The story of stephen in the book of acts

The story of stephen, the first martyr the wonder book of bible stories logan marshall in the new testament, in the book of acts, you will learn how the members of the church in jerusalem gave their money freely to help the poor. The sanhedrin was not authorized to impose the death penalty, but the stoning appeared to be the result of mob action. Stephen, traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of christianity, was according to the acts of the apostles a deacon in the early church at jerusalem who aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. The book of acts pamphlet is not simply ancient history. M any people who are familiar with the bible are not familiar with stephen who was one of the first deacons in the bible. Stephen s final words were similar to jesus last words on the cross.

In writing the book of acts, luke traces the expansion of the christian movement from its earliest beginnings to the time when it reached worldwide proportions. Accused of blasphemy at his trial, he made a speech denouncing the jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him and was then stoned to death. Acts facts the spread of christianity the six parts of. The book of acts provides a detailed, orderly, eyewitness account of the birth and growth of the early church and the spread of the gospel immediately after the resurrection of jesus christ. It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history. In addition, stephen was also the first martyr of the church. Mar 09, 2016 in this sharefaithkids sunday school lesson we learn about stephen. Yet stephen is the first martyr and his speech summarizing some important theological points in the transition between peters ministry in jerusalem and pauls mission in acts. Aug 31, 2015 stephen as his name and his relations in the church at jerusalem seem to imply acts 6. There is no mention in acts of anyone being punished for the death of stephen. Luke wrote the book of acts acts of the apostles to record how believers were empowered by the holy spirit, worked to spread the gospel of christ, and are a model for the future church. The key personalities of acts are peter, paul, john, james, stephen, barnabas, timothy, lydia, silas, and apollos. To the objection that it seems unlikely that such a long speech could be reproduced in the text of acts exactly as it was delivered, some biblical scholars have replied that stephen s speech shows a distinctive personality behind it.

The christmas story a collection of story units about the coming of jesus. Its the story of the early church, early missionary work, and the initial move of the holy spirit. It is our story, the story that informs who christians are. This summary of the book of acts provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of acts. A person who understands and lives gods grace as seen in the cross also becomes a person who shows grace to others. If youre a more casual watcher, it might encourage you to read the book of acts. Acts free bible commentary on the book of acts in easy english. He recounts the history of israel and names moses as a prototype of christ. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document.

Through drama, dance, and song, the story follows an eclectic group of fishermen, pharisees, and vagabonds who left everything to follow jesus of nazareth, and he completely changed their lives. It is filled with all the drama, thrills, adventure and suspense. An inward experience of grace flows outward into a gracious spirit toward others. Stephen as his name and his relations in the church at jerusalem seem to imply acts 6.

His story is wholly contained in two chapters in the book of acts, but it provides a glimpse into life in the early church and serves as an example of how our faith in christ can lead to great things. Stephen was one of the seven men chosen to be responsible over the distribution of food to widows in the early church after a dispute arose and the apostles recognized they needed help. Stephen acts 67 sunday school lesson resource youtube. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. Stories from the book of acts easyenglish bible with free. Acts 68 describe the activities of two nonapostles, stephen and philip. His final words, a prayer of forgiveness for his attackers, echoed those of jesus on the cross.

But for those who read its words more purposefully, they will find blessing and encouragement, as they take in the powerful events that would begin to shape the church into the mighty organism that it is. Several questions can be answered from the first 2 verses. A chapterbychapter bible study of the book of acts 6 acts 1 50 days 1. But stephen reminded the jews that god was bigger than any temple. His stoning by the nonbelieving jews and his bold proclamation of the gospel of jesus christ. Its narrative supplies a bridge connecting the life and ministry of jesus to the life of the church and the witness of the earliest believers. If anything, stephens words are an indictment, not a defense. There is also a fill in the blank stephen flap book. May 28, 2015 a look back at fbcgs time in the book of acts. Most of us know that he was the first christian killed for his faith, but do we know what led up to that. Stephens defense of his faith before the sanhedrin, jerusalems supreme rabbinic court, so enraged his jewish audience that he was taken out of the city and stoned to death.

He was also full of gods grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people acts 6. Luke had written to him before and had told him about the things that jesus did and taught. A complaint arose from the grecian jews against the. The temple in this book called acts was the third temple. Both are hellenistic jews and neither is numbered among the 12. Acts of the apostles, the second part of the work that begins with the gospel according to luke, is the story of the early church after jesuss martyrdom. Investigating facts in acts addition, there is a printable evidence card with directions to make an evidence bag. The beginning verses of acts make it clear that acts is a sequel of the story started in luke and written to the same man named theophilus, generally a title ascribed to highranking roman officials.

Luke was from antioch but traveled with paul all over southern europe and the middle east. The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. Stephens being full of grace means that he was a gracious man. If youre christian, youll love the allegiance to the bible. The gospel of luke retells the story of jesus life, death, and resurrection. The book of acts tells the story of both the glorious and tumultuous early years of the church.

But stephen boasted in the grace of god, freely bestowed on undeserving sinners. The companion to the gospel account luke wrote was acts, which retells the work of jesus spirit after his ascension, and the story of the movement of people he inspired. His martyrdom was witnessed by saul of tarsus, a pharisee who would later become a follower of jesus and. Of the numerous speeches in acts of the apostles, stephen s speech to the sanhedrin is the longest. Acts of the apostles tells the story of stephen, the first christian martyr, whose trial and subsequent stoning are used to introduce saul of tarsus to the readers. Luke was keenly aware of the way in which christianity was being attacked by enemies of the movement, and he wanted to present the story of its development in a most favorable light. But stephen, full of the holy spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of. He testifies of the apostasy in israel and sees jesus on the right hand of god. Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. For my wednesday night bible study class for kindergarteners6th grade, i decided to do an overview of the life of stephen. The name stephen is greek, and chapter 6 of the acts of the apostles 6.

Jun 29, 2018 under roman law, stephen s death was illegal. Like luke, acts is addressed to the unknown reader theophilus, and in the introduction to acts, it is made clear that it is a continuation of luke. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. The stoning of stephen when the members of the sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international.

Stephens sermon is twice as long as peters sermon delivered at pentecost acts 2. Bradd words in boldboldbold and underlined are the answers to the blanks on the acts study guides acts 1 the book of acts was written by luke to a man named theophilus. Jan 02, 2020 acts 7 is the record of stephens testimony, which is perhaps the most detailed and concise history of israel and their relationship to god of any in scripture. Any flourishes added in this film are a definite plus, and theyre all limited to physical events, and in no way detract from this story of nascent christianity. Stephen said some words from the book by the prophet isaiah isaiah 66.