apostles being arrested, freed by an angel, and then returning immediately to preach in the temple. The religious leaders practiced “cancel culture” against the truth.

Key Verse: “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name… yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching.” (Acts 5:28)

Discussion Questions:

Why were the religious authorities more afraid of the apostles’ preaching than of the Roman government?
Gamaliel gave a crucial principle in Acts 5:38-39. What is that principle? How can we apply it today when we aren’t sure if a movement is from God or man?
The apostles were flogged and released—and went right back to preaching. What does that tell you about their source of courage?

Application: What “strict orders” from culture or institutions might be trying to silence your witness today?

Part 2: The Turbulent Priest – Thomas Becket (1162-1170)

The sermon shared the story of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered for insisting that the church should not be controlled by the state.

Key Insight: Becket had a conversion after becoming archbishop. He realized: “Today we have a good king. What happens when we get a bad king?”

Historical Note: His murder at the altar turned him into a martyr. The king was forced to do public penance. Becket’s legacy continues today through the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C.

Discussion Questions:

Why did King Henry II want control over the church? Why did Becket resist?
The preacher noted that the debate over whether clergy should be tried in civil or ecclesiastical courts is not 1,000 years old—it happened in Boston in the 1990s and still happens today. Why is this distinction so important?
How does the phrase “Cutting down that turbulent priest magnified his life and teachings” apply to Christian witness in general?

Application: Are there places where you have remained silent to avoid “turbulence” in your family, workplace, or church? What would it cost you to speak up?

Part 3: The Brave Baptist Preachers – Forging the First Amendment

The sermon traced religious liberty from persecuted English dissenters (John Smith, 1608) to Roger Williams (first Baptist church in America, 1638) to John Leland.

Key Quotes:

“Every man must give an account of himself to God. If government can answer for me at the Day of Judgment, then let it control my religion. Otherwise, let men be free.” – John Leland
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (1777) declared that religious opinion is a natural right, not a gift from government.
The First Amendment flows directly from the courage of Baptist preachers who were beaten, stoned, and imprisoned for over 100 years in the colonies.

Discussion Questions:

Why did infant baptism become a tool of ecclesiastical control? How did believer’s baptism strike at the heart of church-state union?
The sermon said: “The name ‘Baptist’ meant believer’s baptism, not infant baptism. It was a rejection of the union of church and state.” Do you think most Christians today understand that history? Why or why not?
John Leland influenced James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. What does this tell you about how God can use faithful preachers outside their own denomination?

Application: We enjoy religious freedom today because previous generations suffered. What are you doing to preserve liberty of conscience for your children and grandchildren?

Part 4: Four Principles for Today

The preacher gave four urgent principles from Scripture and history. Read each, then discuss.

Principle 1: When the prophetic voice is silenced, evil sweeps the land (1 Kings 18; Ezekiel 22:30)

In Ahab and Jezebel’s day, prophets were driven underground. The result? Idolatry, temple prostitution, child sacrifice.
The preacher warned: “In Michigan, preachers are not allowed to rebuke in the church. The Holy Spirit is quenched in our pulpits.”

Question: Is it loving to silence rebuke of open sin? Or is it loving to speak the truth? How do you balance grace and truth?

Principle 2: When the prophetic voice is silent, the people are lost (Jonah 4:11)

A generation grows up not knowing right from wrong.
The preacher gave a contemporary example: *”Spectrum magazine celebrated a pastor in a same-sex marriage for 20 years. Our children read that… and hear nothing from the pulpit. They assume it must be normal.”*

Question: If the church does not teach God’s moral boundaries, where will the next generation learn them? What is the consequence of silence?

Principle 3: When the prophetic voice is canceled, God’s primary means of communication is silenced (Romans 10:14-17)

Faith comes by hearing the word of God.
Preaching is not entertainment or slot-filling. It is life.

Question: Have you ever been changed by a sermon that was uncomfortable? What made it effective?

Principle 4: When the prophetic voice is compromised, the preacher loses spiritual power (1 Kings 22; Galatians 1:10)

The 400 prophets told Ahab what he wanted to hear. They were “prophets for hire.”
Micaiah told the truth—and was hated for it.
“If you preach to please men, you’re just speaking words. If you preach to please God, you preach the Word.”

Question: Who do you try to please most—your boss, your spouse, your friends, or God? How does that affect your witness?

Part 5: The Call – You Are the Preacher

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:16 – “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”

The preacher concluded: “You don’t have to stand behind a pulpit. You preach in Walmart. You preach at the gas station. You preach by sharing a GLOW tract.”

Final Challenge:

Pick up literature this week (e.g., The Great Controversy, GLOW tracts).
Pray daily: “Lord, give me a divine encounter. Bring someone across my path.”
Don’t be a silent preacher.

Group Discussion:

What is one “small” way you can preach the gospel this week without a pulpit?
The sermon said: “If we silence the voice of rebuke, we will have the blood of the next generation on our hands.” Is that too strong? Why or why not?
How can this group pray for you to have courage this week?

Closing Prayer (from the sermon)

Heavenly Father, thank You for the brave apostles, the turbulent priest, and the persecuted Baptists who secured liberty for us. Lord, in this generation, give us courage. Do not let us be silent. Give us divine encounters this week. Spark conversations that lead to Jesus. May we be counted among the brave. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Optional Memory Verse

“Am I now seeking human approval or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” — Galatians 1:10