Sermon Title: FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER
Sermon Text: ACTS 6:1-7
Sermon Series: UNSTOPPABLE: A Sermon Series Through the Book of Acts. Part 2: The Church Under Fire
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Acts 6:1-7 (ESV)
¹ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.
⁷ And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
SERMON NOTES
Are we becoming the kind of church that can faithfully carry what God wants to entrust to us next?
I. WHEN GROWTH GETS MESSY
Every blessing brings a new responsibility.
The church must grow up as the church grows.
Are we willing to accept the difficulty that comes with the very growth that we pray for?
People are not interruptions to the ministry. People are the ministry.
II. WHEN MINISTRY MULTIPLIES
διακον (diakon) means “to serve, to wait at table.”
There are no unspiritual jobs in God’s church.
When something is done in service to Christ and his people, ordinary work is holy service.
Ministry still requires spiritual character.
Have you become more of a consumer of ministry than a participant in ministry?
A healthy church is not built by a few people doing everything, but by many people faithfully doing their part.
III. WHEN THE WORD KEEPS MOVING
What exactly are we hoping will increase?
Crowds can gather around an event. Only the gospel forms disciples of Jesus.
Will the Word that came to us continue through us?
The gospel was never meant merely to terminate in us.
We cannot pass on what we ourselves are not receiving. If the Word is going to move through us, it first has to take root in us.