Week 22 Discussion Guide: Stephen and Scattering

Opening Question

Stephen saw “the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56) – the only time in the New Testament where Jesus is described as standing rather than seated at God’s right hand. What do you think this detail means, and what would it have cost Stephen to report what he saw to the very council that was about to kill him?

Review

This week we traced the early church’s first major crisis and its transformative aftermath. The appointment of the seven deacons revealed that practical service requires spiritual qualification. Stephen’s speech before the Sanhedrin reinterpreted Israel’s entire history as a pattern of rejecting God’s messengers – a pattern that reached its climax in the rejection of Jesus. His martyrdom scattered the Jerusalem believers into Judea and Samaria, inadvertently fulfilling the Great Commission. Philip carried the gospel to Samaria and to an Ethiopian court official on the Gaza road. Then we turned to James, the earliest New Testament letter, where Jesus’ half-brother addressed scattered believers with practical wisdom about trials, the tongue, and the explosive relationship between faith and works.

Study Questions

1. The Seven Deacons (Acts 6): The apostles said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables” (6:2). Yet the qualifications for the seven – “full of the Spirit and of wisdom” – are strikingly high for what we might consider administrative work. What does this tell us about how the early church viewed practical ministry? Is there a hierarchy between “spiritual” and “practical” service in your church?

2. Stephen’s Speech (Acts 7): Stephen retells Israel’s history from Abraham through Solomon, emphasizing the repeated rejection of God’s chosen leaders – Joseph by his brothers, Moses by the Israelites, the prophets by the nation. Why does Stephen use this particular argument before the Sanhedrin? How does the pattern of rejection he traces illuminate the rejection of Jesus?

3. Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8): The Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah 53 but could not understand it without a guide. Philip “beginning with this Scripture, told him the good news about Jesus” (8:35). What does this encounter teach us about the relationship between the Old Testament and the gospel? How does it model evangelism that starts where the other person already is?

4. Trials and Wisdom (James 1): James commands his readers to “count it all joy” when facing trials. The word “count” (hegesasthe) is a deliberate intellectual judgment, not a spontaneous emotion. How does this distinction change the way you approach suffering? What is the difference between pretending to be happy about suffering and deliberately choosing to evaluate it from the perspective of God’s purposes?

5. Faith and Works (James 2): James says that even the demons “believe that God is one – and shudder” (2:19). What kind of “faith” does James reject, and how does this differ from the “faith” that Paul affirms in Romans and Galatians? Can you articulate the difference between dead intellectual assent (James’s target) and works-righteousness (Paul’s target) in your own words?

Going Deeper

The apparent contradiction between Paul (“a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law,” Romans 3:28) and James (“a person is justified by works and not by faith alone,” James 2:24) has generated centuries of theological debate. Consider that Paul is addressing people who think they can earn God’s acceptance through Torah observance, while James is addressing people who think they can claim God’s acceptance through mere verbal profession. Paul’s opponents need to hear that salvation is a gift received by trust. James’s opponents need to hear that genuine trust always produces obedient action. Where does your own spiritual community most need to hear the corrective – Paul’s emphasis on grace apart from performance, or James’s insistence that genuine faith always acts? Is it possible that a healthy church needs to hear both simultaneously?

Application

• Personal: James describes a scene where a poor person enters the assembly and is directed to stand or sit on the floor while a rich person gets the best seat (2:2-4). This week, pay attention to the subtle ways you treat people differently based on their economic status, appearance, or social standing. Confess what you discover and ask God to give you eyes that see people as he sees them.
• Communal: Stephen’s martyrdom scattered the church and spread the gospel to new regions. Discuss with your group: has your community ever experienced a crisis or disruption that, in retrospect, served God’s larger purposes? How does this perspective shape the way you face current difficulties?
• Missional: Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch where he was – reading Scripture on a desert road – and started the conversation from the passage the man was already studying. This week, practice “Philip evangelism”: listen for what someone is already thinking about and connect it naturally to the good news of Jesus.

Prayer Focus

Pray for the courage of Stephen, who spoke truth even when it cost him everything. Pray for the flexibility of Philip, who followed the Spirit from Samaria to a desert road without hesitation. Pray for the wisdom of James, who knew that faith without works is a corpse – and for the grace of Paul, who knew that works without faith are a prison. Ask God to give your community a faith that is both deeply rooted in grace and visibly expressed in action, so that the world can see the difference the gospel makes.