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Main Idea Contend for the gospel, not your reputation. What would you do today if you knew this was your last day on earth? What would you want to fill your final hours? Today, the narrative in Acts turns to one of the seven newly-selected Deacons - Stephen. Stephen was a man of incredible character…

Stephen: A Man Full of Grace The Scripture tells us that Stephen was a man who was full of faith and power and did great wonders and miracles among the people. And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. Growth in Church Now, before this we should not an interesting…

Ball one: Stephen’s defense, defending himself against the accusation of denying their history - telling the history - from a Jewish Christian POV Ball two: That’s ball two - sharing the gospel - he is evangelizing the Sanhedrin Ball three: For us to apply the Gospel Lessons from Stephen’s teaching that…

Intro - Prayer: Father, we praise You and honor You. Holy Spirit teach us Your ways. Open our hearts to Your Word and give us wisdom to understand, and courage to follow you Jesus. Amen. Acts Chapter 7. Evangelism often involves engaging in apologetics - providing a reasoned argument for what you believe…

The Sanhedrin accused Stephen of disrespecting Abraham and the Temple. Stephen responded to the charge or blasphemy by bearing witness to God. God who intervened on behalf of his people, but, many remained stubborn in their disbelief. He spoke honorably of Abraham, the Prophets, and the Temple. Of Abraham…

Unstoppable Intro Stephen Shows us what living a Christlike life will look like. And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians,…

Memorial Day is not Veteran’s Day. On Veteran’s Day we recognize active duty, reserves and veterans who are alive. On Memorial Day we remember all those military members who have died protecting the freedoms of our nation — such as THIS freedom to assemble in worship of God. It is a day when we remember…

When overwhelmed by circumstances wisdom seeks a bigger purpose.

Introduction Please open your Bible to Acts 6:8-15 as we see more about this man named Stephen who was described as full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Stephen is the first Christian martyr. For clarification, a martyr is a person who is killed because of their religious or other beliefs. There are…

I haven’t had a cup of Starbucks coffee since this pandemic began. Well, I’ve had Starbucks coffee. I’ve just been brewing it myself. I’ve been hesitant to eat out, to get coffee, so since this shutdown began i’ve not been to starbucks. Until this morning. I decided to be brave and I pulled into the…

The Unity of the Church in Danger Theme: God does not want His Church to be neglected. Therefore, the Holy Spirit God appointed godly men by the Church to serve the growing Church. The Problem And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians…

From persecution to more . . . From revealing times, to empowering times, to growing, to multiplying brought persecutions, beatings and more Christian example, tonight we start a multi-part look at the 1st Christian martyr Stephen. Revealing God’s plan (Act1:6) To empowering God’s people (Act2:1-3) To…

Offices: Two Opportunities: Many Key: Servant’s heart Ministry (6:1-7) Apostles Had Difficulty (vv. 1-2; Acts 5:41-42) Answer Was Deacons (vv. 3-7; Mark 1:35-39 ) Ministry (6:1-7) Apostles Had Difficulty (vv. 1-2; Acts 5:41-42) 1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there…

Persecution Continues Last week we started looking at the first Christian Martyr, Stephen a Hellenistic believer. Growing church was a persecuted church (Act4:18-21, 5:40) Persecution began with being told to stop preaching! That did not work, so then came more threats and beatings, and well, that did…

Today we are talking a bit about excuses to sin. Here is a couple of excuses for thing I thought were funny: When our new hire didn’t show up for work, I called her. She explained that her mother had passed away and that she would need a few days off for bereavement. “Of course,” I said. A week went…

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching…

Inspiration What kind of life inspires you? Impactful — Makes a big difference Overcomer — Makes a huge change to be better Successful — Plans and achieves goals Kind — Innate ability to empathize with and reach out to others Wise — Knows how to find the right answer and applies it. Loyal — Never fails…

Many Old Testament themes are repeated in the New Testament. Stephen is accused of blaspheming the Temple and the Mosaic Law - Stephen then summarizes OT history in order to expose their hypocrisy and wickedness. Two recurring themes stand out. The first is that God can never be tied down to one land…

The Expansion of the Gospel The idea of this chapter is that the early believers were scattered after Stephen’s death. However, this does not mean that God is done with His program. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit God is done with the expansion of the Gospel mission. But THIS is the beginning…

Addressed them as Brethren and fathers Brethren - relationship Fathers - respect for leadership Faith Abraham Not from act of circumcision God told Abraham to go where I will show you. by Faith Abraham went 7:2-3 2 And he said, “Hear me, brethren and fathers! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham…

The HS has been unleashed upon the earth as never before through the church. He took the form of tongues of fire above the apostles with the sound of a rushing wind. He has burned, been fueled by persecution, been respected because of holiness, and He has defied the religious establishment. In chapter…

Many people resisted God, to the point of murder. Stephen was dragged before the Sanhedrin and accused of blasphemy. Stephen a man that was said to be “full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people” was dragged before the Sanhedrin because Hellenistic Jews lied and…

Morning 2nd April 2023

Acts review Luther-”The Old Testament is the cradle in which the christ child is laid.” Accusations: Blasphemy against Moses Blasphemy against God Blasphemy against the Law Blasphemy against the Temple Stephen’s Defense: God (1-16) 1 The high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And he said, “Hear me,…