Stephen's Defense

Discussion Questions:

1) Was there anything from the sermon or the passage that stuck out to you?

2) The Old Testament laws were originally meant to express God's relationship with his people, not to burden them. In what areas of your life have you turned something God intended for relationship into a rigid set of rules?

3) The religious leaders centralized God's presence in the temple and made themselves the gatekeepers of who was "in" and who was "out." Have you ever felt like someone else was acting as a gatekeeper between you and God?

4) Moses encountered God at the burning bush but never went back to it, because God's presence traveled with him. Is there a past spiritual experience you keep trying to return to instead of following where God is leading you now?

5) Stephen told the council they were "stiff-necked" because they resisted the Holy Spirit, insisting they could handle things on their own. Where in your daily life do you tend to rely on your own effort instead of asking God for help?