HIGHS AND LOWS: (15 minutes)
Write down one high and one low from your week in your prayer journal and share them with the group. Pastor Breen or another student will gather them in prayer as we light our candles.
REVIEW: (3 minutes)
What sticks with you from last class? You may refer to your one sentence summary from last week if you are stumped. What questions remain about Ananias and Sapphira?
INTRODUCTION: (5 minutes)
One of the main questions that has been with us throughout our study of Acts so far is Jesus’ question to Peter, “Would you be willing to die for me?” Today, we will learn about Stephen, the first martyr. He actually did die for his beliefs, because he believed that telling everyone about Jesus was worth dying for.
- What is your first priority in life? Why?
- Where is Jesus or your faith on your list of priorities? Why?
- What would you be willing to die for? To risk your life for?
EXPERIENCE THE WORD: (7 minutes)
Today, we will watch a scene from the miniseries “AD: The Bible Continues” which shows the community of new believers. I do not recommend the whole series because much of the material is fictional, but when they do get to the Bible sections of Acts, it is visually stunning and impactful. This scene is gruesome; please use your best judgement as to the maturity of your audience before showing this clip. Begin on disc two, and choose “play all.” Fast-forward to 1:21:41 and watch until the end of the episode. Fast-forward through the credits and the recap of the last episode, and then watch until 1:31:32.
DWELLING IN THE WORD: (25 minutes)
First, read Acts 6:8-15 and Acts 7:51-8:3 from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (take turns reading aloud, verse by verse). Answer the following questions about the whole story as completely as possible (group activity: do this with your parents):
Comprehension Questions:
Chapter 6
- What was Stephen full of? (verse 8)
- What did Stephen do? (verse 8)
- Who stood up and argued with Stephen? (verse 9)
- Could they withstand the wisdom and Spirit with which he spoke? (verse 10)
- What did they do about this? (verse 12)
- What did Stephen’s face look like? (verse 15)
Chapter 7
- What did he call the people? (verse 51)
- Who are they opposing? (verse 51)
- What question does he ask? (verse 52)
- What did they receive? (verse 53)
- Did they obey the law? (verse 53)
- How did the crowd feel about Stephen’s speech? (verse 54)
- What did Stephen see? (verse 55)
- How did the crowd react? (verse 57)
- What did the crowd do with Stephen? (verse 58)
- Who was standing there? (verse 58)
- What did Stephen pray? (verse 59-60)
- What happened next? (verse 60)
Chapter 8
- How did Saul feel about this? (verse 1)
- What began that day? (verse 1)
- What happened to the apostles? (verse 1)
- Who buried Stephen? (verse 2)
- What was Saul doing? (verse 3)
Content Questions:
- What scares, confuses, or challenges me in this text?
- What is my favorite part of this text? Why?
- What stories or memories does this text stir up in you? You might remember a time when it felt dangerous to stand up for what you believe in, for example.
- What is God doing in this text? What is God up to?
TAKING IT HOME (3 minutes)
- During this week, in your prayers, try using “God of Comfort” as your title for God.
- Write a one sentence summary in your prayer journal. In this sentence, describe your answer to the question “What did you learn about in Confirmation class this week?” in as much detail as possible.
OUT LOUD PRAYER: (2 minutes)
The Saints in Light Prayer: Stephen became the first martyr, or person to die for the sake of Jesus’ ministry. He is considered a saint, or a holy person who showed people the light of Christ. Who are some people in your life who are saints to you? They can be alive or dead; they just need to be a person who has taught you about Jesus, or faith, or been a good example to you of what people who follow Jesus should be like. During our prayers today, we will name them out loud and a brief description of why they are a saint to us. We will light a candle for each saint as we pray for them, because they have shown the light of Christ to us.
You may begin the prayers like this:
Lord, we thank you for the saints in our lives, those who have died and those who are still here on earth. We name them before you now…
(share names and stories and light candles)
Conclude your time together with the Lord’s Prayer.
Deep Roots Confirmation 