Sermons on Acts 6:8-15
The various sermons below interpret Acts 6:8-15 by focusing on Stephen's spiritual fullness and unwavering faith amidst persecution. They commonly highlight Stephen's attributes of wisdom, faith, and the Holy Spirit, emphasizing that these qualities allowed him to live with conviction and grace. The imagery of Stephen's face shining like an angel is frequently used to signify divine approval and presence, drawing parallels to Moses' experience. This shared focus on spiritual fullness suggests that being filled with divine attributes displaces personal weaknesses, enabling believers to live boldly for their faith. Additionally, the sermons underscore the importance of God's acceptance over human judgment, illustrating how Stephen's focus on divine approval allowed him to remain steadfast despite opposition.
While the sermons share common themes, they also present unique perspectives. One sermon emphasizes the theme of divine faithfulness surpassing human expectations, using examples from biblical history to illustrate how God's plans are ultimately more fulfilling. Another sermon highlights the unstoppable nature of God's light shining through believers, suggesting that this light, reflected through repentance and faith, produces the fruit of the Spirit. A different sermon focuses on godly character as a believer's holy identity, shaped by the Holy Spirit, and emphasizes that such character can endure opposition and rise above false accusations. These contrasting approaches offer diverse insights into the passage, each highlighting different aspects of Stephen's experience and the broader theological implications for believers.
Acts 6:8-15 Interpretation:
Living with Conviction: The Example of Stephen (Landmark Church) interprets Acts 6:8-15 by focusing on the concept of being "full" as described in the passage. The sermon highlights that Stephen was full of wisdom, faith, the Holy Spirit, God's grace, and God's power. The preacher uses the Greek word for "full," which refers to a hollow vessel filled to the brim, to emphasize that Stephen was completely filled with these divine attributes, allowing him to live with conviction. The sermon uses the analogy of a cup filled to different levels to illustrate the idea of spiritual fullness and how it displaces personal weaknesses or shortcomings.
Faithfulness Amidst Persecution: Lessons from Stephen (CrosspointCape) interprets Acts 6:8-15 by emphasizing Stephen's unwavering faith and his ability to recount the history of Israel to the Sanhedrin. The sermon highlights Stephen's understanding that acceptance or rejection by people is less important than God's view of one's actions. The preacher uses the analogy of Stephen's face shining like an angel to signify divine approval and presence, suggesting that Stephen's focus was on God's acceptance rather than human judgment.
Walking in Light: Embracing the New Covenant (Dunntown Advent Christian Church) interprets Acts 6:8-15 by drawing a parallel between Stephen's experience and the prophecy of Jesus in Luke 21, where Jesus tells his disciples that they will be given wisdom and words by the Spirit that their adversaries cannot withstand. The sermon emphasizes that Stephen's wisdom and spirit were unstoppable, fulfilling Jesus' promise. The sermon also highlights the significance of Stephen's face shining like an angel, drawing a parallel to Moses' face shining after being in God's presence, suggesting divine approval and presence with Stephen.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) interprets Acts 6:8-15 by focusing on Stephen's godly character as his holy identity. The sermon emphasizes that Stephen's character, full of grace and power, was a result of his deep dependence on Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The sermon highlights that Stephen's character did not change despite opposition, and his face shining like an angel was a sign of God's presence and approval, similar to Moses' experience.
Acts 6:8-15 Theological Themes:
Living with Conviction: The Example of Stephen (Landmark Church) presents the theme of spiritual fullness, emphasizing that being filled with divine attributes like wisdom, faith, and the Holy Spirit is essential for living with conviction. The sermon suggests that spiritual fullness displaces personal weaknesses and allows believers to live boldly for their faith.
Faithfulness Amidst Persecution: Lessons from Stephen (CrosspointCape) introduces the theme of divine faithfulness and human expectation. The sermon discusses how God's faithfulness often surpasses human expectations, as seen in the stories of Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. It highlights that God's plans may not align with human expectations, but they are ultimately better and more fulfilling.
Walking in Light: Embracing the New Covenant (Dunntown Advent Christian Church) presents the theme that God's light shines through believers, and this light cannot be overcome by darkness. The sermon emphasizes that believers, like Stephen, will reflect God's light through repentance and faith, and this light will have an effect on their lives, producing the fruit of the Spirit.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) introduces the theme that godly character is a believer's holy identity, shaped by the Holy Spirit. The sermon emphasizes that godly character can endure attacks and opposition, and it verifies a holy relationship with God. The sermon also highlights that godly character speaks for itself and rises above false accusations and lies.
Acts 6:8-15 Historical and Contextual Insights:
Faithfulness Amidst Persecution: Lessons from Stephen (CrosspointCape) provides historical context by explaining the significance of the figures Stephen mentions in his speech, such as Abraham, Joseph, and Moses. The sermon highlights the importance of these figures in Jewish history and how they were often rejected by their own people, drawing a parallel to Stephen's situation. It also explains the role of the Sanhedrin as a religious governing body and the limitations of Jewish authority under Roman rule, emphasizing that Stephen's stoning was an act of murder rather than a legal execution.
Walking in Light: Embracing the New Covenant (Dunntown Advent Christian Church) provides historical context by explaining the significance of blasphemy accusations against Stephen. The sermon explains that blasphemy was considered a serious offense, involving slander or devaluing of God or something sacred, and highlights the false nature of the accusations against Stephen.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) provides historical context by explaining the composition of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, which included Jews from various regions who had returned to Jerusalem. The sermon also explains the concept of the Jewish diaspora and how Jews were scattered and later returned for festivals.
Acts 6:8-15 Cross-References in the Bible:
Faithfulness Amidst Persecution: Lessons from Stephen (CrosspointCape) references the story of Abraham's faith and God's promise to him, as well as the story of Joseph and his brothers' betrayal. These references are used to illustrate the theme of divine faithfulness and human rejection, showing how God remains faithful to His promises despite human shortcomings. The sermon also draws a parallel between Stephen's final words and Jesus' words on the cross, highlighting the theme of forgiveness and divine acceptance.
Walking in Light: Embracing the New Covenant (Dunntown Advent Christian Church) references Luke 21, where Jesus tells his disciples that they will be given wisdom and words by the Spirit that their adversaries cannot withstand. This is used to support the interpretation that Stephen's wisdom and spirit were unstoppable, fulfilling Jesus' promise. The sermon also references Exodus 34, where Moses' face shone after being in God's presence, drawing a parallel to Stephen's face shining like an angel.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) references Matthew 26 and 27, where Jesus speaks about the destruction and rebuilding of the temple, to explain the accusations against Stephen. The sermon also references Revelation, explaining that God's glory will be the light in heaven, drawing a parallel to Stephen's face shining like an angel.
Acts 6:8-15 Christian References outside the Bible:
Living with Conviction: The Example of Stephen (Landmark Church) does not explicitly reference any non-biblical Christian authors or theologians in its discussion of Acts 6:8-15.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) references a personal story about the pastor's sister-in-law, who demonstrated godly character and strength during her battle with cancer. This story is used to illustrate the enduring quality of godly character and how it can be a testimony to others.
Acts 6:8-15 Illustrations from Secular Sources:
Living with Conviction: The Example of Stephen (Landmark Church) uses several secular illustrations to emphasize the theme of conviction. The sermon recounts stories of individuals who died for seemingly foolish reasons, such as a lawyer who tested the strength of a window and a group of people who drowned trying to save a chicken. These stories are used to contrast with Stephen's willingness to die for his faith, highlighting the importance of having convictions worth dying for.
Embracing Godly Character Through the Holy Spirit (Temple Baptist Church; Fayetteville, NC) uses a detailed analogy from a basketball game to illustrate the concept of godly character enduring under pressure. The pastor shares a personal story about a basketball game where he struggled to maintain self-control in the face of unfair refereeing. This story is used to highlight the importance of godly character and how the Holy Spirit can help believers maintain their character in challenging situations.