Lessons from the First Martyr, Part 2 | December 28, 2025
The Setup: A Speech Rooted in Israel's Story
Sermon number eighteen picked up with Stephen facing false accusations of blasphemy from a group unable to out-argue him, and Pastor Justin reminded us that rather than growing defensive or fearful, Stephen's face is described as shining like that of an angel. With his life on the line, Stephen launches into the longest recorded speech in the entire book of Acts, a sweeping retelling of Israel's history from Abraham through Moses and the prophets.
Pastor Justin explained why Stephen chose this approach, walking his accusers back through their own story before ever mentioning Jesus by name, a strategy the Apostle Paul would later use again and again when addressing Jewish audiences. Acts 7:1-7 shows Stephen recounting how God called Abraham out of his homeland with a promise that would not be explained in advance or fulfilled easily, and Pastor Justin drew the first point from that call, that the Christian life is led by a divine purpose.
He explained that when we are saved we are conscripted into God's army and commissioned by the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20, just as Abraham responded to a purpose he could not fully see. Ephesians 6:13 and 2 Timothy 2:3 reinforced that picture of the Christian as a soldier who obeys orders even without a full explanation.
The sermon then moved through Stephen's retelling of Joseph and Moses in Acts 7:8-34, and Pastor Justin drew the second point from it, that the Christian life is marked by divine protection. He was personally transparent here, sharing how the heartache of a first marriage ending and the difficult move of relocating his three young children thirteen hundred miles away to Tennessee for his first paid pastorate looked nothing like protection in the moment, yet in hindsight became exactly the path that led him to Brunswick and to his wife Maggie.
Romans 8:28 and Isaiah 41:10 gave that point its anchor, that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, and that we need not be dismayed because He upholds us with His righteous right hand. Pastor Justin was honest that trusting this kind of protection in the moment is far harder than saying it after the fact, and that it requires ongoing discipline in Scripture, prayer, and fasting.
Stephen's speech then turns in Acts 7:35-53 to the pattern of Israel rejecting the very deliverers God sent them, Moses included, which gave the sermon its third point, that the Christian life is folly without the divine Messiah. Colossians 2:6-15 reminded us that in Christ the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and that clinging to religious tradition while missing the living Christ leaves a person with nothing but empty ritual.
Pastor Justin applied this directly to modern Christians who cherry pick Scripture to fashion a Jesus who conveniently agrees with their preferences rather than submitting to the Jesus who actually is, warning that this is the same folly Stephen confronted in the religious leaders of his day.
This Week's Application
So this week, are you following the Jesus of the Bible, or have you quietly reshaped Him into someone easier to live with? We would love for you to join us this Sunday as we continue walking through Acts together.