God Is Bigger Than the Box You Put Him In

In one paragraph

Pastor Carl walked through Acts 7, the longest sermon in the book of Acts, preached by Stephen before the Sanhedrin just before his death. The message traced Stephen's defense against charges of blasphemy and showed how God has always been bigger than the religious boxes people try to put Him in. Stephen's story ends with his stoning, the appearance of Saul, and the scattering of the Jerusalem...

Read together

1. Psalm 84:11 used to lead into worship: 'the Lord God is our sun and shield, he gives grace and glory'
2. Psalm 81:16 explains the song Honey in the Rock: God would feed Israel with finest wheat and wild honey from the rock
3. Deuteronomy 18:15 quoted as Moses telling Israel that God would raise up a prophet like him from among their own people
4. Exodus 1:8 quoted describing the new king of Egypt who did not know Joseph
5. Isaiah 66:1-2 quoted as Stephen citing the prophet: heaven is God's throne, earth his footstool, and God blesses those with humble and contrite hearts who tremble at his word
6. Daniel 7 referenced as the source of the son of man imagery when Stephen sees Jesus standing at God's right hand
7. Psalm 31:5 identified as the source behind Stephen's dying prayer 'Lord Jesus receive my spirit' and Jesus's words on the cross 'Father into thy hands I commit my spirit'

Talk about it

1. Stephen's face became as bright as an angel's before he gave his defense. What do you think it would have been like to be in that council chamber and witness that, and how might it have affected the way you listened to what he said next?
2. Stephen traces how Abraham, Joseph, and Moses were all working outside the land that Israel considered holy ground. What does that pattern suggest to you about how God tends to work, and where might you be tempted to put God in too small a box in your own life?
3. The people in Jerusalem had heard the story of Moses their whole lives, yet Stephen uses that very story to show them they were doing the same thing their ancestors had always done, rejecting the rescuer God sent. Why do you think familiar religious knowledge can sometimes make it harder, not easier, to recognize what God is doing?
4. Stephen ends his speech by forgiving the people who are killing him, echoing Jesus on the cross almost word for word. What do you think made that possible for him, and what would it look like practically to respond that way when you face opposition for your faith?
5. The persecution that broke out after Stephen's death scattered the believers and pushed the gospel out to Judea and Samaria, which is exactly where Jesus had said it would go. Can you think of a time when something that felt like a setback in your own life turned out to move something forward that needed to move? What did that teach you about trusting God's direction?