1. Pray. Ask the Lord to open your eyes, that you might behold wondrous things out of his Word (Ps. 119:18). 

2. Read Sunday's passage. Feel free to read it more than once, or in another translation.

3. Review the sermon outline. Try to see how the points came out of the text.

4. Answer the questions below. Focus on personal application.

5. Pray. Praise and thank the Lord, then ask him to work in mighty ways. 

Remember, we live not by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God (Dt. 8:3; Mt. 4:4).

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in 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 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But 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, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

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

Intro: Because we have the joy of knowing and following Christ, we naturally want other people to know and follow Christ as well, and therefore for the church to grow. But it's possible that something in the church is unwittingly preventing that growth. What is it?

I. The Problem (v. 1–2). There are actually four problems! (1) The Hellenist (Greek-speaking Jewish) widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. (2) This suggests partiality, or treating different groups differently. (3) The partiality is threatening unity. (4) Most critically, if the Apostles have to meet the need themselves, they will neglect the preaching of God's Word. Churches must protect their Elders' ability to devote themselves to prayer and preaching. 

II. The Prescription (v. 3–4). The Apostles direct the church to choose seven men who will meet the need. These men are typically consisered the first Deacons, because they are called "to deacon" (to serve), and they are offically commissioned for the role (see v. 6). While they do serve, they probably don't do all of the work themselves. The church was many thousands of people, suggesting perhaps hundreds of widows, which would have required more work than seven men could do. Therefore, we should consider Deacons not merely as servants, but as servant-leaders who mobilize the church to meet needs. This kind of Deacon is key to a healthy church. 

III. The Process (v. 5-6). The whole chuch was involved in selecting the seven, who all had Greek names, suggesting they were uniquely suited to the task at hand. Churches should select Deacons who are gifted and equipped to serve in the ministry roles to which they are appointed. We should all ask how God has gifted and equipped us to serve.

IV. The Progress (v. 7). Because the practical needs were met, the church retained its unity. And because the Apostles could focus on prayer and preaching, the Word continued to increase, the church continued to grow, and even many of their opponents came to faith in Christ. This organizational shift, of appointing servant-leaders (Deacons!) to mobilize the church to serve, enabled the Word to go out, and new believers to come in. This model can enable church growth. 

Conclusion: At Grace, we want to embrace this organizational model, not just because it's practical, but because it's bilblical. We want to see more servant-leaders take responsibility for various ministries, so that the body is mobilized to serve, and the Elders' top priorities of prayer and preaching are protected. With this, we pray God would grant the church to grow.  

1. While meeting physical and administrative needs is important, continuing to pray and preach the Word is essential.

- Why do the Apostles prioritize prayer and preaching over personally attending to the widows themselves?

- What might have been some negative consequences, had the Apostles done the food distribution themselves?

- How can our church protect its Elders' priorities of prayer and preaching? Where do we need more servant-leaders?

2. Deacons are servant-leaders who mobilize the church to meet needs.

- Why is it important that Deacons don't just serve, they lead others in serving? (think of as many reasons as you can)

- What would happen if the Deacons never involved the other members of the church? 

- What are some of the blessings of having the parts of the body working together? 

- Who do you see at Grace who fits the mold of a servant-leader?

- If you wouldn't say that about yourself, how can you learn from those you just listed? 

3. Deacons are gifted and equipped for the roles in which they serve.

- Who do you see at Grace who clearly has a gift from God for a particular area of ministry? 

- If they are not currently serving, how could you encourage them? 

- What are you gifted and equipped to do in the church? 

- Who could you talk to about this? 

4. Properly structuring the church with good Deacons can help it grow.

- Properly structing the church will take some time, but what can you do now to meet various needs?

- What can you do now to preserve unity?

- What can you do now to protect the Elders' priorities of prayer and preaching? 

- What is God leading you to do?

1. Praise God for the priviledge of working through hard problems in the church, like the church in Jerusalem had to do. 

2. Ask God to provide godly, servant-leader deacons to lead the various ministries at Grace, mobilizing the church body to serve, meeting needs, preserving unity, and protecting the Elders' ability to pray and preach.  

3. Ask God to show you how he wants you to serve. Then ask him to help you take the first step. 

Thanks for reading the Bible Study Guide! I pray it helps us "continue to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:15).

Sincerely, your brother in Christ,

Tom Hansen, Senior Pastor