Ethnic Cultural Differences (Acts 6:1-15)

1. Who are the Hellenists and the Hebrews (Ac 6:1a)? Why were the widows among the Hellenists "neglected in the daily distribution" (Acts 6:1b)? Does sin rear its ugly head even in the healthiest church? How? Who might we be inclined to favor or side with?
2. Why shouldn't the twelve Apostles neglect the word of God and serve tables (Acts 6:2; Jn 6:63; 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12:12-26)? Should teachers only teach (Ac 6:4; Ac 18:1-3; Jn 13:13-15)?
3. Who chose the seven men (Ac 6:3a)? What were the 2 criteria for these 7 deacons (Ac 6:3b)? Why "seven"? What is peculiar about the names of the seven (Ac 6:5-6)? What 3 things happened (Ac 6:7)? What is meant by "a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith" (Acts 6:7b)? Would this trigger greater persecution?
4. What set Stephen apart (Ac 6:8)? Who was "the Synagogue of the Freedmen" (Acts 6:9a)? Was Stephen's only gift church management (Ac 6:9-10)? What accusations did they bring against him (Ac 6:11-14)?Why (Jn 15:20; Mt 10:16-20)?
5. Did Jesus say He will destroy the temple (Mk 13:1-2)? To what extent was Jesus' prophecy fulfilled? Did Jesus say that He will "change the customs which Moses handed down to us [the Jews]" (Ac 6:14; Mt 5:17-18)? Was Stephen's sermon the longest in the Bible preached by a disciple of Jesus (Acts 7)?

Jealousy, Life, Obedience and Joy (Acts 5:17-42)

• What are your takeaways from Dr. Kevin Cassel's sermon "Jesus demands everything, but nothing more" (Mk 8:34-38)?

Tell of This New Life (Acts 5:17-42).

1. JEALOUSY. Why were the Sadducees filled with jealousy (Ac 5:17, 14-16; Jas 5:14-16)? What did they do (Ac 5:18)? Why did they have Jesus killed (Mt 27:18; Mk 15:10)? How does envy affect people (Prov 14:30; 1 Sam 18:7-9)? How do you overcome it?

2. LIFE. What did an angel of the Lord do (Ac 5:19-21a)? What is "this new life" (Ac 5:20)? How does this life come about (Jn 6:63; 8:31-32)? What did the religious leaders find out and do (Ac 5:21-28)?

3. OBEDIENCE. What did Peter and the apostles do (Ac 5:29-32)? How did Gamaliel persuade the Sanhedrin not to kill the apostles (Ac 5:33-40)?

4. JOY. How did the apostles respond to being flogged and warned (Ac 5:41-42)?

JEALOUSY is a fruit of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21), an antonym of love (1 Cor 13:4), a symptom of pride (1 Tim 6:4), a catalyst for conflict (James 3:16), and a mark of unbelievers (Rom 1:29).

• "You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?" (1 Cor 3:3)
• "The acts of the flesh are obvious...discord, jealousy...dissensions, factions and envy... I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal 5:19-21).
• "...love does not envy..." (1 Cor 13:4).
• "...they are conceited...understand nothing...unhealthy... result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions" (1 Tim 6:4).
• " if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts... For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice" (James 3:14, 16).
  
• "They are full of envy...gossips" (Rom 1:19).
• "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones" (Prov 14:30).
• "Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy? (Prov 27:4)
  
• "And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (Eccl 4:4).
  
• "Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it" (James 4:11).
  
• "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves" (Phil 2:3).
  
• "As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands." Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David" (1 Sam 18:7-9).

LIFE

• "Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Gen 2:7).
  
• "In him was life and that life was the life of man" (Jn 1:4). John 14:6; 3:16.
• "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life" (Jn 5:24).
  
• John 6:63; 8:31-32; 3:3; 6:35; 11:25; 17:17. " Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (Jn 17:3).
• 2 Corinthians 5:17.
• "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor" (Prov 21:21).

OBEDIENCE [Obedience to God's commands is the true sign of your love for God, and the only way you can know if you are obeying God is by knowing his Word. The joy of obedience: As we obey God's commandments, we experience the joy of the Holy Spirit. We experience God's pleasure rising in us. If you find yourself stuck in despair, try obeying the Bible's instruction to love God and others. When we obey His commandment to love one another, we are striving to live according to His Word. And what a wonderful experience it is as He fulfills his promise to give us joy through obedience.]

• John 14:15, 21, 23. Romans 1:5. Exodus 19:5. Romans 2:6-8).
• "You are my friends if you do what I command" (Jn 15:14).
• "...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5).
• "And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands" (2 Jn 1:6).

JOY

• 1 Thessalonians 5:16. Philippians 4:4. Galatians 5:22. Hebrews 12:2.
• "I have food to eat that you know nothing about" (John 4:32).
• "And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Lk 1:47).
• "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Ps 16:11).
  
• "...the joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10).
• "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul" (Ps 94:19).
• "Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit" (Ps 51:10).
• "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices" (Ps 16:8-9).
• "Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart" (Jer 15:16). Psalm 1:2; 119:97.
• "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17).
• "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master" (Mt 25:21).
• "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth" (3 Jn 1:4).

Voluntary Poverty

"Voluntary poverty restores to man the nobility of his condition, liberating him from vile servitude and reinstating him his noble freedom and mastery of all things. The soul is never more a mistress than when she despises them, and only then has she the more firm possession and makes the more excellent use of riches, when she gives them away or leaves them of her own free will; only then her appetite for them is best satiated, when she does not care to possess them. Then above all is the heart set free and made capable of the treasures of the Divinity, for which it is furnished by the Creator with almost infinite capacity." Ven. Mary of Agreda, Mystical City of God.