PRAYER AND MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Passage: Acts 6:1-7

Key verse: 4

NIV

The Choosing of the Seven

6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,(A) the Hellenistic Jews[a](B) among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows(C) were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.(D) 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples(E) together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God(F) in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters,(G) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit(H) and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them(I) 4 and will give our attention to prayer(J) and the ministry of the word.”

5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,(K) a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;(L) also Philip,(M) Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed(N) and laid their hands on them.(O)

7 So the word of God spread.(P) The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,(Q) and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

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Footnotes
  1. Acts 6:1 That is, Jews who had adopted the Greek language and culture
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Seven Chosen to Serve

6 Now in these days (A)when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in (B)the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 (C)Therefore, brothers,[b] pick out from among you seven men (D)of good repute, (E)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But (F)we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, (G)a man full of faith and (H)of the Holy Spirit, and (I)Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, (J)a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and (K)they prayed and (L)laid their hands on them.

7 And (M)the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests (N)became obedient to (O)the faith.

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Footnotes
  1. Acts 6:1 That is, Greek-speaking Jews
  2. Acts 6:3 Or brothers and sisters
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Don't neglect the ministry of the word (1-4) As the church grew, divisions arose between the Greek Jews and those more native to Israel. The Grecian Jews complained their widows were not being properly looked after. This was most probably the result of unconscious bias, but rather than getting drawn into administrational disputes, the apostles responded by delegating authority to younger leaders. This way they could keep their primary focus on prayer and the word of God. 2. So the word of God spread (5-7) The whole group liked this idea and when choosing the seven stewards, took account of the men's faith not just their administrational ability, as to serve the church is always a spiritual matter. They also made sure to choose men from among the Hellenistic Jews to ensure there was proper representation. The apostles prayed for them and laid their hands on them. In that way the word of God remained powerful and continued to spread until the church grew even to include a number of priests obedient to the faith.

Prayer: Lord, help us to keep our priority on your word and prayer and be ready to entrust your work to faithful leaders

One Word: Focus on prayer and the word