Bible Verses for Sunday Service Aug 21, 2022
Matthew 20:26
Psalm 31:24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
Announcements:
Steve started announcements with information on VBS. No, not another one. But, a meeting after church today to evaluate the week in June, and to start planning for next year.
Although we don’t want to think about it, the end of summer is approaching, and so is the traditional end of summer picnic. Pastor suggests a potluck in Huntley park after church on August 28th. To make life simple, Pastor suggests coming to church on that Sunday as you would wish to go to the picnic, and then going directly to the park
AWANA begins on September 14th. Please be praying as to whether you should participate. Steve can attest to the fact he now enjoys his Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8 more now he volunteers. Also, pastor cancelled the general meeting planned for Aug 31st. Too many people had prior commitments. He advised that each group, cubbies, trek and T&T will schedule their own meeting.
Sermon:
Staying in Acts, Pastor preached on “Lessons from Stephen’s Stand” using as his text Acts 6:1-7:60. In today’s preaching, Pastor went over the qualities of one of the first deacons, Stephen. By referring us to our biblical history, Pastor set the stage for the discussion of deacons. He asked us to recall Moses who needed help to resolve all the problems of the people of Israel as their concerns more than filled his day. So on the advice of his father-in-law, he appointed people to help him. Thus, the biblical model for deacons. In Acts, the logistical problem was the daily distribution of food, was it being fairly distributed? Some argued that the Hellenist widows weren’t being taken care of as were the Hebrew widows. Stephen took on this problem.
In thinking about Stephen’s service to the Act’s church, Pastor explained that Stephen stood with the church. His focus and his work illustrated that he was part of the solution to the problem, not part of the problem. In serving, Pastor drew our attention to the fullness he enjoyed, a fullness that can be ours too, 2 Cor 9:8.
But, what is this fullness, and how do we get it? Pastor pointed to the Holy Spirit. Stephen’s fullness of the Spirit enabled all that he did. Is our fullness from wine? Were we are controlled by alcohol, or is our fullness from the control of the Holy Spirit? Besides looking at our fullness, we need to recognize that to be filled by the Holy Spirit, we must first be emptied of anything that is not Godly.
Next Pastor pointed to the fact that Stephen was full of wisdom in how to solve the problems that confronted the early church. Pastor first defined wisdom for us, making the point that wisdom in 9/10ths being wise at the right time. Proverbs 15:23 reminds us of this maxim: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!” Also, in considering wisdom, if we don’t feel wise, we can get wisdom. All we need do is ask for it. James 1:5 states: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
Returning to Stephen’s qualities that made him successful as a deacon, Pastor remarked on his faith. How Stephen was fully convinced of God’s promises to them. Also, how God gifted Stephen with power to carry out his vision. Lastly, Pastor reminded us again that in all things Stephen was part of the solution, not part of the problem. And he admonished us to be this way. If we don’t know how to fix, turn to God.
Accessing the Service, Bulletin and Sermon Outline:
Here are the pages from the bulletin, click on the images below to see them full size:
If you would like to have the sermon outline, you can download it here, a pdf file.
Unfortunately, this week we had technical difficulties with recording the service so we don’t have a video record. However, if you would like to see all the services, you can find them here.