TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Seven Men Were Chosen Acts 6:1-7

TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Seven Men Were Chosen Acts 6:1-7 There were two groups of Jews in the first church: Hellenistic Jews (Jews who spoke Greek) and Hebraic Jews (Jews who spoke Hebrew). The Greek- speaking Jews were from foreign countries, and the Hebrew- speaking Jews had been born in Israel. In those early days, as the apostles faithfully taught and preached the gospel, the church grew quickly. But tension existed between the two groups. Perhaps the Hebraic Jews considered themselves superior to the Hellenistic Jews, or maybe the groups lacked communication. In any case, the Hellenistic Jews complained that their widows were not being cared for properly. The Old Testament law was clear about what God requires of His people. He commanded them to care for the orphans and widows. (See Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18.) The early church continued this Jewish custom, but there was a problem. The Greek- speaking Jews claimed their widows were not getting their share of the daily distributions. The twelve apostles were quick to address the issue. They gathered all the believers together. The apostles explained that God had called them to preaching and teaching. They were not above handling problems among the people, but they wisely led the church to choose seven leaders to oversee such duties. The church did not choose just anyone to serve; the men were reputable, full of the Spirit, and wise. The chosen seven were Stephen, Philip, Prochorus (PRAHK uh ruhs), Nicanor (nigh KAY nawr), Timon (TIGH mahn), Parmenas (PAHR mih nuhs), and Nicolaus (nik uh LAY uhs). Now the apostles were free to devote themselves to prayer and preaching, and the widows were properly cared for. Everyone in the church has a role in God s work. The seven men who were chosen used their abilities to take care of others, and the apostles kept teaching the Word of God. Many people heard the Word of God and came to believe and trust in Jesus. LARGE GROUP LEADER OVERVIEW Session Title: Seven Men Were Chosen Bible Passage: Acts 6:1-7 Big Picture Question: Who can do God s work? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. Key Passage: Acts 2:42,47 Unit Christ Connection: The church is God s plan to bring praise and glory to Jesus. 1

Suggested Theme Decorating Ideas: room decorations Simulate a tree house under construction by hanging a picture of a large tree on a focal wall. Position various building supplies and tools at the front of the room. Consider displaying a ladder, some scrap pieces of sanded wood, tape measures, blueprints, safety glasses, and a toolbox. You might rope off a section of the large group area with caution tape. Sing (5 minutes) Build Your Kingdom Here song Leader God builds His kingdom through the church. God uses the believers in the church to accomplish His work. Who can do God s work? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. Allow a volunteer to help lead the group in singing the unit theme song Build Your Kingdom Here. Introduce the session (2 minutes) Option #1: leader attire safety glasses hard hat clipboard [Large Group Leader enters wearing safety glasses and a hard hat. He or she is carrying a clipboard and flipping through a couple of papers on it.] Leader Oh! Hello, everyone! Welcome back. I sure am glad you are here. I have to tell you that I really appreciated your help last time choosing a plan for the tree house I am building. I selected a plan that I think is going to be just perfect! It has everything you could ever want in a tree house a balcony, a rope bridge, windows, bunk beds, a staircase, and a secret hatch! Anyway, construction is underway! The only problem is that I can t possibly build all of these parts myself! What I could really use is some professional help. [Look at clipboard.] Say, can any of you recommend a good plumber? Or a skilled electrician? Raise your hand if you have experience with a laser- precise compound miter saw. 2

Option #2: [Large Group Leader enters.] Leader Hi, everyone! Welcome back to the tree house. I m glad you are part of our club. I have something I need to talk to you all about. Since our club has gotten so big, the tree house is getting a lot of use. It needs extra cleaning, and some boards need to be replaced. I need help. Leading the club and keeping up the tree house is more than I can do by myself. Do you think a few of you could help out with the cleaning and repairs? Thanks! This situation reminds of our Bible story for today. Timeline map (2 minutes) Leader Looks like I m going to spend the day searching for some special helpers to build my tree house. In the meantime, let s get ready for today s Bible story! Last time, we heard a story about the early church and how the believers helped people. Today we are going to hear about some of the work the believers in the early church did. Here is our story: Seven Men Were Chosen. Big picture question (1 minute) Leader Wow! Seven men... they must have had a big job to do. I think I could get this tree house built with about five helpers. I mean, they d have to be expert helpers. You can t hire just anyone to do the work of building a tree house. You know, you wouldn t want to hire a baby. No offense to babies, but you can t hand a baby a screwdriver and expect anything to get done. I wonder if the leaders of the early church had that problem. They had work to do, but who could help? As we listen to the Bible story, see if you can figure out the answer to our big picture question. Here it is: Who can do God s work? Tell the Bible story (9 minutes) Seven Men Were Chosen video Bibles, 1 per kid Bible Story Picture Slide or Poster Big Picture Question Slide or Poster Note: The term apostle refers to someone who is sent on a mission, like the Twelve whom Jesus called and sent. Disciple refers to any believer who helps spread the good news about Jesus. 3

Open your Bible to Acts 6:1-7 and tell the Bible story in your own words, and then show the Bible story video Seven Men Were Chosen. Use costumes, puppets, objects, drawing or other creative ideas to act out or tell the story. THE BIBLE STORY Seven Men Were Chosen Acts 6:1-7 In the time after Jesus resurrection and return to heaven, more and more people believed in Him. But some of the believers complained. The Jews who spoke Greek complained about the Jews who spoke Hebrew. The Greek- speaking Jews thought the widows were being overlooked when the daily food was given out. In the Old Testament, God told His people to take care of widows women whose husbands had died. The twelve apostles gathered all the believers together. (Matthias had been chosen to replace Judas.) They said, It isn t right for us to stop preaching about God to take care of all these daily things. So, brothers, choose seven men to take care of this. The apostles said that the men should be good men men who are wise and full of the Holy Spirit. These men should be obedient to God and be able to make good choices. These seven men would take care of the daily business of the believers. Then the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and to preaching. Both jobs were important, but the apostles should not stop teaching God s Word because hearing the Word was how people believed. Everyone agreed that this was a good idea. So they chose seven men: Stephen, Philip, Prochorus (PRAHK uh ruhs), Nicanor (nigh KAY nawr), Timon (TIGH mahn), Parmenas (PAHR mih nuhs), and Nicolaus (nik uh LAY uhs). These men stood before Jesus disciples, who prayed for them and laid their hands on them. So the twelve apostles kept preaching about God. More and more people heard the truth about God, and more and more people in Jerusalem believed in Him. Christ Connection: The apostles believed that everyone in the church had an important job to do to serve God s people and help spread the gospel. Jesus wants us to serve others so that the message of His death and resurrection can be heard and believed all over the world. DISCUSSION: Leader In the early days of the church, many people believed in Jesus and the church grew. The believers in the church helped each other and shared what they had if someone had a need. But it sounds like there was a problem! Some of the believers said that the widows were not being cared for properly. Maybe they didn t get enough food when it was distributed every 4

day. So the leaders in the church the twelve apostles gathered together all the believers. They needed to choose some helpers because if they stopped preaching to make sure everyone got what he or she needed, then who would be preaching? It s not that they were too important to handle these types of problems; they needed to keep doing what God had called them to do. God had given them skills so they were good at preaching. So they told the believers to choose seven men to help in the church. These were men who had special skills to do God s work. They helped serve the other believers. That leads me to our big picture question, Who can do God s work? Do you know the answer? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. Let s say that together. Who can do God s work? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. What kind of special skills did these seven men have? The Bible says that they had good reputations, were filled with the Holy Spirit, and were wise. Everyone in the church has a role in God s work. The seven men who were chosen used their abilities to take care of others, and the apostles kept teaching the Word of God. Many people heard the Word of God and came to believe and trust in Jesus. Who can do God s work? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. Questions: Ask the following review questions: 1. Whom did the Greek- speaking Jews think were being overlooked when food was given out? (Greek- speaking widows, Acts 6:1) 2. Did the apostles think God wanted them to stop preaching to take care of the widows? (No, they needed to keep preaching the Word of God; Acts 6:2) 3. How many men did the apostles say the church should choose? (seven, Acts 6:3) 4. How did the apostles describe the men who needed to be chosen? (good men, wise, full of the Holy Spirit; Acts 6:3) 5. Who can do God s work? God gives every believer skills for doing His work. The Gospel: God s Plan for Me (optional) Using Scripture and the guide provided, explain to boys and girls how to become a Christian. Tell kids how they can respond, and provide counselors to speak with each kid individually. Guide counselors to use open- ended questions to allow kids to determine the direction of the conversation. Encourage boys and girls to ask their parents, small group leaders, or other adults any questions they may have about becoming a Christian. 5

Key passage (5 minutes) Key Passage Slide or Poster Bible Leader Does anyone remember our key passage? It tells us about some of the things the believers in the early church did. Invite any kids who have memorized the key passage to recite it aloud. Then display the key passage poster. Show the kids where to find Acts 2 in the Bible. Lead the kids in reading the key passage aloud. You may choose to use any hand motions created in the previous week with the key words. Leader Did you notice how the church grew? As the believers were obedient to tell others about Jesus, God added to their number. People heard the gospel the good news about Jesus and they believed. God saved them from their sins! Let s sing. Prayer (2 minutes) Leader Thanks, everyone, for your attention today. Come back next time and maybe I will have my tree house finished! Before you go, let s pray. Lead the group in prayer, asking God to give kids opportunities at church to serve Him and others. Pray that kids would serve selflessly, desiring to bring glory to Him rather than themselves. Acknowledge that God does not need us to accomplish His will, but thank Him for using us to do His work. DISMISS TO SMALL GROUPS Please be VERY slow and orderly with dismissing to small groups to keep kids safe: Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third and Fourth Girls Third and Fourth Guys 6

The Gospel: God s Plan for Me Ask kids if they have ever heard the word gospel. Clarify that the word gospel means good news. It is the message about Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation. Use the following guide to share the gospel with kids. God rules. Explain to kids that the Bible tells us God created everything, and He is in charge of everything. Invite a volunteer to read Genesis 1:1 from the Bible. Read Revelation 4:11 or Colossians 1:16-17 aloud and explain what these verses mean. We sinned. Tell kids that since the time of Adam and Eve, everyone has chosen to disobey God. (Romans 3:23) The Bible calls this sin. Because God is holy, God cannot be around sin. Sin separates us from God and deserves God s punishment of death. (Romans 6:23) God provided. Choose a child to read John 3:16 aloud. Say that God sent His Son, Jesus, the perfect solution to our sin problem, to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. It s something we, as sinners, could never earn on our own. Jesus alone saves us. Read and explain Ephesians 2:8-9. Jesus gives. Share with kids that Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again. Because Jesus gave up His life for us, we can be welcomed into God s family for eternity. This is the best gift ever! Read Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; or 1 Peter 3:18. We respond. Tell kids that they can respond to Jesus. Read Romans 10:9-10,13. Review these aspects of our response: Believe in your heart that Jesus alone saves you through what He s already done on the cross. Repent, turning from self and sin to Jesus. Tell God and others that your faith is in Jesus. Offer to talk with any child who is interested in responding to Jesus. 7

UNIT 34 Session 2 Seven Men Were Chosen LifeWay OK TO PRINT The Early Church