April 26, 2026

Acts 6

The Gospel in Word and Deed

Sunday Sermons

In Acts 6, the early church was growing—but it was also experiencing some growing pains. Needs were rising, tensions were surfacing, and the apostles were faced with some critical leadership questions. What unfolded was not a crisis that weakened the church, but a moment that clarified it. As the gospel was lived out in both word and deed, something powerful happened— the church grew deeper, loved wider, served better, and shined brighter. This was not the picture of a perfect church, but of a real church, a community learning how to remain centered on God’s Word, how to care for its own people, and how to move forward together under the grace of God. And it raises an important question for us in our own day and time: What kind of church are we becoming? Join Pastor Jim as he unpacks the treasures of God’s wisdom to be found in Acts 6.

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

Acts of the Apostles

Go to Series

Scripture

Acts 6

Topics
Growth & Discipleship Worldview & Culture

Sermon Notes

Acts 6

The Gospel in Word and Deed

Pastor Jim Thomas

“The doctrine of grace, when administered with a spirit of grace, gradually becomes a culture of grace.”
Jared C. Wilson, Gospel Wakefulness

1. A Growing Church

The growth of the early church was both deep and wide, and that growth came complete with growing pains.

“Church work is similar to a football match: 22 people needing a rest, watched by lots of people needing exercise.”
Source Unknown

“This life is not godliness, but growth in godliness; not health, but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest, but exercise. We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way; the process is not yet finished, but it has begun; this is not the goal, but it is the road; at present all does not gleam and glitter, but everything is being purified.”
Martin Luther, A Defense and Explanation of All Articles

2. A Caring Church

“The Gospel deals, not just with our alienation from God, but the Gospel also deals with our sinful preoccupation with ourselves and our lack of loving concern for other people. And one of the marks of the Gospel is that Christians are united in their care for each other.”
David Jackman

“In the ministry of Jesus words and works, gospel preaching and compassionate service went hand in hand. His works expressed his words, and his words explained his works. It should be the same for us. Words are abstract, they need to be embodied in deeds of love. Works are ambiguous, they need to be interpreted by the proclamation of the gospel. Keep words and works together in the service and witness of the church.”
John Stott

3. A Faithful Church

Characteristics of the Seven:
  1. From among us
  2. Good reputation
  3. Full of the Holy Spirit
  4. Full of wisdom
  5. Capable

“No wonder if the Christians made an impression out of all proportion to their numbers. Conviction in the midst of waverers, fiery energy in a world of disillusion, purity in an age of easy morals, firm brotherhood in a loose society, heroic courage in a time of persecution, formed a problem that could not be set aside, however polite society might affect to ignore it: and the religion of the future turned on the answer to it. Would the world be able to explain it better than the Christians, who said it was the living power of the risen Savior?”
Henry M. Gwatkin

“The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints.”
Tim Keller, The Reason for God

4. A Missional Church

  1. The Word of God spreading
  2. Increasing number of disciples
  3. Spiritual transformation of the priests

“The Church is the pilgrim people of God. It is on the move—hastening to the ends of the earth to beseech all men to be reconciled to God, and hastening to the end of time to meet its Lord who will gather all into one.… It cannot be understood rightly except in a perspective which is at once missionary and eschatological.”
Lesslie Newbigin, The Household of God

Similarities in the reactions of the religious leaders towards both Jesus and Stephen. The religious establishment:
  1. Rose up against them
  2. Lost arguments with them
  3. Arranged false witnesses against them
  4. Stirred up the people against them
  5. Arrested them and dragged them before the council
  6. Ignored evidence of God’s imprimatur
  7. Heard them ask God to forgive them
  8. Put them to death

When the church presents the Gospel in both word and deed it helps thinking people believe and causes believing people to think.

“The church is supposed to be God’s new society, the living embodiment of the gospel, a sign of the kingdom of God, a demonstration of what human community looks like when it comes under his gracious rule.”
John Stott

“My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, He is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!”
Charles H. Spurgeon

Discussion Questions

Read the passage together: Before today’s sermon, what did you already know or believe about this passage? Did anything in your understanding shift after hearing the message?
Challenge and Reflection: Was there a part of today’s message that was particularly challenging or surprising for you? Why?
Unpacking the Message: Pick a quote from today’s sermon notes. Discuss what it means to you.
Personal Impact: What’s one specific way you feel called to change or grow after hearing this message?
Practical Application: What’s one step you can take this week to put today’s message into practice?
Connecting Scripture: Are there other Bible passages or stories this message reminds you of? How do they expand or confirm this teaching?
Gratitude: What aspect of God’s character stood out to you in today’s message? How does it inspire praise or gratitude?
Pray the Scripture: After hearing the message, is there a specific area where you feel led to pray? How can we pray for one another in light of today’s teaching?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs:

“Holy Holy Holy“ by John Bacchus Dykes and Reginald Heber
“It Was Finished Upon That Cross“ by Jonny Robinson, Nigel Hendroff, and Rich Thompson
“I Need Thee Every Hour“ by Annie Sherwood Hawks and Robert Lowry
“Hallelujah What A Savior“ by Philip Paul Bliss, alt. verse: Tommy Bailey
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used with permission. CCLI License no. 2003690

Looking for our Hymns of the Week or resources to worship anytime? We’ve curated a playlist of hymns TVC Worship has led on our YouTube Channel!

Call To Worship: Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

Leader: I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord!
People: Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God!

Leader: Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.
People: Blessed is he whose hope is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.

Leader: The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.
All: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Classic Prayer: Bernard of Clairvaux

Come, Holy Spirit, and bring from heaven a ray of Thy light! Come, Thou father of the poor, Thou giver of gifts, Thou light of the world, the blessed Comforter, the dear guest of the soul, and its sweetest refreshment; Thou, our repose in labor, our coolness in heat, our comfort in affliction! O, most blessed Spirit, fill full the hearts of Thy faithful people! Without Thy influence there is nothing in us which is not weakness and guilt. O, cleanse that which is sordid; bedew that which is dried up; heal that which is wounded; bend that which is stubborn, cherish to thyself that which is cold; guide that which is wandering; and grant unto Thy servants, putting their trust in Thee, the merit of Thy righteousness; O Lord, hear our prayer, and let our cry come unto Thee.

Confession of Faith: Treasuring God’s Word

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8

Leader: What do we mean when we say “The Lord will instruct us and teach us in the way we should go?”
People: God gives us His Word, found in the Old and New Testaments, to guide and instruct us in all the ways He wants us to go, for His glory and for our good.
.
Leader: What do we mean when we say “The Lord will counsel us with His eye upon us?”
People: God gives us His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, who dwells with us and in us as our Helper, our Teacher, and our Counselor. He leads each of us in the way we should go, illuminating His Word, and pointing us to Jesus, God the Son.

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