18 July 2021 (am) – Acts 6:8-7:1 & 7:44-8:3
 | Andy Bruins preaching from Acts on Sunday 18th July 2021. |
This is the story of Stephen, one of the 7 men chosen by the church to serve by looking after the widows in the Jerusalem church.
Stephen became the first person in the church to lose his life because of his faith and his testimony about Jesus Christ.
It’s a foretaste of things to come, because though the church in Jerusalem has come out of Judaism, at its heart this new movement clashes violently with those elements that are now obsolete because they were only ever meant to point us to Jesus Himself.
Q Read 7:8-15. Stephen is seized and brought before the Sanhedrin. What is he accused of? Are the accusations true? What is the real reason they want to silence him (look at v9-10)?
Q Have you ever had your words or your beliefs as a Christian misrepresented? Why do people do this?
Q Read v13-14. What do they claim that Stephen has actually spoken against?
Q If you have time, read Stephen’s sermon in chapter 7:1-53.
Look at v2, 30-33, 44 and 47-50. What do these verses tell us about the temple as a place to meet God?
Look at v9, v25-28, 35-36, 52-53. What do these verses tell us about how God’s people treated their leaders and those sent to deliver them?
Q How does the temple foreshadow Jesus – and how is He far better!
How does Moses (and the Law he brought to the people) foreshadow Jesus – and how is He far better?
Q Are there things that we still cling to that we should let go of because Jesus has replaced the need for them?
