Three Assaults of the Evil One

In one paragraph

The pastor opened Acts 6 by walking through three schemes the enemy uses against the church, schemes Paul warns believers to recognize. He framed each one with what the early church faced, then brought it forward to what it looks like here and now. The setup for the message came from a story about Isaac Watts, who as a young man complained to his father that the music in their church was lifeless...

Read together

1. Acts 1 (implied table of contents) Jesus tells the disciples they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the outermost parts
2. Acts 6:1-7 main passage for the sermon, covering the murmuring of the Greek-speaking believers and the appointment of the seven
3. Acts 6:8-15 read at the end to set up next week, covering Stephen's ministry and arrest
4. Matthew 16 Christ says He will build His church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it
5. Psalm 67 Eric read it earlier in the service; cited as God blessing His people so that the nations may know Him

Talk about it

1. Isaac Watts complained about the music to his father instead of to the people in charge of it. When you have had a complaint about something in the church or in your life, who did you take it to, and what came of that?
2. Pastor Nathan laid out three assaults of the enemy seen in Acts so far: persecution, hypocrisy, and murmuring. Which of those three do you think is hardest to recognize in yourself, and why?
3. When the apostles heard the Greek-speaking believers' complaint about their widows being overlooked, they said the people murmuring were right. How hard is it to consider that the people murmuring against you might have a point, and what would make that easier to do?
4. The apostles handed over responsibility for the food distribution to seven men chosen by the whole body, and then trusted them to handle it without micromanaging. Where do you find it hardest to trust others with responsibility, and what does that cost the people around you?
5. Pastor Nathan closed by saying we cannot change ourselves, that Christ is the only one who can do it from the inside out. What does that mean practically when you are facing one of the three assaults, persecution, hypocrisy, or murmuring, in your own life right now?