A Look Back at Sundays Sermon: Stephens Speech Part 1 (Father Abraham) (Acts 7:1-8) Acts 7:1-8 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?

search=Acts%207:1-8&version=NIV Acts 7 is the longest recorded message in the whole book which shows the importance Luke attached to it. The whole chapter is about Stephen, a Grecian Jew not defending himself against the accusations that were made. His reputation was not as important as Jesus. Stephen was one of the chosen seven to feed the widows but now he is now using his talent, service and connection to ministry to bring people closer to Jesus. There is no bad ministry in church. Everyone in the body of Christ is important. The over all theme of Acts has been the power of the Holy Spirit, but now Acts begins to show another theme which is, change. The theme title for October is: Change: I hate, God loves it! The definition of change is to make the form, nature, content, future course, (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone; the act or instance of making or becoming different; to transform. Gods spirit is not one of stagnation but of transforming power. Why do you have to change? Most people dont like change. Fear plays a huge part in that. Even if you know about the change the differences are enough to cause a fear of failed expectations. However, change is inevitable. Pastor Danny Martinez says, The hair on our head is a complete new head of hair roughly every two years. Not one hair existed two years ago. Resistance to change tends to make things go much more rough. This is why some people believe that change is never a good thing that problems always come from change. If you try to stop a boulder from rolling down the hill, you will eventually get run over by the boulder. If however you step aside, and let the boulder roll youll be OK. Never stand in front of an avalanche expecting that you can stop it from happening. Never stand in front of the Holy Spirit either. You wont be able to stop him either. The high priest asked Stephen if the charges are true. His response was not to defend himself; rather he took them through a history lesson that included the very first and most important person in Jewish history, Father

Abraham. Stephen started with him because he knew how much the Jews loved to be called children of Abraham. Abraham was called from his homeland to Israel and he obeyed and according to Acts 13, this was counted as justice and faith. He is also known for his faith. He believed in God. Was he perfect, no! Was he the perfect dad? No! Did he lie to protect himself from people that were trying to kill him? Yes! We can go there. He was not perfect. The problem was that the Jews were so proud of their status as children of Abraham-Pastor Danny Martinez. However, being a descendant of Abraham does not give you the right to think you are always right. You must have your own personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus challenges every Christian to change. He challenged Abraham, who was wealthy and comfortable where he was at in his home of Iraq, but God called him to leave all that and to move. Abraham was not afraid of change. Pastor Danny said Abraham gave up wealth and a position and power to obey God.He obeyed God. He had no son, but God promised him a lot of family. He had no land but God promised him a nation. Abraham was not perfect but he loved God over all things. Sometimes we dont take God at his word. You may be called to ministry but are scared youre not good enough. If God calls you to change, trust that he will provide for you and give you the tools, resources and opportunities that you will need. What is the change you are mostly concerned about? What needs to be changed in your life? It could be the following: Weight Issues: start by doing a little exercising and cutting things out of your diet slowly like sugars and fast food. Eating more often so your metabolism can move faster Smoking: replace the habit with something good. When you feel the urge to have a cigarette start praying to thanking God for all he has done. God can give you the power to change your habit Going to Church EVERY Sunday: God wants you to be consistent. Get involved at your church; find things that excite you so you want to go to church every Sunday Prayer as a daily habit: it is important to develop a pattern of prayer. Designate certain times during your day that you will devote to prayer.

How to handle debt: spend less then what you make. If you cant buy it with cash, dont but it

Abraham gave everything up and now the church is being challenged to change. Are you game?
In His Love, Nicole