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The story of Stephen - part 1

Stephen begins his defence of the gospel.
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, German
1
In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. <br/>So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, ‘It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.’ – Slide 1
2
‘We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.’ <br/>This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. – Slide 2
3
So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. – Slide 3
4
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. – Slide 4
5
Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. – Slide 5
6
Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, ‘We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.’ – Slide 6
7
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. – Slide 7
8
They produced false witnesses, who testified, ‘This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.’ – Slide 8
9
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. <br/>Then the high priest asked Stephen, ‘Are these charges true?’ – Slide 9
10
To this Stephen replied: ‘Brothers and fathers, listen to me!’ – Slide 10
11
‘The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. “Leave your country and your people,” God said, “and go to the land I will show you.” <br/>‘So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Harran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even enough ground to set his foot on. – Slide 11
12
‘But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. God spoke to him in this way: “For four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated. <br/>But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,” God said, “and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.”’ – Slide 12
13
Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. – Slide 13
14
‘Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs.’ – Slide 14
15
‘Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph…’ – Slide 15
16
‘… they sold him as a slave into Egypt.’ – Slide 16
17
‘But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles.’ – Slide 17
18
‘He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt. So Pharaoh made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace.’ – Slide 18
19
‘Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food.’ – Slide 19
20
When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our forefathers on their first visit. – Slide 20
21
On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. – Slide 21
22
Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our ancestors died. Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money. – Slide 22
23
As the time drew near for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased. Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. – Slide 23
24
‘He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our ancestors by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.’ – Slide 24
25
Slide 25