In the last two weeks, the Story of God has reached its denouemant (I learned that word in high school English class and like to use it from time to time). Christ has been crucified and raised from the dead and as John explained this past weekend, God’s Spirit came to rest, not in a temple, but in His people (plural and singular). The rest of Scripture tells the story of God’s people living out the results of interacting with God’s Story. It is the same situation in which we find ourselves. How are we going to live as a result of God’s Story?

Read Acts 6 & 7, this week as we read about the life of a man named Stephen. What strikes me about Stephen is the description that he is given in Acts 6:5 - “full of faith and filled with the Holy Spirit.” Knowing that about him, the rest of the story finds him in bold declaration of God’s Story - even in the face of persecution. Persecution is not an issue that Christ-followers in the United States deal with as dramatically as those in the first century, but it causes us to ask a few really important questions.

What does faith “look” like and am I allowing it to flourish in my life?
What would a community of “Stephen’s” look like in today’s world?

Share your perspective with the rest of us!