Sunday School Notes 5/25/2014
Acts 6:1-8:1 "Stephen: Dying for Jesus"
Recap:
ASK YOURSELF:
Are you more worried
about your reputation
than you are about
seeing people meet
Jesus?
1. The purpose of your life as a Christian is to advance the Gospel to the
ends of the earth.
2. God’s plan to reach the nations is all about God’s people, filled with
God’s Spirit, living in God’s power, for only God’s glory.
3. At the end of the last lesson, even the religious leaders are coming to
faith in Christ (v.7)
4. Because the apostles kept living on mission, the religious leaders went
from oppressing the faith to obeying the faith.
Progress Report in Jerusalem: (Acts 6:1-7)
1. Satan attempts to divide the church, because some widows were not being properly taken care of.
2. The apostles told the congregation to select seven men to take care of the physical needs of the church.
a. These men were later called deacons.
b.
Their qualifications were that they had to
have a good reputation, and be full of the
Holy Spirit and wisdom.
3. Meanwhile, the apostles devoted themselves to their
two biggest priorities, prayer and teaching the Bible
(v.4).
Persecution against Stephen: (Acts 6:8-15)
1. Stephen was performing great signs and wonders among the people.
2. But some people from the Synagogue of the Freedmen starting arguing with Stephen.
3. When they kept getting owned, they induced men into falsely accusing Stephen of blasphemy.
Stephen’s Response:
1. Stephen responds by going through a bit of Old Testament history.
2. The people of Israel disowned Moses when he was alive, but later they honored his teachings.
3. The people of Israel also disowned the prophets when they were alive, but later they honored their teachings too.
4. Stephen’s point is that the religious leaders also disowned and murdered Jesus, but once again they were wrong.
Because of this statement, the people were convicted and
decide to stone Stephen.
5. While being stoned, Stephen falls on his knees and asks
God to forgive the people who were stoning him.
6. Stephen dies, becoming the first person to die for the faith.
7. Saul was very likely the first person to cast a stone at
Stephen.
In Acts 7, a hate-filled mob kills a
Spirit-filled man, and the same thing
still often happens today.
But doesn’t this mean that Satan is
winning?
Discussion Questions:
1.
As of right now, would you be qualified to be a deacon or deaconess? ________________________.
2.
When was a time that you had to be bold and stand up for your faith like Stephen did? _______________
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3.
When is a time when you had to forgive someone of something horrible that they’ve done to you?
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4.
Is there anyone that you need to forgive right now? ____________________________________________
5.
Have you been devoting yourself to prayer and the Word? _____________________________________
6.
What needs to change for you to devote yourself to prayer and the Word more? ____________________
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