Read a scripture and sing worship songs.

(Optional) Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator also between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all. (Philippians 2:11b; 1 Timothy 2:4-6a)

Choose a way to cast vision for who they can become in Christ or what God can do through them by:

• a scripture that reminds them of the Father’s Heart and of the end vision.
• reflecting on the changes in their life since they started following Christ
• reminding them of what God wants to do through them

Share BIG vision “A church for every village and community, and the gospel for every person.”

Stephen Seized

⁸ Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.⁹ Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen.¹⁰ But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

¹¹ Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

¹² So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.¹³ They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.¹⁴ For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

¹⁵ All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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We learn about one of the seven appointed men named Stephan. Stephen’s ministry was to care for the widows and to manage the resources of the church. In addition to this, he was sharing the gospel with other Greek speaking Jews by visiting the synagogues that they attended. The Spirit empowered Stephen to perform miracles and to speak with wisdom. This is the first mention of a non-apostle doing the same work that the Apostles had been doing. The Apostles were making the next generation of disciples by passing on what they had learned from Jesus. This is an answer to Jesus’ prayer for the Apostles and for those who would believe as a result of their witness (John 17:20). 

The trouble started as a theological disagreement, then moved to slander (lies about him), conspiracy, and then to violence. The false accusations about Stephan were very serious. In fact, they were the same ones that had been used against Jesus. This was a dangerous situation, yet Stephen’s face reflected the peace that comes from being in the presence of Jesus.

 

Practice needed skills or previous topics to help prepare to minister to others:

• Prayer, Care, Share
• Gospel
• Foundational Bible Studies.