SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:54-8:1 “All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” (Acts 8:1) Jesus sent His disciples Jerusalem, to Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8) Not until Stephen’s murder and persecution do they leave Jerusalem – to Judea and Samaria! There is always a danger that Jesus’ followers get stuck in…
What if…
I am wrestling with what this looks like for our church. How do you set up a church that equips for, but does not take away from, our task in the world. Even though we are trying to focus on our mission, just maintaining our church services takes a lot of effort. How do we…
Just like… Jesus?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:44-53 “You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 7:52) The word ‘stiff-necked’ means hard to control, haughty or stubborn. Anyone who knows the history of Israel knows that they had a see-saw relationship with God. They were often guilty of dishonouring God, the temple, the law and the prophets….
Turning back to ‘Egypt’?
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:39-43 “They rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.” (ACTS 7:39) Egypt represents bondage, misery, hopelessness, despair, death. Why would anyone turn back to these? Jesus represents freedom, joy, hope, life. Why wouldn’t anyone turn towards Him? Apparently humans have a predisposition towards that which is NOT GOOD for us. Can you…
Jesus IS the living word!
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:30-38 “He received living words to pass on to us.” (Acts 7:38) Moses received living words from God. The promises of justice, mercy, forgiveness, hope, victory. And the promise of a prophet to come who would have God’s words in his mouth (Deuteronomy 18:18). Jesus is the promised prophet, but unlike Moses He doesn’t receive ‘living…
I want to be free!
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 130 “If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3) I know that there is stuff in my life that is not good. Things I’ve said or done, unhealthy attitudes, selfish thinking, deceptive words. Sins of omission (stuff I should’ve done), sins of commission (stuff I shouldn’t have done). “But…
Overflowing joy?
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 8-9 “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” (2 Corinthians 8:2) Do trials or times of poverty produce overflowing joy or rich generosity in me? In these two chapters Paul manages to avoid using guilt as a motive for giving. He shows how…
Make it my goal?
SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 5-7 “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:9) This is our goal, no matter what, in life or death… Good times and bad, moments or glory or gory – may the Lord be honoured. A desire to please the…
When Christians make Jesus look bad
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:17-29 “Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.” (Acts 7:25) Stephen sets the stage to show how Jesus was also rejected by “his own people”. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (John 1:1) The…
God is with us!
SCRIPTURE: Acts 7:1-16 “But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.” (Acts 7:9-10) Stephen is accused of slandering the temple and the law (Acts 6:13-14). The temple is where God lives among His people; it represents ‘God with us’. Stephen reminds them how God was with them everywhere – Mesopotamia, Haran, and Egypt. The…