We finish Stephen’s story of his trial in front of the religious leaders this week by seeing the outcome of his confrontation: death. When Stephen defends his position to the Jewish Ruling Council he does it by retracing the Jewish heritage and history to the people who thought they knew it the best. Stephen tells their history in a way that would have been unfamiliar to those who thought they knew the story. He tells the story through a lens that shows God sending prophet after prophet and God’s people rejecting those prophets. Stephen’s critique is a rejection of their power and that they are missing the true prophet right in their midst, Jesus.
The book of Acts is not the “beginning” of the “church,” it is about God’s continuing mission in the world. There has only ever been one plan, God’s. In this series of the book of Acts we hope to do three main things: 1) To see the continuing mission of God as He brings to fulfilment His church, 2) That people would have a good idea what to look for in a church if/when they transition out of our town (or church), 3) Create a deeper understanding that when we live on mission for Jesus, we won’t understand everything He is doing, but we can trust Him.
