Acts 7 gives the account of Stephen, who was martyred for his stand for Christ. Stephen was a leader among the hellenistic jewish Christians in the early church, a servant who also had a unique prophetic gift.
In this narrative Luke tells how Stephen, who was called before the religious council because he had been preaching about Christ and working miracles in his name, ended up accusing the religious leaders of being "stiff-necked" and of murdering God's One and Only Son.
For this they took him out of the city, pushed him off a precipice, and stoned him to death.
As he lay dying, Stephen exclaimed that he saw the Risen Christ standing in heaven. Every other reference to Christ in heaven has him seated. Why did Christ stand in this moment? Was it to honor Stephen?
Friday, January 19, 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Servant leadership
I've gotten behind on the Acts Bible study notes, so I hope to post two new messages today.
Let's start with Acts 6. The scenario is this: In the early church in Jerusalem there were two distinct groups. One group was comprised of "Hebrew Christians," persons who had grown up in traditional Jewish fashion. These were persons from places such as Nazareth, Galilee, etc., who had come to know Christ through the testimony of the apostles during the weeks following Pentecost.
Also among the membership of the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem (just kidding about the Baptist part) were what have come to be known as "Hellenistic Christians," Jews from other regions beyond Judea (e.g. Antioch). Their primary language and culture was Greek.
As the church grew, it became increasingly difficult to minister to the needs of the entire body. And these Hellenistic believers felt they were getting the short end of the stick. They brought their case to the church leaders, who wisely directed them to find within their own ranks men "full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" to make sure their needs were met. Many scholars see these servants as the forerunners of what came to be know as deacons. (The word deacon, from the Greek, diakonos, means servant.)
Apparently this took care of this issue. Later on we'll see how God intervened with another solution to this dilemma.
Most noteworthy in my mind is that these servants were not apostles, nor were they among those who had been eyewitnesses of Christ, and yet here they are being selected for major responsibilities within the body. Two in particular we learn about in the succeeding chapters. The first is Stephen, who, according to Luke's narrative, was "a man full of God's grace and power." (Acts 6:8, NIV) It says of him that he "did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."
Here's the point, in my mind. God can do awesome things through any of his children, no matter our spiritual pedigree. Stephen was not an apostle or among those who were the charter members of First Church. Yet God used him mightily, as we'll see in the next chapter.
Do you think that God can/will do the same in our lives if we allow him to fill us with his grace and power?
Let's start with Acts 6. The scenario is this: In the early church in Jerusalem there were two distinct groups. One group was comprised of "Hebrew Christians," persons who had grown up in traditional Jewish fashion. These were persons from places such as Nazareth, Galilee, etc., who had come to know Christ through the testimony of the apostles during the weeks following Pentecost.
Also among the membership of the First Baptist Church of Jerusalem (just kidding about the Baptist part) were what have come to be known as "Hellenistic Christians," Jews from other regions beyond Judea (e.g. Antioch). Their primary language and culture was Greek.
As the church grew, it became increasingly difficult to minister to the needs of the entire body. And these Hellenistic believers felt they were getting the short end of the stick. They brought their case to the church leaders, who wisely directed them to find within their own ranks men "full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" to make sure their needs were met. Many scholars see these servants as the forerunners of what came to be know as deacons. (The word deacon, from the Greek, diakonos, means servant.)
Apparently this took care of this issue. Later on we'll see how God intervened with another solution to this dilemma.
Most noteworthy in my mind is that these servants were not apostles, nor were they among those who had been eyewitnesses of Christ, and yet here they are being selected for major responsibilities within the body. Two in particular we learn about in the succeeding chapters. The first is Stephen, who, according to Luke's narrative, was "a man full of God's grace and power." (Acts 6:8, NIV) It says of him that he "did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."
Here's the point, in my mind. God can do awesome things through any of his children, no matter our spiritual pedigree. Stephen was not an apostle or among those who were the charter members of First Church. Yet God used him mightily, as we'll see in the next chapter.
Do you think that God can/will do the same in our lives if we allow him to fill us with his grace and power?
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