Sermon Transcript October 11, 2015

Transcription

1 RESURRECTION It changes everything. Sermon Transcript October 11, 2015 Look To Jesus! Acts 6:8-7:60 This message from the Bible was addressed originally to the people of Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church on October 11, 2015, at 511 Maple Street, Wethersfield, CT, by Dr. Scott W. Solberg. This is a transcription that bears the strength and weaknesses of oral delivery. It is not meant to be a polished essay. An audio copy of the sermon on CD is available by request at (860) An audio version of this sermon may also be found 1

2 Sermon Text Acts 6:8 7:60 [8] And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. [9] Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. [10] But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. [11] Then they secretly instigated men who said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God. [12] And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, [13] and they set up false witnesses who said, This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, [14] for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. [15] And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel. [1] And the high priest said, Are these things so? [2] And Stephen said: Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, [3] and said to him, Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you. [4] Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. [5] Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. [6] And God spoke to this effect that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. [7] But I will judge the nation that they serve, said God, and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place. [8] And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. [9] And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him [10] and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. [11] Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. [12] But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. [13] And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. [14] And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. [15] And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, [16] and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem. [17] But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt [18] until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. [19] He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. [20] At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in 2

3 God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, [21] and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. [22] And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds. [23] When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. [24] And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. [25] He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. [26] And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other? [27] But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? [28] Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday? [29] At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. [30] Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. [31] When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: [32] I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob. And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. [33] Then the Lord said to him, Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. [34] I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt. [35] This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge? this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. [36] This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. [37] This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. [38] This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. [39] Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, [40] saying to Aaron, Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. [41] And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. [42] But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? [43] You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon. [44] Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. [45] Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, [46] who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling 3

4 place for the God of Jacob. [47] But it was Solomon who built a house for him. [48] Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, [49] Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? [50] Did not my hand make all these things? [51] You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. [52] Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, [53] you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it. [54] Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. [55] But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. [56] And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. [57] But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. [58] Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. [59] And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. [60] And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Be Assured! The Good News of Jesus will Spread Today I want to begin with the end of the story. Some people like to read the end of the novel before they read the story. If that is you, then you probably like the fact that this morning we are starting with the end of the story. The story that is told in Acts 6-7 is a critical story in the book of Acts because it marks a major transition. In Acts 1:8, we have the outline for the entire book when Jesus tells the apostles that they will be witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Up to this point, all the activity of giving witness to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead has been pretty well contained in Jerusalem. In fact, most of the activity from Acts 3-5 has taken place around the heart of the city of Jerusalem, the temple. But what happens in this chapter, scatters the church and in Acts 8 you find the testimony of the resurrected Jesus moving into Samaria. When you come to the end of Acts 7, you discover what happens that causes this geographical shift from Jerusalem to Samaria. It is here where we witness the first person to be martyred because of giving witness to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So the story ends, starting in Acts 7:54, Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And 4

5 he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. If you have been tracking with us the past several weeks, you could sense the temperature beginning to rise. The opposition against the apostles was clearly beginning to intensify. It started in Acts 4 with Peter and John being threatened and told that they could no longer speak in the name of Jesus. To which Peter said, we can not but speak of what we have seen and heard. And so in chapter 5 they are arrested this time and put in a prison cell, only to be miraculously delivered by an angel. The next morning they are rounded up again and again told to keep quiet. This time, the religious authorities sought to apply a little intimidation and so they rough up the apostles a little bit and then send them on their way. But what do we find at the end of Acts 5? It says, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. We come to Acts 7 and at the end of this story we find these tensions reaching a boiling point and now someone is left lying dead. Stephen becomes the first casualty of a long list of people who pay the ultimate price for following Jesus. Once this line is crossed there is no stopping it. If we take a sneak peek into Acts 8, we discover how this persecution spreads like wildfire. In Acts 8:1 it says, And there arose that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria. You might think that this spells trouble for this young church just getting started. You might think that this concentrated effort of persecution and the threat of death would finally put an end to this nonsense of speaking about a resurrection and people would now think twice before being added to their number. And yet, the ironic thing in all of this is that this great persecution is the very thing that leads to the great advance of the gospel and by the end of Acts we find it firmly entrenched all the way in the city of Rome. It is not just ironic. It is providential. The Church Father, Tertullian said in the second century, The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. That is what you see so far in the book of Acts. As each story of opposition to the apostles and their teaching is told, often an alternate underlying summary statement is added to describe how the message is still being shared and in spite of threats, people are being added to their number. The reason why persecution and the threat of death can t stamp out the power of the gospel is because of the resurrection. It changes everything. You can t threaten a group of people with death, 5

6 who at the end of the day do not fear death. The bishop of Carthage, a man by the name of Cyprian, wrote in 251 A. D. in response to how the Christians took care of the dying during the plagues that swept through the Roman Empire. In doing so, they were embracing death themselves. He said of the church, we have begun gladly to seek martyrdom while we are learning not to fear death. 1 He instructed the church under his care how to respond if a brother or sister in Christ actually died from the plague. He didn t want them to grieve as those without hope. So he said, Our brethren who have been freed from the world by the summons of the Lord should not be mourned, since we know that they are not lost but sent before; that in departing they lead the way; that as travelers, as voyagers are wont to be, they should be longed for, not lamented... And that no occasion should be given to pagans to censure us deservedly and justly, on the ground that we grieve for those who we say are living. 2 Death is no threat to the one who knows the living hope of resurrection. I think of what has happened in China. In 1949, Communism took over in China and all the missionaries were expelled from the country. Atheism was the ideology of the Communist Party of China and from 1966 to 1976 great effort was taken to suppress the church. You would think that once the missionaries were gone and once the church was forced underground, it would spell the end to the church in China. But not so! It is estimated that today there are over 100 million Christians in China. That is more than the registered 86.7 million members of the ruling Communist party. It is believed that in 15 years from now, there will be more Christians in China than in any other country of the world. 3 But that is not all. A vision has emerged from the underground church in China where they want to plant churches throughout what is known as the 10/40 Window. This is the area of the world, mainly dominated by Islam, with the most unreached people groups and is very hostile towards the gospel. The vision is called Back to Jerusalem and these Chinese believers want to plant churches from China to Jerusalem and because of what they experienced in China, they are willing to die for it. Look what God was doing in what seemed to be something that would spell the end to the church in China. It was quite the opposite. We look at our culture and how the church seems to be more and more on the periphery of influence in our culture. In fact, some can read the tea leaves and predict, that most likely things will get more difficult for the church in our culture the more secular we become as a nation. Though to this point, we have no clue what it is like to really suffer for our faith. But still, we fret over the change we see coming. Perhaps we should not fret over these things. In the passage we are memorizing, we discover we should expect these things, Though for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that 6

7 perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. It sounds like to me, these kinds of difficulty are part of what we sign up for when we follow Jesus. Instead we should ask when persecution is on the horizon, What is God up to right now? What is God about to do through the undying testimony of his church even in the face of death? Death is no threat to a group of people who no longer fear death. So, one thing we learn from the story of Stephen is that the good news of the forgiveness of sin that comes with the resurrection of Jesus Christ will spread throughout the world despite persecution. In other words, the purposes of God will be accomplished and the kingdom of God will advance to the end of the earth. The reason for this is because Jesus now sits at the right hand of God and it is through Jesus the blessings of God have no boundaries. This is one of the themes that runs through this story of Stephen. We get a behind the scene glimpse of how God will advance his kingdom. We are told, standing in the crowd that day was a young man named Saul. Jesus and the Temple What did Stephen say that caused such a violent reaction? It says at the end of our story, Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him... They cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. What could he possibly have said that caused such a reaction? To answer this question you need to go back to the beginning of the story in Acts 6. It is here we see the accusation that is brought against Stephen. Starting in Acts 6:11, Stephen is accused of speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God. Further accusation is found in verse 13 where they say, This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law. Broadly speaking, Stephen is accused of coming against their teaching about God and their traditions. But in a narrow sense, the focus of Stephen s comments really has to do with the temple. Take note of where Stephen is in his response to these accusations when the crowd becomes enraged. Acts 7 is the longest recounting of Israel s history in the book of Acts. Stephen starts with Abraham. He mentions Isaac and Jacob. Then there is a long section on Moses and the brief mention of Joshua. Then he mentions David in Acts 7:46. It is here where he says that David wanted to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. Instead, it was David s son, Solomon who built the temple. That is as far as Stephen got in the history of Israel before they went to stone him. He says in verse 47, But it was Solomon who built a house for him. Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place 7

8 of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things? It is the issue of the temple that becomes the focal point and the tipping point that sets these men off. Can we pause for a moment and not just look at this story in Acts 6-7? But can we consider how this story fits into what Luke is trying to tell us about the resurrected Jesus in Acts 3-7? If you can think back to the past couple of Sundays as we made our way through Acts 3-5, can you recall how all the activity of these chapters takes place at the temple? It is Peter and John going to the temple at the time of prayer when they encounter the lame man. It is Peter proclaiming the risen Christ in Acts 3 at the temple that causes the temple leadership in Acts 4 to bring him in for questioning. When the angel in Acts 5 comes at night and opens the prison door, his instruction to the apostles was to go back to the temple and once again proclaim the risen Christ. In Acts 6:13, Stephen is charged with speaking against the holy place. And now, it is the issue of the temple that causes these men to pick up stones and hurl them at Stephen. Here Luke is demonstrating how Jesus is the fulfillment and the replacement of the temple. He is showing how the resurrection of Jesus changes everything. What was the significance of the temple to the people of Israel? It represented the dwelling place of God among his people. Consequently, it was a place of prayer. It also was the place where the sacrifice for sin was made. There were daily sacrifices and annual sacrifices made on behalf of the people for the atoning of their sin. So quite naturally, one can readily see why the temple became so sacred to the Jewish worshiper. When talking about the temple, you need to take David and Solomon together. It is David in 2 Samuel who wants to build a house, a dwelling place for God. But through the prophet Nathan, David is told that God, instead, wants to build a house for David. What he means by this is that God is making covenant promise with David that God will establish his eternal kingdom through a descendant of David. That is what comes first. A throne, a king, a ruler will come from David and this king will rule over God s kingdom. After that, Solomon comes and Solomon builds a temple, a dwelling place for God among his people. Obviously, Solomon is a descendant of David, but he is not the ultimate fulfillment of the promise made to David that he would have a son who would rule over God s kingdom forever. Solomon died. Likewise, the temple, which represents the dwelling place of God among his people can not be the fulfillment of God s promise. You can t contain God to a piece of property. The temple ultimately points us to Jesus. He is the one who fulfills the goal of the temple. Clearly, that is the point being made in Acts and then more pointedly by Stephen. What is the point being made in Acts 1-2? The climax of these chapters is that this Jesus who rose from the dead has now ascended into heaven and he is seated at the right 8

9 hand of the Father. David is a focal point in Peter s sermon in Acts 2. He is saying that this promised Son of David has come and through his resurrection he has ascended into heaven and therefore he concludes by saying, Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ. And so it is only natural, since we must take David and Solomon together, to wonder to ourselves that if the Son of David has come and is now ruling, what does that do to the temple? It is interesting how the Old Testament prophets said that when the promised Davidic King would come that there would be a restored temple. Ezekiel 37:26-28 notes that when a new David is king over God s people God says, I will put my sanctuary among them for ever. My dwelling place will be with them... Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy. We are told in Acts 2 that the coming of the Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the last days. It is Isaiah who says in Isaiah 2:2, In the last days the mountain of the Lord s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and all nations will stream to it. So it is not surprising that after Acts 1-2 proclaims that promised Son of David now sits on the throne of God s kingdom, that Luke would take Acts 3-7 to talk about what that says about the temple. The point that Luke and Stephen make to the people of Israel is that Jesus is the new temple. Jesus is the dwelling place of God. Jesus is the one we pray to. Jesus is where we find the sacrifice for sin and the forgiveness for our sins from God. As we are at this turning point in the book of Acts where the proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus is about to go viral and expand beyond Jerusalem, Stephen is saying that the temple in Jerusalem the dwelling place of God was never meant to be contained in one geographical place among one group of people. Rather Jesus supersedes the temple and his rule is not confined to Israel. In fact the point that Stephen is trying to make throughout his defense is that looking back on Israel s story, God s presence has never been limited to the temple or even to the land of Israel. 4 I don t know if you like geography, but in Stephen s sermon he is giving a theological geography lesson. And he is pointing out in Israel s own history where God and the glory of God were showing up at places far removed from Israel. So in Acts 7:2, The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia. The coming of the glory of God among the people of Israel is associated with the temple. But here it is far from Jerusalem, in Mesopotamia. Then at verse 7, God is at Mt. Horeb. In verse 9, God is in Egypt. In verses he shows up to Moses in the burning bush at Mt. Sinai. In fact this place is called holy ground, which is how the observant Jew saw the temple. And yet here we are, out in the desert and a holy place is found. This is what leads Stephen to conclude in verses 48-50, Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, Heaven is my throne, 9

10 and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? Did not my hand make all these things? Can I tell you what I think really ticked them off and set them over the edge. I think Stephen was accusing them of missing the point. They actually turned the temple into an idol. When Stephen says in verse 48 that God does not dwell in houses made by hands he uses the word in the Greek version of the Old Testament that is only used in the Old Testament to refer to idols made by hands. It is the word used in Acts 7:41, referring back to the golden calf that the people of Israel made through the works of their hands. Can you feel their temperature getting to that boiling point? As Luke comes to the conclusion of this section of Acts focusing on the temple, the dwelling place of God among this people, he is showing us how Jesus is the new temple. He is not confined to a people. He is not confined to a geographical place. As this gospel is about ready to go beyond Jerusalem, Jesus is lifted up as the one who has authority over all things and therefore through Jesus the blessings of God are made available to all who call on his name. Do you remember when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well? Do you remember the theological question she raised. Samaritans were half Jewish, descendants of the northern tribes of Israel who split from Judah and built their own temple. They had a temple in Samaria and the Jews had a temple in Jerusalem. And so the question went like this, Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that is in Jerusalem where people ought to worship. Which mountain is it? Which temple is it? Which place contains God? Jesus said, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father... Salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. With his dying breath, Stephen pointed them to Jesus to say that this time has come. Our Message: Look to Jesus Do you know what Stephen is saying in his final breath? He said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. We usually don t speak so formally, Behold! We would point and say, Look! As he is dying his message of hope is Look to Jesus! And do you see what Stephen is saying about Jesus in his final words? He is using temple words as he points up to Jesus. In verse 55 it says, But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. It was the temple that housed the glory of God and the presence of God and here is Jesus standing in the presence of God in all of his glory. It is to the Lord Jesus that Stephen prays. When he prays receive 10

11 my spirit it is Jesus who gives him access to God. And when he prays, Lord, do not hold this sin against them it is to Jesus that he appeals for the forgiveness of sin. In other words, Don t look to the temple to draw near to God! Look to Jesus! That is how I would like to end this morning. I would make the same appeal to you this morning based on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Through his resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father, Jesus is the promised ruler of David and he has universal authority. Therefore, all of God s blessings come to us through faith in Jesus. What should you do? Look to Jesus! Repent of your sin and turn in faith to Jesus. He is the temple. He is the dwelling place of God. He is the one who brings us to God. He is the place where the sacrifice of sin can be made and where we can find atonement for sin. If you are yet to look to Jesus I would encourage you to do so today. I am glad that God is not confined to a house or a building. We are the building of God. Jesus is the cornerstone and we are living stones being formed into a spiritual house. Do you know that that means? God is in our midst. God is present with his church. There is no place where we can go where God is not. Are we not told, where two or three are gathered in his name, he is present. That is a comfort for the persecuted church. That is a comfort for us when we face opposition or threat or even death. When Jesus gave the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations he also gave the Great Comfort. He said, I am with your always, to the end of the age. How can that be? It is because Jesus, the risen king rules over every square inch of this world and the kingdom of God is present wherever God s people happen to be. So be confident! Be hopeful! Be faithful! Tell others, Look to Jesus! He is the dwelling place of God. He is the one who brings us to God. He has made atonement for our sin. He is our Lord and he is our temple! 1 Quoted in Rodney Stark The Rise of Christianity (San Francisco: Harper, 1997) 81 2 Ibid 3 Jamil Anderlini The rise of Christianity in China November 7, 2014 Financial Times, Alan J. Thompson The Acts of the Risen Lord (Downers Grove: IVP 2011 by Dr. Scott Solberg - All rights reserved 11

12 Sermon Title: Look to Jesus Sermon Text: Acts 6-7 Sermon Date: October 11, 2015 Getting To Know Me Questions 1. Share how you saw God at work this week in your life. Was there an answer to prayer? Was there an opportunity to bless? Was there an encouragement that came your way? Was there a temptation you resisted? Spend time thanking God for the many ways he makes himself known in our lives. 2. How would you describe what it is like to be a Christian in this culture? What are the challenges? What concerns you? What was said on Sunday that you find to be helpful as you try to live out your faith? 3. What is one thing you are taking from Sunday s sermon? Diving Into The Word 4. Read Acts 7:54-8:1 What connection do you see between persecution and the spread of the gospel? Why do you think that is? Discuss what you learn about God from this? What hope does this give you in regard to the persecuted church today? 5. Read 1 Peter 1:3-9 - If the early church persevered through persecution because of their hope in the resurrection, how does the resurrection help us endure through our various trials? Can you name a current trial or hardship you are facing today? What do you find in 1 Peter 1:3-9 to encourage you? How might the living hope of the resurrection give you strength to endure with faith through this trial? 6. Read Acts 7: Stephen is arguing that the resurrected Jesus replaces the Old Testament temple. Why would that be encouraging to us? Why is Jesus better than the Old Testament temple in Jerusalem? How does Jesus function as the Old Testament temple? Read 1 Peter 2: Discuss what this says about the temple of God today. How does that encourage you? 7. Read again Acts 7:54-60 What do you learn about Jesus from this passage? What do you see when you look up and see Jesus? How does this heavenly vision bring you both a sense of peace and a measure of boldness? Taking It Home 8. Spend some time praying this week for the persecuted church. Based on this study, what are some things that you could pray about for the persecuted church? How might these requests apply to your situation as well? 9. What next step to you want to take as a group to discern how you might serve together and BLESS someone? 10. Continue to work on memorizing your verse for the week, 1 Peter 1: