Leaders should be leading somewhere. That should go without saying, but sometimes leadership appears to be more of a title than a practice. The early church leaders were more than figureheads. They were tasked with spreading the gospel and feeding the flock as they expressly avoided micro-management of the growing church. Then the twelve summoned … Continue reading –>
You can view an in-depth discussion of “The First Church Leaders” in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. (Adobe Flash Player version.) A Youtube version of this week’s lesson at Hope Sabbath School is below. You can download the video, the MP3 audio, and the lesson outline from the HopeTV Sabbath … Continue reading –>
Further Study: “The persecution that came upon the church in Jerusalem resulted in giving a great impetus to the work of the gospel. Success had attended the ministry of the word in that place, and there was danger that the disciples would linger there too long, unmindful of the Saviour’s commission to go to all the … Continue reading –>
The triumph over Stephen ignited a massive persecution against the believers in Jerusalem, no doubt instigated by the same group of opponents. The leader of the group was Saul, who caused no small damage to the church (Acts 8:3, Acts 26:10). The persecution, however, was turned to good effect. Indeed, scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, the believers … Continue reading –>
Since by definition a prophet (in Hebrew, na?î) is someone who speaks for God, Stephen became a prophet the very moment he brought God’s rî? against Israel. His prophetic ministry, however, was rather short. Read Acts 7:55-56. What was the meaning of Stephen’s vision? “When Stephen reached this point, there was a tumult among the people. When he connected … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 7:1-53. What was Stephen saying to his accusers? The charges raised against Stephen led to his arrest and trial by the Sanhedrin. According to Jewish tradition, the law and the temple services were two of the three pillars upon which the world rests—the last being good works. The mere insinuation that the Mosaic ceremonies … Continue reading –>
Our theme of: Hymn 378, “Go, Preach My Gospel” commences the study this week as many Hellenistic believers went about “bearing witness to the entire world”. Hymn 346, “Lord, Who Dost Give to Thy Church” is what was requested by the early church believers for all who were involved in spreading the gospel. We may also sing: … Continue reading –>
The appointment of the seven. If you were on the “nominating committee” to choose seven officers to take care of fellowship activities in the early church, what characteristics would you look for? Why do you think that the apostles needed help in handling these activities? How important was it for the chosen deacons to be acknowledged in … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: God has been and is concerned that His purposes for His people are made known and fulfilled. Lesson 4, July 28, 2018 1. Have a volunteer read Acts 6: 2-6. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is. How were the seven chosen and … Continue reading –>
We were in our last couple nights of evangelism meetings when a water pipe burst, flooding a room behind the sanctuary, near the baptistry entrance. One of the deacons told a local elder to help the other deacons pump the water out. The elder politely replied that he could not do that, because he had … Continue reading –>
After their appointment, the Seven engaged not only in church ministry but also in effective witnessing. The result was that the gospel continued to spread, and the number of believers kept increasing (Acts 6:7). This growth started, of course, to bring opposition to the early church. The narrative then focuses on Stephen, a man of rare … Continue reading –>
Read Acts 6:1. What was the complaint of the Hellenistic believers? “The cause of complaint was an alleged neglect of the Greek widows in the daily distribution of assistance. Any inequality would have been contrary to the spirit of the gospel, yet Satan had succeeded in arousing suspicion. Prompt measures must now be taken to remove … Continue reading –>
