Date: July 6, 2025
Stephen: A Faith That Advances God’s Kingdom
The Point: Bold faith helps advance the kingdom of God.
Get Into the Study
As an alternate to The Bible Meets Life, share the following:
Christian leaders from across Europe and around the world gathered May 27-30 in Berlin, Germany, for the European Congress on Evangelism. Strategies for spreading the gospel in an increasingly secular age were shared. Europe especially has seen declining church attendance and growing secularization, making evangelistic efforts challenging.
Conference speakers addressed:
- Rising religious skepticism among young generations
- Immigrant populations with different religious backgrounds
- Church planting in urban, secular environments
- Interfaith dialogue while maintaining biblical truth
- Political tensions affecting religious freedom
Daily prayer sessions were held, underscoring the conviction that evangelism is ultimately God’s work, not the result of mere human effort.
Greg Laurie preached: “Now every Christian is called to evangelize….” According to him, a sense of ordinariness is key for the effectiveness of evangelism. While a person might dismiss an evangelist and not listen to what he says, in an everyday setting a Christian may meet someone, build a relationship with him, and win him to Christ just by being friendly, loving, kind people that others would want to be around.
So every Christian is called to openly live out his faith and leave the results to God. We are to obey God and what he has called us to do, finish our race well, live a life of integrity, not contradicting our message by bad choices.
“… there’s a lot of ways to define ultimate success,” Laurie said, “but I think that the simple answer is faithfulness to the calling that God has given you.”
Draw attention to The Point and explain that today’s study will look at Stephen, whose bold faith was a faith quite willing to be faithful to the call of God and evangelize.
Information from this post was gathered from:
- https://www.bibleanalysis.org/global-evangelists-unite-in-berlin-european-congress-on-evangelism-draws-international-leaders/
- https://www.christianpost.com/news/ordinary-people-greg-laurie-reflects-on-evangelistic-calling.html
Live It Out
Before discussing the Live It Out ideas, share this story of Jamie Sanchez’ bold faith:
As a child Jamie Sanchez lived in a homeless shelter in Denver with his mother and three siblings. He remembers his mother helping the poor even then. After he grew up, he realized his need for Jesus and accepted Christ! As a result of a Bible study Jamie started, he and others prepared meals in their homes and went to the streets every Sunday to hand out food to the homeless. The ministry Recycle God’s Love was born in 2012.
Later Jamie launched The Drip Café, as part of that ministry. Café staff members provide godly mentorship, community, and prayer to Denver’s homeless community. They also teach how to interview for jobs, manage money, and build a resumé.
Jamie never anticipated the spiritual attack that followed the café’s opening. Triggered by a doctrinal statement affirming heterosexual marriage on the ministry’s website, the LGBT protesters came, defaced property and screamed lies. Consequently, would-be patrons scattered in fear.
Jamie said all he knew to do was pray. “If it wasn’t for the constant prayer of [those] around me, there is no way I would’ve gotten through it,” he said. Through the protests, Jamie and the staff discovered the meaning of loving their enemies and praying for those who persecute them.
After the café’s story of survival amid opposition became known on news platforms, believers across the world started praying for and donating to the ministry which has expanded. Partnering with churches, it now provides up to 300 homeless people with meals, IDs, Bibles, hygiene, clothing and supplies at their bimonthly events where volunteers share the Gospel.
Information from this post was gathered from: https://decisionmagazine.com/standing-strong-despite-persecution/
Carole Waina wrote these Leader Extras. Carole is a retired teacher and veteran writer for LifeWay. She loves traveling, walking, cycling, reading, and being with family. She and her husband are active at First Baptist in Celina, Texas.
Additional Questions
Icebreaker
- When have you seen someone’s personal sacrifice benefit others?
- Who do you believe are the true heroes in our world today?
- What is your favorite setting to truly connect with a friend?
- Whose life has strongly impacted you or your community?
- When have you done something unusually bold and out of character for you?
- When have you seen bold action lead to the good of many?
Acts 6:3-7
- Who are some people in our church whose ministries impact the community?
- How would you explain the concept of servant leadership?
- In what ways does our church family observe and affirm the ways one member impacts and blesses others?
- How would our churches change if we took each small area of service in the church as seriously as the disciples did?
- How should we view the balance between prayer (our relationship to God) and sharing our faith (our relationship to others).
- Who in your life reminds you of Stephen?
Acts 6:8-10
- What role does the Holy Spirit play when God works through believers?
- Who do you know who has a contagious faith?
- When have you faced opposition to your faith?
- When sharing our faith, how should we understand the values of winning arguments versus showing God’s grace?
- Who do you know that has a lifestyle of inviting God to work through them? (BG)
Acts 6:11-15
- What does opposition to our faith look like in our culture?
- What are appropriate responses for believers when facing opposition?
- What can we learn from Stephen about how to react when we’re actively opposed or maligned?
- How does our group help prepare us to face opposition?
- What kind of opposition have you encountered on your faith journey?
Podcast
Click here for a 20-minute podcast for both the group member and the leader.
Podcast (adultsleadertraining): Play in new window | Download
I miss the weekly article by Lynn Pryor at the end of each lesson. That has and was a great help to me in preparing the lesson. Since I cannot get the podcast, My class is missing out.
I certainly hope you would consider again printing that at the end of our lessons.
Mary Beth
Those articles are still available at lynnhpryor.com.