The Martyrdom of Stephen

The Martyrdom of Stephen

The Martyrdom of Stephen Scripture Text: Acts 6:8-8:3 Date: July 5, 2026 AI-Generated Summary: We study Stephen's martyrdom, the longest recorded speech in Acts, and we discover it isn't a tragedy that stalls the church but a seed that grows it. We hear how Stephen defends himself before the Sanhedrin, reminding us that God can't be confined to a temple or a single time and place. We watch him suffer well: he looks up to Christ his advocate, looks out and forgives his persecutors, and looks beyond to eternal life. And we see Jesus stand to receive him, one martyr saluting another.

Know Your Role

Know Your Role Scripture Text: Acts 6:1-7 Date: June 28, 2026 AI-Generated Summary: We're studying through Acts, and today we look at a problem that arises in the early church—widows being overlooked in the daily distribution. We see how the apostles wisely delegate this responsibility so they can focus on prayer and the ministry of the word, while others step up to serve. We learn that everyone has a role to play in the life of the church—we don't divide word ministry from deed ministry, but embrace both. As we find our place to serve, we watch our church increase, just as the early church did when they handled this growing pain well.

Power, Grace, & Fear

Power, Grace, & Fear Scripture Text: Acts 4:32-5:11 Date: June 21, 2026 AI-Generated Summary: We gather as a church built not by our own strength but by the power of God, who continues to draw hearts to Christ through the simple proclamation of the gospel. We experience grace together, and that grace moves us to hold nothing too tightly—we open our hands in generosity because we've first received generosity from God. Yet we also recognize the danger lurking within us: when we pretend to be more righteous than we are, we corrode the very community grace builds. So we choose to drop the mask, confess honestly, and walk in the light together.

No Other Name

No Other Name Scripture Text: Acts 4:1-22 Date: June 14, 2026 AI-Generated Summary: We live in a culture that increasingly views evangelism as offensive or even wrong, but we cannot stay silent about the saving name of Jesus Christ. We recognize that religious pluralism — the idea that all paths lead to God — sounds humble, but actually claims a knowledge no one apart from Christ truly possesses. We believe that God came down the mountain to us in Jesus, because we could never reach Him on our own. Therefore, we must go to our neighbors and to the nations, empowered by the Holy Spirit, proclaiming that there is no other name by which we can be saved.

The Message in the Miracle

The Message in the Miracle Scripture Text: Acts 3:1-26 Date: June 7, 2026 AI-Generated Summary: We are all like the lame man sitting outside the temple — spiritually helpless, begging for just enough to get by, unaware of our deepest need. We look to silver and gold, to comfort and circumstance, when what we truly need is healing at the soul level. Through the name of Jesus Christ, we find forgiveness for our past, refreshing peace in our present, and the hope of full restoration in our future. We no longer have to sit outside begging — in Christ, we can walk, leap, and go all the way in.