Essential Question Challenge

Have you ever asked yourself, "What difference am I making with my life?" On some level, we all struggle to find our own answer to that question as we search for meaning and significance in life. With that question in mind, we invite you to join us as we begin The Essential Question Challenge on January 11th, 2026. The Essential Question Challenge is a journey through the book of Acts that builds on the question the Apostle Paul asked, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). This 10-week Bible reading experience will help you see that God has a mission for all of his people-whether it's to serve him faithfully in the marketplace, in the home, in school, in the military or someplace else. There will be five readings each week and the Sunday morning sermon will be based on the main idea of those readings. We will also discuss what we are learning as we read through Acts during the adult education hour Sunday mornings. Our prayer is that God will speak to each of us and help us discover how He is leading us to make a difference in our church, community and world.

Essential Question challenge

January 11- 17: The Church is Born

1. The Essential Truth Acts 1:1-11

2. So, Now What? Acts 1:12-26

3. The Real, Real World Acts 2:1-13

4. What Just Happened? Acts 2:14-36

5. The New Testament Church Acts 2:37-47

week 1

January 18-24: The Church Begins to Grow

6. “Just Do It” Faith Acts 3:1-10

7. The Hard Sayings of Peter Acts 3:11-26

8. The Offense of Christianity Acts 4:1-22

9. Fearless Prayer Acts 4:23-31

10. The Perfect Church Acts 4:32-37

week 2

January 25-31: The Church is Persecuted

11. Lying to God Acts 5:1-16

12. We’re in the Jailhouse Now Acts 5:17-42

13. Trouble in River City Acts 6:1-15

14. Good News for a Hostile World Acts 7:1-19

15. Courageous Evangelism Acts 7:20-8:1a

week 3

February 1-7: The Good News Changed Lives

16. The B-List Apostle Acts 8:1b-25

17. Effective Evangelism Acts 8:26-40

18. Seeing the Light Acts 9:1-9

19. I Want You! Acts 9:10-19a

20. Spiritual Mentor Acts 9:19b-31

week 4

February 8-14: The Good News is for Everyone

21. Bold Humility Acts 9:32-43

22. The Divine Choreographer Acts 10:1-48

23. Holy Legalism Acts 11:1-18

24. The Church Goes Viral Acts 11:19-30

25. The Unstoppable Force Acts 12:1-25

week 5

February 15-21: The First Mission Trip

26. A Mission from God Acts 13:1-12

27. Pioneering Ministry Acts 13:13-52

28. Successful Ministry Acts 14:1-28

29. Ministry Disagreements Acts 15:1-21

30. Personal Disagreement Acts 15:22-41

week 6

February 22-28: More Mission Trips

31. Jailhouse Rock Acts 16:1-40

32. Flexible Ministry Acts 17:1-34

33. The Mission Team Experience Acts 18:1-28

34. The Real Problem Acts 19:1-41

35. Ministry Snapshots Acts 20:1-38

week 7

March 1-7: Paul's Journey to Jerusalem

36. Knowing God’s Will Acts 21:1-26

37. Outside the Comfort Zone Acts 21:27-36

38. The Essential Question Acts 21:37-22:21

39. Blessed Assurance Acts 22:22-23:11

40. The Paradox of Ministry Acts 23:12-35

week 8

March 8-14: Paul's Roman Trail

41. The Inconvenient Truth Acts 24:1-27

42. “I Appeal to Caesar!” Acts 25:1-12

43. Who Is Jesus? Acts 25:13-27

44. Paul’s Apologia Acts 26:1-18

45. The Focused Life Acts 26:19-32

week 9

March 15-21: Paul's Journey to Rome

46. Mission Journal Acts 27:1-12

47. A Titanic Ministry Acts 27:13-26

48. The Shipwreck Moment Acts 27:27-44

49. Ministry Along the Way Acts 28:1-10

50. An Everyday Challenge Acts 28:11-31

week 10

New Creation Lutheran Church

New Creation Lutheran Church

Essential Question Challenge

Essential Question challenge