Jesus loves you

Study 6 PHILIP: DEACON AND EVANGELIST (Scripture Portions: Acts 6: 1-7; 8: 1-40; 21:8) The title of this study suggests a very healthy combination. Philip was a deacon (Acts 6:1-7) and he was an evangelist (Acts 8:1-40) –- indeed, he is referred to by the Holy Spirit as “the evangelist” (Acts 21:8). Now, of course, it does not fall to the lot of every believer to hold “office” or to fill a position of leadership in the Church, but every Christian may be and should be an evangelist. Philip was an evangelist. His business was telling others of Jesus and leading others to Him, and that should be your business and mine, for being an evangelist or a preacher is not a “professional” matter. Evangelism is not a profession, it is a passion. There was nothing professional about Philip; he was a layman. How indebted the Church in every age has been to the laymen, the men and women who engage in all the exacting duties of home, business or profession but whose delight it is to devote their spar

Study 5 STEPHEN: FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYR (Scripture Portions: Acts 6: 5-15; 7: 1-60) All that is recorded in the New Testament about Stephen is contained in Acts 6:5-15; 7:1-60; 8:2; 11:19 and 22:20. He was certainly one of God’s “spiritual giants”, and his gracious ministry was suddenly cut short by martyrdom. We think of him, quite rightly, as the first of the Christian martyrs. Very many have followed in his footsteps; indeed, today many are following in this train by laying down their lives for the sake of the gospel. Stephen was one of the “seven” (Acts 6:3) selected to “wait on tables” (Acts 6:2); but it is interesting to note that almost immediately after this choice had been made, Stephen did “great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Like so many whom God used, and of whom we read in the book of Acts, Stephen was a man who was “full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom……and grace……and power……” (Acts 6:3 and 8). There are seven important truths which emerge fr