This Sunday at Grace Community Church, we will consider the martyrdom of Stephen from Acts 7:54-60. This paragraph is worth a weekend of meditation to mine all its encouragement for our living and dying in Christ. John Stott said that Stephen’s death was full of Christ....
As Stephen stood before the council accused of speaking against the holy things of God, he spoke for Jesus of Nazareth who is the Righteous One sent by God and announced by the prophets. He then brought a charge against the members of the council....
While reading in Acts 7 the sermon Stephen preached as his defense against the accusation of blasphemy, I was struck by his strategy. He gave his opponents a history lesson that ended with Jesus. The accusation against Stephen was that he had spoken against the law...
Scott and Josh talk about what it means to be an ordinary Christian who is filled with the Spirit. The Words of Grace Podcast seeks to clarify, amplify, and apply the Sunday morning sermon at Grace Community Church. From time to time we will address other...
The account of the accusation, defense, and martyrdom of Stephen is long enough for us to consider in three weeks. Today, we introduce Stephen as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. Through Stephen's life and death, we see a God who carries out his...
How do churches decide which needs to meet? Scott and Josh discuss this and other issues on this week’s episode. The Words of Grace Podcast seeks to clarify, amplify, and apply the Sunday morning sermon at Grace Community Church. From time to time we will address...
This episode in the life of the early church shows us the priority work of the church is the ministry of the word of Christ, and the fruit of the Spirit in the church is the meeting of real needs. The early church found a...
Christians should live in a heads-up frame of mind. “Be sober minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV). The man who wrote these words shows us how he did it in Acts 6. The...
The apostles of Jesus Christ show us what it looks like to suffer with joy for faithfulness to Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit in their lives shows us how we come to love Christ so deeply that we are honored to be dishonored...
This Sunday at Grace Community Church we will again consider the early stages of persecution against the infant church in Jerusalem. I encourage you to read Acts 5 this weekend to prepare yourself for our time together. A common but unhelpful approach to Bible passages about...
