Teenage drivers are not “somebody else’s kid” anymore, they are ours. Well, one of them is ours. Man, they grow up fast. My oldest daughter Kylee had been driving incident-free for almost a whole three weeks by herself when the inevitable happened. She backed into my truck in our driveway. […]
Some other important qualities we see in Acts 6 are not found in the deacons themselves, but in those choosing them. If you’re going to choose the right people for deaconship, you have to have the right people making those choices. The disciples in the church were given the task […]
“Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Grace and power are two seemingly diametrically opposed qualities. However, in order for each to work properly, the other is necessary. These two essential traits for deacons are married, bringing richness […]
Deacons must be full of faith! Acts 6:5 says, “This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith…” Did you catch that? Stephen was full of faith before he was chosen to be a deacon. Being full of faith is a prerequisite for being considered to […]
If you’ve been in church leadership any amount of time, you’ve faced criticism. Sometimes, criticism has an underlying hint of truth in it. It’s usually how it is presented that turns us off to the critic and even hurts us deeply. However, sometimes deacons face backbiting, gossip, and even direct […]
Stephen started out helping to feed widows, but he didn’t stop there. When given the opportunity, Stephen faithfully witnessed about his faith to those with whom he came in contact. Acts 6:9-10 tell us, “But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both Cyrenians and […]
The word “deacon” means “minister or servant”. Acts 6:2 says, “So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.’” The words “to wait on” in this verse […]
The second quality Luke says the 1st century church saw in those they chose as deacons was wisdom. Acts 6:3 says, “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.” Wisdom is a necessary characteristic of not just those […]
Acts 6-7 show several qualities required for deacons. Over the next 7 days, we’re going to take a look at each of these displayed in the life of Stephen, one of the first seven chosen as a deacon in the first century church. The first one necessary for deaconship is […]
STEPHEN R HARRISON 