# The Story of Stephen - The Book of Acts

An episode of [Kids Bible in a Year with Julia Jeffress Sadler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1696638708), 8 Apr 2024, 11 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f8ddd7fd-69c6-48d0-804f-b4d6010c327c/e6b6ed9d-055c-4a1d-91fa-b4d60179580d/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=14e8ed60-20b2-4d5c-a832-b4d6010c3283

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 191. Join us in today's episode where Stephen, a wise and grace-filled man, challenges the Jewish leaders with his strong faith. Accused of blasphemy, he bravely recounts the history of Israel and sees a vision of Jesus, which angers the crowd to the point of stoning him. As Stephen becomes the first martyr, forgiving those who hurt him, a man named Saul approves, sparking the first major persecution of the church. Sign up to receive Kids Bible in a Year devotionals in your inbox every weekday: https://www.kidsbibleinayear.com/ Get ready to experience the Bible designed specifically for children with the official KidsBibleinaYear.com podcast, led by Julia Jeffress Sadler. This captivating audio series presents the age-old wisdom of the Bible in an engaging format that will captivate your kids. Each episode Julia translates biblical teachings into real-life applications, making Bible comprehension a breeze for young minds. And if you want more Christian resources and content, you can download the Pray.com app. Pray.com is the digital destination for faith, offering over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime Bible stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible. For more resources on how to live a successful Christian life, visit Julia Jeffress Sadler's website at https://ptv.org/julia/. This episode is sponsored by Little Passports. Visit LittlePassports.com/blessed and use promo code BLESSED to receive 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: But Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up
[0:04] Speaker 1: steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and
[0:08] Speaker 1: Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said, Behold,
[0:11] Speaker 1: I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man
[0:14] Speaker 1: standing at the right hand of God. Dear God, thank
[0:17] Speaker 1: you that you are always with us, even to the
[0:19] Speaker 1: very end. Please use today's story about Stephen to help
[0:29] Speaker 1: us understand how we can live and serve and love
[0:32] Speaker 1: others just like you so that each day we can
[0:36] Speaker 1: help others know and love you too. Thank you. We
[0:40] Speaker 1: love you so much. In Jesus' name, amen.
[0:47] Speaker 2: Thank you for praying with us today. The Kids Bible
[0:50] Speaker 2: in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports. delivering
[0:53] Speaker 2: monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world,
[0:57] Speaker 2: cultivate curiosity, and discover new interests with hands-on crafts and
[1:02] Speaker 2: activities in cooking, science, crafts, and more, all with a
[1:05] Speaker 2: unique cultural twist. Visit littlepassports.com slash blessed to learn more
[1:11] Speaker 2: and save 20% with code blessed.
[1:21] Speaker 3: The story of Stephen. In our last story, the apostles
[1:26] Speaker 3: were freed from prison by an angel and were left
[1:30] Speaker 3: alone because of Gamaliel. And as they grew in number,
[1:35] Speaker 3: seven men were chosen to distribute food to the needy.
[1:38] Speaker 3: In this story, one of those seven, Stephen, will challenge
[1:43] Speaker 3: the Jewish leaders and be put to death. And a
[1:46] Speaker 3: man named Saul, who was there, will look for more
[1:50] Speaker 3: believers to kill. as inspired by Acts.
[1:58] Speaker 1: Well, hi, it's Julianne Thompson, guest hosting for Julia Jeffress
[2:02] Speaker 1: Sadler with the Kids Bible in Ear podcast. I am
[2:05] Speaker 1: so glad you're here today. In this story, we get
[2:08] Speaker 1: to hear about the first martyr of the church, Stephen.
[2:12] Speaker 1: He was a good man who loved God and his
[2:15] Speaker 1: story helps us love God even more. Ready? Let's listen.
[2:22] Speaker 3: Stephen was a man filled with God's power and grace.
[2:27] Speaker 3: He was filled with wisdom, which made the Jewish leaders
[2:30] Speaker 3: upset with him when he beat them in arguments. The
[2:33] Speaker 3: Jewish leaders then secretly met together and got some people
[2:37] Speaker 3: to lie and accuse Stephen of blasphemy against God. These
[2:41] Speaker 3: rumors were told to everyone, so the guards took Stephen
[2:45] Speaker 3: away and brought him before the council. When accused of blasphemy,
[2:50] Speaker 3: the men said, talks against the holy place and against
[2:55] Speaker 3: the law. He said that Jesus is going to tear
[2:59] Speaker 3: down this temple and change everything that Moses gave us.
[3:03] Speaker 3: When they looked over at Stephen, his face was like
[3:06] Speaker 3: that of an angel. When questioned by the high priest
[3:10] Speaker 3: if he was guilty, he replied with the story of
[3:12] Speaker 3: Moses and continued with the history of Israel. He spoke
[3:17] Speaker 3: of Abraham and his sons and David and Solomon. He
[3:21] Speaker 3: ended by saying, You are a rebellious people with cold hearts.
[3:26] Speaker 3: You resist the Holy Spirit just like your forefathers did.
[3:30] Speaker 3: They persecuted all of the prophets, and now you're walking
[3:36] Speaker 3: in their footsteps. You've betrayed and murdered the righteous one.
[3:41] Speaker 3: With this comment, the council became extremely upset, and Stephen said,
[3:47] Speaker 3: The heavens are opening, and I see Jesus standing at
[3:50] Speaker 3: the right hand of God, Then they dragged Stephen outside
[3:55] Speaker 3: and began to throw rocks and stones at him. While
[3:58] Speaker 3: Stephen was being hit by the rocks, he prayed to God,
[4:02] Speaker 3: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And then, Lord, forgive them
[4:09] Speaker 3: for their sins. At that, Stephen was killed by the
[4:13] Speaker 3: rocks and became the first person to die for Jesus.
[4:17] Speaker 3: A man named Saul was there and declared this was
[4:21] Speaker 3: a good thing. This led to the church being persecuted
[4:25] Speaker 3: in Jerusalem, led by Saul. And as a result, many
[4:30] Speaker 3: believers scattered to Judea and Samaria. But the disciples remained
[4:36] Speaker 3: in Jerusalem for the time being.
[4:42] Speaker 1: Oh no! Things are starting to get dangerous for the disciples,
[4:46] Speaker 1: aren't they? But do you remember what Jesus promised his
[4:51] Speaker 1: followers before he went back home to heaven? He said,
[4:54] Speaker 1: I will be with you even to the very end.
[4:59] Speaker 1: And he kept his promise, didn't he? He was with
[5:02] Speaker 1: Stephen all the way to the very end. Stephen was
[5:07] Speaker 1: the very first martyr of the church. A martyr is
[5:11] Speaker 1: a person who's killed because of what they believe. Stephen
[5:15] Speaker 1: died because he had faith in Jesus. What else do
[5:19] Speaker 1: we know about Stephen? Well, let's take another look at
[5:22] Speaker 1: our story and see. Stephen loved Jesus very much, and
[5:27] Speaker 1: he had an extremely special job in the church. He
[5:31] Speaker 1: helped take care of all the women who didn't have
[5:33] Speaker 1: husbands anymore. You see, the early church was growing fast.
[5:39] Speaker 1: And even though apostles like Peter and John wanted Israel
[5:43] Speaker 1: everyone to have everything they needed, they were so busy
[5:47] Speaker 1: preaching and teaching that they didn't have time to meet
[5:50] Speaker 1: all those needs themselves. So they put together a team
[5:54] Speaker 1: from the church to do it. And since Stephen was
[5:57] Speaker 1: known to be a man full of faith and of
[5:59] Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, they put him in charge of making
[6:03] Speaker 1: sure the women without husbands had enough to eat. I'll
[6:07] Speaker 1: bet he was a great cook too. But whether he
[6:11] Speaker 1: cooked the food or just served it, Stephen spent his
[6:14] Speaker 1: days making sure everyone else was taken care of. The
[6:19] Speaker 1: Bible says he also performed many signs and wonders. He
[6:23] Speaker 1: was full of God's grace and power. Stephen also knew
[6:29] Speaker 1: and loved God's word with his whole heart. When he spoke,
[6:33] Speaker 1: his words were wise and life-giving, sweet like honey. They
[6:39] Speaker 1: blessed everyone around him. I think if they had known
[6:42] Speaker 1: Stephen back then, I would have liked him very much.
[6:46] Speaker 2: You too?
[6:47] Speaker 1: He seems like someone that everyone would have loved. But
[6:51] Speaker 1: sometimes you can be wonderful and do everything just right,
[6:55] Speaker 1: and some people just still won't like you. That's not
[6:58] Speaker 1: your fault. Some people are just full of their own
[7:02] Speaker 1: anger and stubbornness and pride, and it makes them blind
[7:05] Speaker 1: to the good things God is doing in the world.
[7:08] Speaker 1: That's what happened to Stephen. Certain Jews tried to argue
[7:13] Speaker 1: with Stephen about God. But everything Stephen said was so
[7:17] Speaker 1: good and wise, it made them feel foolish.
[7:21] Speaker 3: Angry.
[7:22] Speaker 1: They convinced other people to lie about what Stephen had said.
[7:24] Speaker 1: And because anger is often contagious, this made a lot
[7:29] Speaker 1: of other Jews angry too. When Stephen was dragged in
[7:33] Speaker 1: front of the Jewish court and questioned about what he
[7:36] Speaker 1: had said, he started telling stories instead. He spoke about
[7:41] Speaker 1: the history as the children of Israel and about God's
[7:45] Speaker 1: faithfulness to Abraham and Joseph and Moses. He reminded them
[7:50] Speaker 1: of Isaiah's words. And then he pointed out that even
[7:54] Speaker 1: though God had spoken clearly for centuries, his people hadn't
[7:58] Speaker 1: been listening. And because you guys still aren't listening, Stephen said,
[8:03] Speaker 1: the Messiah you're waiting for has already come. But you
[8:07] Speaker 1: missed him. In fact... You killed him. The anger, stubbornness,
[8:13] Speaker 1: and pride shimmering inside the Jews who were listening now
[8:16] Speaker 1: boiled over like a pot left on the stove too long.
[8:20] Speaker 1: They roared with fury. Still yelling, they dragged Stephen outside.
[8:26] Speaker 1: Even though he was the guy who made sure everyone
[8:29] Speaker 1: else was okay, and even though he was filled with
[8:32] Speaker 1: God's spirit and loved God's word, even though Stephen obeyed
[8:37] Speaker 1: God with all of his heart and his life, Those
[8:41] Speaker 1: angry men took his life. Some people are just blind
[8:45] Speaker 1: to the good things God is doing in the world.
[8:48] Speaker 1: But God is still doing good things in the world.
[8:51] Speaker 1: And when you open your eyes to see them, you'll
[8:55] Speaker 1: find joy, like Stephen did, even in the most painful
[8:59] Speaker 1: of circumstances. Because Jesus will remind you that he is
[9:04] Speaker 1: with you, even to the very end. I am so
[9:09] Speaker 1: happy you joined me today. Come back next time to
[9:12] Speaker 1: hear how Philip had some wonderful adventures telling people about Jesus. Remember,
[9:18] Speaker 1: the Bible is the best story ever told. It's God's
[9:21] Speaker 1: story to you, and it's all true. Loving our content?
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[9:36] Speaker 1: more inspiring stories and wisdom to last a lifetime, download
[9:39] Speaker 1: the Pray.com app for free today. Thanks for listening to
[9:51] Speaker 1: Kids Bible in a Year. I want to invite our
[9:53] Speaker 1: adult listeners to check out my other show, Unapologetic, God's
[9:57] Speaker 1: Truth on Today's Topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring, and we
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