Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
This section deals with the third problem that burdened the disciples to preach.
i.
The Problem Of Neglected Widows 6:1-7.
This passage of Scripture also sets up 6:8-7:60 where Luke records the sermon and martyrdom of Stephen.
In the solving of this problem we are also introduced to the concept of elders and deacons.
All in all, it is a very important passage.
PRAY
This passage of Scripture sets up 6:8-7:60 where Luke records the sermon and martyrdom of Stephen.
How many here have ever made a puzzle?
Good.
Now, let me ask another question.
How useful is a puzzle piece all by itself?
Not very.
If I were to hold a single puzzle piece, would any amount of time spent studying it give me the whole picture?
No.
In order to see the whole picture, I need the rest of the puzzle.
In this picture, the church is seen as a puzzle (S).
You and I are the pieces that make up that puzzle.
Each piece is different and has a different place, role, and function.
On our own we are not the church.
We cannot give people a clear picture of what the church is to be if we are all the same or if I am the only puzzle piece they see.
For a puzzle to work, all the pieces must be in the position designed for them by the creator of the puzzle.
Christ is the head of the church.
For the church to work the pieces, us, need to be where Christ has called us to be!
If a piece of the puzzle tries to fit somewhere it wasn’t designed to be, the whole puzzle will have problems.
10/22/17; Grace Church of Lockeford; 374; #26
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 405.
How many here have ever made a puzzle?
Good.
Now, let me ask another question.
How useful is a puzzle piece all by itself?
Not very.
If I were to hold a single puzzle piece, would any amount of time spent studying it give me the whole picture?
No.
In order to see the whole picture, I need the rest of the puzzle.
In this picture, the church is seen as a puzzle.
You and I are the pieces that make up that puzzle.
On our own we are not the church.
We cannot give people a clear picture of what the church is to be if we are all the same or if I am the only puzzle piece they see.
For a puzzle to work, all the pieces must be in the position designed for them by the creator of the puzzle.
Christ is the head of the church.
For the church to work the pieces, us, need to be where Christ has called us to be!
If a piece of the puzzle tries to fit somewhere it wasn’t designed to be, the whole puzzle will have problems.
This passage reveals the design of the creator.
How He wants the church to function.
As pieces of His puzzle it is not our place to tell Him where we should go.
We must discover the design of the creator and place ourselves as He has determined.
A healthy church is one where the pieces function together.
It is my prayer and desire that Grace Church be healthy.
Today we will be challenged to serve where God has placed us.
Only as we function according to His placement will the church resemble Christ.
Our title is “divide and conquer”.
When a problem arises in the church it is determined that only dividing the responsibilities will enable the church to effectively carry out its task.
There are three keys to understanding the divided responsibility in the early church.
The first is…
1.
The Need For Divided Responsibility vv.
1-4
1.
The Need For Divided Responsibility vv.
1-4
Up until this point in Acts the impression we are given is that the apostles are doing everything themselves.
It reminds me a little bit of Moses in when he is judging every matter of the people and his father-in-law Jethro gives him a better way to handle it.
Appointing other men to hear matters enabled Moses to focus on what God had called him to do.
This passage is similar.
As we discover the need for divided responsibility we learn of the…
a. Neglected widows v. 1
Ch. 5 hits some high notes.
In v. 12 there are wonders and signs being done through the apostles.
In v. 14 multitudes of believers are continually being added to the church.
In v. 42 the apostles preach Christ daily in the temple and from house to house.
Satan had attached the church from outside in ch. 4 with the arrest of Peter and John.
He then attacked from inside in ch. 5 with the deception and death of Ananias and Sapphira.
He again attacked from outside with the arrest of the apostles in the end of ch. 5. Now in the beginning of ch.
6 we have another attack from the inside.
Make no mistake, this is an attack by the enemy!
He is the source of discord and fighting among believers.
The beginning of v. 1 starts off well.
The church is growing.
Disciples are being added.
Then a complaint arises.
“Complaint” is the Greek word γογγυσμός (gongysmos) meaning complaining; grumbling; murmuring.
A complaint uttered in a low and indistinct tone.
Complaint – γογγυσμός (gongysmos)
Have any of you ever told a son or daughter or an employee to do something and as they walk away you hear muttering?
That is what’s being described here.
Everything is going well in the church when suddenly, there is a muttering.
What are they muttering about?
Neglect.
There were two groups of Jews in Jerusalem at this time.
Those who spoke Greek, and those who spoke Hebrew.
While both groups retained many Jewish practices and customs, the Hellenists, those who spoke Greek, adopted some Greco-Roman culture as well.
As a result there was tension and mistrust between the two groups.
This tension has crept into the church and the result is that the Hellenist widows are being neglected in the daily distribution.
This is referencing the daily care that the church took of their widows.
They provided an allotment of either food or money for food to the widows on a daily basis.
But the widows who were of the Greek speaking Jews were being neglected.
This is referencing the daily care that the church took of their widows.
They provided an allotment of either food or money for food to the widows on a daily basis.
But the widows who were of the Greek speaking Jews were being neglected.
We are susceptible to these same kind of thing!
It is a part of our sin nature to allow prejudice and bias get in the way of our God-given responsibility.
How we care for the most vulnerable among us indicates a lot about who we are.
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