Acts 6: 1-7

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Acts 6: 1-7

Karen Bird • February 7, 2025

Acts 6: 1-7

Date: February 9, 2025

Speaker: Karen Bird

Read this short passage aloud together.
This is the newly saved and set apart people who have been powerfully and beautifully bearing witness to Jesus by being like Jesus. What happened? Why?
If you are able, recount an experience (yours or someone you know) where a simple offense - intentional or unintentional - created a wedge in a relationship. What did you do about it?
Life in Christian community is not perfect and it’s not easy. Have you found that to be true? What is difficult about Christian community for you?
Read Philippians 2:1-8, 12-15, as well as Colossians 3:12-17. These two letters are written to the churches in Philippi and Colossae, communities who obviously still needed to keep maturing in Christ and learning how to live with one another. What are some of the ways Paul and Timothy tell them to do this?
The devil is always at odds with God’s good purposes for the world, and if we’re learning to live like Jesus Christ, we should expect opposition. How does the devil work? What does opposition look like? When or how have you noticed it?
In response to one group grumbling against another group, the apostles gathered the whole group together to bring the offense into the open and work out a solution. Why do we like to nurse our offenses in dark places? What holds us back from bringing them into the light? Have you had an experience where you’ve surfaced a hurt or a grudge with someone and reconciled? How did it go?
The apostles address the conflict by putting more structure into the functioning of the church body. Structure and order in a church is not glamorous, but it’s necessary and good. Why? What does it accomplish? Brainstorm other parts of our world that thrive in a state of order rather than chaos.
Speaking of structure and order in the church…if you’re a member, have you voted yet on the matters being brought to the AGM? Is the Feb 23 AGM on your calendars? See you there!
Acts 6:7 “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” Nothing will stop the mission of God. The name of Jesus Christ is unrestrainable. What discourages you about the future? How does remembering that nothing will stop the mission of God encourage you?