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All the attention turns to Stephen to see how he will respond to the charges brought against him. Being accused of saying blasphemous words against God and Moses 1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father…

Easter and Christmas are probably the most significant days in the Christian faith. The birth of Jesus and His resurrection, major components of the gospel. Instead of spending just one week focusing on the Easter event, I wanted us to spend a few weeks after Easter reflecting on the resurrection and…

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…

The Lord’s Supper If you have trusted in Christ in save you from your sins, then you are welcome to participate. There are at least three things that you ought to do during this time: Examine yourself and confess known sin - commit to getting right with someone else after the service if necessary Remember…

Text Reading: Acts 8:1-4 . Title: Cultivate Love Review & Summary Saul made havock of the church. Last week, I turned my attention to the brief phrase in vs. 3: Acts 8:3 (KJV 1900) As for Saul, he made havock of the church , entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.…

Today we are looking at what happened with Stephen, often called the first martyr of the church, in that he was the first to die for proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. As we look at the account of what took place with Stephen, there is a lot we can take away from it for our own lives. So today,…

Text Reading: Acts 8:1-4 . Title: Havoc in the Church Review & Summary Stephen preached; he gave the high priest and the religious leaders a history lesson that they could not forget! However, their hearts were hardened. They could not hear; they could not receive the truth. So, when conviction set in,…

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…

11 “Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. 12 For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” 20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,…

We've come to the end of Acts and we summarised it from the perspective that it's a Spirit-empowered, boundary-crossing GROWTH story. It encourages us in our faith journey of growth, and as we boldly share the gospel.

When overwhelmed by circumstances wisdom seeks a bigger purpose.

Intro: The last time we saw Moses he had become a failure in trying to save his people through the murder of an Egyptian taskmaster. Now he is in the backside of the Midian desert, married, a new dad, and tending sheep for his father-in-law Jethro. While at Mt. Horeb, Moses sees an amazing sight, a bush…

Gen 49:5-7; Exo 2:1-10; 6:20; Acts 7:20-22; Heb 11:23-26 In an ideal world filled with sunshine and buttercups, rainbows and butterflies, lemonade and candy, one nice, happy, cookie-cutter family raises children who go on to marry people from other nice, happy, cookie-cutter families, and this story…

Acts 29 We spent the last 37 weeks traveling through the book of Acts. It has been a joy and a journey for me and I’m sure for you as well. What I want to do this morning is highlight some key insights into the book and then I want to give you all the opportunity to speak up and out about how we can…

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,…

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…

In Jesus' final instructions, he set the stage for what we are doing as believers. Hear what we are called to do as we follow God's plan in God's power as we surrender to his schedule.

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…

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…

Stephen's Martyrdom

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…

Palm Sunday Foretold by the Prophets 9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 22 The stone which the builders rejected…

Where do we start? 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. What do we tend to fear? The unknown…

In a Year Operation Mobilization stats… (from October 31, 2017 to November 1, 2018) In the top 50 World Watch List countries alone... 245 Million: Christians in the world experience high levels of persecution for their choice to follow Christ. 1 in 9 : Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution…