Lesson 2 of 4 The Stand (Stephen) Scope and Sequence Objective Doctrine: Obedience, Evangelism, Devotion Students will understand the importance of sharing their faith and be challenged to stand and share Jesus every chance they have. Memory Verse Acts 7:55 Who is seen standing at the right hand of God? Worth Repeating: The right time is always right now to share your faith. HOOK: The Urgency and the Beauty of Sharing Your Faith Let s be honest; fear is a big part of what drives us away from living boldly for Christ. It is what stops us from sharing our faith. Sometimes you just don t communicate what you want to say! You may very well change the world around you if you clearly communicate the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news of God s salvation of man made possible by Christ s death, burial, and resurrection. LESSON CONTENT: There is both a power and an urgency to sharing our faith. I. Character Makes the Man II. Boldness or Fear: You Choose! III. Bold character leaves a lasting legacy. CONNECTION: Share the Gospel with others The Gospel has been on the move ever since Jesus charged His disciples with the mission of taking His message to the world! Think about it, the movement of the Gospel that started over 2000 years ago came to you while it was on the move. The question is, will you join the movement? Will you continue to share the Gospel with others? DECISION: Take a stand There is a decision you need to make today to impact your witness this week. Are you willing to take a stand and tell your friends about Jesus? Page 389
Definitions Character: Who you are when no one is looking. which becomes evident when people are watching. Faith: Trusting, believing, or taking God at His Word; having a confident assurance of unseen things. Gospel: Is the good news of God s salvation of man made possible by Christ s death, burial, and resurrection. Checklist Check out this Miss Teen America contestant really mess up her answer https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/sbs17/44-1/ Video capability for YouTube video (other technology may be required) Materials for the poll you will take, either paper and pen or the technology A PowerPoint presentation for this lesson is available. Resources Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1991), 122-126. Additional Teacher Resources Standing Ovation by According to John. Mp3. A great song that tells the story of Stephen. Nypost.com/2015/10/01/Oregon-gunman-singled-out-christians-during-rampage/ Hook: The Urgency and the Beauty of Sharing Your Faith What scares you the most? (Allow for responses here: Is it the darkness? Being alone? What about spiders? [not a fan!] Do you have a fear of heights? Death?) Take Below are two introduction methods that grab the crowd. Illustration: What about public speaking? A major fear that people have is speaking in public. Perhaps it s the fear of not knowing what to say or really messing up what you meant to say. It s not always easy whether you are in a crowd or with just a few people. Check out this Miss Teen America contestant really mess up her answer https://teachersource.wol.org/videos/sbs17/44-1/ Illustration: Fear is real, so with the stuff we hear in the news, are you ever afraid of school shootings or terrorism? Let s face it; that is the world we are living in. It was October 1, 2015 at UCC in Oregon when a young man came on campus with multiple guns and a sinister mission. His goal was to persecute Christians. One by one he began to ask students and staff if they were Christians. If they said yes he replied with, You will see God in one second, and shot them in the head. Nine people stood for Christ that day and lost their lives. How afraid would you be in that situation? Would you stand for Christ if a gun was held to your head? Page 390
Wow, that would be scary, wouldn t it? Fear affects us in several ways. It can cause us to keep quiet when we should speak. It can cause us to stand still when we should move. It can cause us to retreat when we need to move forward. Let s be honest; fear is a big part of what drives us away from living boldly for Christ. It is what stops us from sharing our faith. Sometimes you just don t communicate what you want to say! You may very well change the world around you if you clearly communicate the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news of God s salvation of man made possible by Christ s death, burial, and resurrection. Today we are going to look at a character in the New Testament that stood in a very tough spot and boldly spoke of Jesus to a tough crowd. Stephen was a man of God that had no fear. It is apparent in the story we read in Acts 6 and 7 that Stephen did not fear speaking boldly his convictions, nor did he fear death. Stephen was a man who loved Jesus because he had been radically changed by Him. He knew that the right time is always right now to share your faith regardless of the circumstance or setting. We are going to look at the life of Stephen and learn some valuable lessons. Lesson Content: There is both a power and an urgency to sharing our faith. The background of Stephen s story is an exciting one. The church was growing at a rapid rate. People were getting saved; the apostles were preaching and dedicating themselves to prayer. The Holy Spirit was truly working through their efforts. With the early church s rapid growth, many needs were being brought to the leaders. In the middle of all this excitement, the Greeks came complaining that their widows were getting overlooked and were not receiving the same amount of food as the Jewish widows. The apostles, who were the leaders of the church at the time, told the church to appoint for them seven men among them. These men would serve the church and meet the needs being brought to them. They were the first deacons of the church. Among those men was a man named Stephen. Let s take a closer look at his incredible life. I. Character Makes the Man (have a student read Acts 6:3-6) Notice that when a problem arose in the church, they wanted men of character to fill the position. Why do you think character is important? (allow students to respond) The character of a man is what goes the distance. Character is who you are when no one is looking, which becomes evident when people are watching. Stephen was a man of godly character. Acts 6 reveals that character evidently affects the people around you. Because of Stephen s character, he was chosen to serve in an area that no one else would. We have established that character is important, but do you think it affects how people receive your message if you tell them about Jesus? (allow for responses) It is very important that our character is consistent with our message. Stephen lived a godly life, which led the people to respect and promote him. Stephen s character only shone brighter even through scary situations. If you could imagine the situation and setting Stephen was in it would have been pretty hard to remain positive. However, Stephen was a godly man. The church Page 391
leaders wanted to set aside men to handle the situation. Stephen was one of the men chosen. Why? Because the Bible says Stephen displayed four very valuable characteristics: A. He had a good reputation (v. 3). Stephen was well-respected in his circles. No one had anything negative to say about him. The thing about reputation is that it takes a lifetime to build it, but only a moment of stupidity to destroy it. Stephen had a good reputation because he relied on the Holy Spirit and was full of wisdom and faith. B. He was full of the Holy Spirit (vv. 3,5). Stephen was a man with the presence of God dwelling inside of Him. This means he was obedient to the Word of God. The Bible describes being full of the Spirit as walking by the Spirit. (Have student read Galatians 5:16.) When we live by the Spirit we will obey Him and not follow our sinful desires. Stephen was very wise because He walked by the Spirit. C. He was full of wisdom (v. 3). Stephen did not make foolish decisions that would also affect the people around him. Wisdom is thinking through how what you do affects those around you. It also means fearing God. Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. D. He was a man full of faith (v. 5). Read Hebrews 11:1. Faith is trusting, believing, or taking God at His Word; having a confident assurance of unseen things. It s the substance, or real stuff, it is our hope. Hope here is not wishful thinking but is confident assurance. It brings evidence of God. Stephen lived a life of faith in such a way that it brought evidence to the fact that his God was alive! As you read this list are there certain attributes of Stephen s character that you need to develop? Do you have a good reputation? Are you walking by the Spirit in obedience? Are you full of godly wisdom? Do you have a strong foundation of faith? Stephen s character directly influenced his witness. The most powerful witness is someone who lives by what he shares. You may have heard it this way: Practice what you preach! Why? Because your life gives validity to your witness. If your life has been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then your character will become like His. You begin to realize and open your eyes to the fact that you are surrounded by people that do not know Him. Your time begins to be more devoted to living a life for Him. You begin to see that the right time is always right now to share your faith. This is when you would want to ask the students this probing question below. If you are able, use the polling technology provided here https://www.polleverywhere.com. It is an easy-to-use and self-explanatory polling software. Please go to the link and follow the prompts to sign up. If not, simply poll the students anonymously with bits of paper and yes or no answers to the question. You will take (collect) the poll and reveal the results in the Connection portion of the lesson at the end. Ask the students: Have you shared your faith with someone in the last month? Yes or No? Page 392
Do not allow this process to linger. It is something that needs to only take a few minutes. When it is completed, delegate an adult to add everything and make sure the slide is ready for the Connection. Stephen was a soul winner (read verses 7-8). These verses give evidence to the fact that Stephen was not ashamed to share Christ with people. The Word of God was spreading throughout all of Jerusalem because these deacons chose to serve in the midst of complainers. Signs and wonders were being done. It was at this time that Stephen was arrested and brought before people to explain his faith. Let s look at what Stephen says during this crucial time when he is brought before the counsel to bring his defense. II. Boldness or Fear: You Choose! One of the great questions of the faith is, If you were arrested for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to prove you guilty? Stephen was on trial for the things he had said and done in sharing his faith. He had been falsely accused by the Jews because they did not understand the Scripture the way that Stephen understood the Scripture. The Scripture portion of Acts 7:1-53 is summarized in the paragraph below. It is simply too long to read. In Acts 7, Stephen breaks down the history of God s people from the beginning. He starts with Abraham and takes it to Jesus. Stephen shares the Gospel through this defense. He did exactly what was needed to allow those who were there to hear the truth of the Gospel. Most of the people with Stephen were enraged at what he said! They didn t understand and were angry. Their spiritual eyes were not opened. A. Three Keys to Being a Bold Witness When the lost see you live the way you live and talk the way you talk as a believer, they often do not understand. Their eyes have not been opened to the truth of the Gospel. They have not experienced life-change as you have. Only the power of God will change their hearts. There are several things to notice as Stephen boldly gives his defense. 1. Know the Bible. Something for us to recognize in Stephen s story is that he let the Bible speak for itself. In Isaiah 40 the prophet says that everything is pretty much going to fade out of existence, but the Word of our God will last forever. Stephen took the people in the council that day to the Old Testament by memory. One thing the Apostle Paul, who was present that day, later writes to Timothy, possibly thinking of the power of Stephen s defense, is in 2 Timothy 3:16. Have a student read 2 Timothy 3:16. Stephen used the Word of God that day for teaching, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. An easy way to remember what that means is that he used the Word of God to tell people what is right, what isn t right, how to get right, and how to stay right! Page 393
2. Overcome fear. Verse 51 shows Stephen bringing it home and making it personal. He calls them stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart. He helps them realize their own guilt. Read verses 54-60. Stephen would remain faithful until his very last breath. He stood for Jesus and Jesus stood for him in that moment. Something for you to remember is that we can overcome fear! God did not give us a spirit of fear, but power! We can claim the truth of God s promises as our own, like Stephen did! 3. Look to Obey. Stephen stood tall and obeyed the call of Jesus, even though that meant dying a horrible death. He was the first martyr of the church. But we see that something special happened. Stephen looked up and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God! He received a standing ovation from Jesus! When we stand for Christ and share Him in difficult situations He will stand for us. The right time is always right now to share your faith. Most of us will never face a situation as hard and scary as Stephen, but his example of faith should inspire us to stand for Christ when we feel pressure to keep quiet. Often, the greatest reward for our obedience today is seeing our friend come to Christ. There is nothing better than seeing someone you love or someone you have shared the Gospel with start to follow Jesus. B. Going On the Offensive When you study the reasons people give for being unwilling to share the Gospel, you see that fear is the number one reason people don t share. We need to follow Stephen s example and attack the fear in our lives. Here are some areas we need to attack: 1. Attack the fear of rejection. We are afraid we may lose friends. The root of this problem is pride. It could be said that the opposite of love is pride. We lack the love of Jesus when we think only about ourselves. To attack the fear of rejection we must allow love to be the greatest thing in our lives. 2. Attack the fear of not knowing the right method. There are so many methods for sharing the Gospel, and it can be confusing. The important thing is to not get caught up in a method, but make sure you share a clear presentation of the Gospel. If you are a believer in Jesus and have accepted Him as your Savior then you know enough to share with others. Helpful models are the Romans Road, the F.A.I.T.H. outline, or the G.O.S.P.E.L. Dare2Share model. Whatever the case may be, know this: the power is not in the method but the message! The GOSPEL is the power of God to save, not the way we share it. 3. Attack the fear of time. We think we need time and we never have enough of it even for ourselves. Remember, no matter what you are doing the right time is always right now to share your faith. God will accomplish more in five minutes than you ever could in five hours. Page 394
4. Attack the fear of not enough training. Some of you may think that only adults can share their faith well because they have been trained. That s not true. In John 9 Jesus heals a man born blind. He takes some clay, spits in it, and rubs it in the blind man s eyes. He then tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. After he does this he receives sight for the first time ever. He has been healed by the Son of God! People begin to ask him what happened and all he could do was tell them what Jesus did. Did this guy wait for twelve weeks of training to happen?! No. The right time is always right now to share your faith regardless of training. If you have trusted Christ as Savior you know enough to tell someone how to do this too! Overcoming fear is easier said than done, but it can be done through practice. Remember, greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world. God allows bold faith to accomplish big things in our future. The same thing happened with Stephen. Speaking of practice, let s practice right now. Have the students get in groups of two and take turns sharing the Gospel briefly with each other. Give two minutes and then have them switch for another two minutes. Remind them this is practice, in a safe place with fellow Christians. While we are surrounded by our Christian friends we are going to practice sharing the Gospel briefly. Remember the Gospel is the good news of God s salvation of man made possible by Christ s death, burial, and resurrection. Here is the challenge: can you share the Gospel in two minutes with your friend? I m going to have you split into groups of two. One of you will start and share the Gospel for two minutes. Then you will switch. After they have finished, ask them a few questions to help them process it. Was that easier or harder then you thought? What are some of the key elements you remembered? What, if any, elements did you forget to include? That is a great exercise to help you refine your witness. It would be a good idea to find a friend to practice with from time to time. The more you practice the more you will be bold like Stephen when the time comes! Why do we want to be like Stephen? Because Stephen s faithful stand left a legacy for others to follow. 3. Bold character leaves a lasting legacy. Stephen died for his faith, but his testimony doesn t end with his death. His legacy was something that happened in the past that inspired bold obedience to those in the future. He had no idea the movement that would take place because of his obedience. Have a student read Acts 8:1-4. Stephen s death sparked a persecution in the church the likes of which they had never seen before. People left Jerusalem to avoid getting arrested. It looked as though it was over! It looked as though Satan had won a battle there by making the church break up and move. However, what seemed to be bad, God meant for good. Obedience that leads to death will always lead to life. In verse 4 it says, Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word! Page 395
Do you know that God can use one student to spark a movement and this person could be you? This passage does not call us all to lose our lives for the sake of the Gospel. It calls us to STAND for the Gospel at all costs. Will you stand for the Gospel today in your school? In your home? Among your friends? On your sports team? The right time is always right now to share your faith. Connection: Share the Gospel with others The Gospel has been on the move ever since Jesus charged His disciples with the mission of taking His message to the world! Think about it, the movement of the Gospel that started over 2000 years ago came to you while it was on the move. The question is, will you join the movement? Will you continue to share the Gospel with others? Maybe you are hearing the message of the Gospel and realize you haven t trusted Christ. Think about it, the message has been proclaimed for over 2000 years and is now being shared with you. Jesus loves you and died for you! He rose from the dead and freely offers His forgiveness and love to you. He wants you to join this movement. Do you want to follow Jesus and join the cause to tell others about the Good News? At this point in the lesson you will reveal the survey results to the students. Judging by the results, respond accordingly. This could be a really encouraging time to those who are sharing to keep sharing. Furthermore, to the No crowd it can also be a challenge to share. You may think that no one else will join you, that you are surrounded by people who are content with just remaining quiet. You think if you won t receive help then you will be okay with things just staying the same. Remember, Stephen was surrounded by complainers. He stood out and was chosen to serve because he had great faith in the midst of hard ministry. People were complaining and he still served. You may think you have no time. Time is our most valuable asset in life. We always want more of it. There is never enough time in the day. If this is the case, then why wouldn t we give our most valuable possession to the Lord? One of the best ways we can give it to Him is to share Him with others. The right time is always right now to share your faith. One thing to remember that God can accomplish more in five minutes that you give to Him than you ever could in five hours of your own time. The question now is, What are you going to do with what you have just heard? Will you sit on it? Will you ignore it? Here are some things you can do to respond Encourage students to bow their heads and reflect on these questions you pose to them and answer them in their own minds and hearts.. Will you stand when those around you remain silent about their faith? Will you speak boldly? Will you leave a legacy like Stephen did? Could God use you to start a great movement in your youth group or church? (I believe the answer is YES!) How can one speak boldly and share their faith today? Page 396
First and foremost, if you do not know Christ, if you are not a Christian, hear the cry of Stephen. He had a faith in something and Someone greater than himself! His name is Jesus. He died for your sin as well Read or quote Romans 5:8. You can accept Jesus as your Savior now or if you have questions please talk to one of the leaders. If you are a Christian, God can and will use you to start a movement in your school, family, and church. Stephen was a man that was obedient and used of God. You may think that because he died he was not used to spark a great movement for God. His legacy says otherwise. The church spread out because of persecution, which only spread the Gospel even further. God can use you to impact hundreds of lives for Him if you are willing and obedient. Decision: Take a stand There is a decision you need to make today to impact your witness this week. Are you willing to take a stand and tell your friends about Jesus? If you are willing to, here s what we are going to do. Write down the name of two students you know who need Jesus and commit to pray for them every day this week. Pray that they will see their need for Jesus and that God will give you the opportunity to share the Gospel with them. One more thing you need to pray for pray that God will give you the boldness to stand and share your faith, to overcome fear, and proclaim the Good News. Have each of your small group leaders pray specifically, by name, for each of their students to have the boldness of Stephen and the courage to share the Gospel. Page 397
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