The Endurance of the Spirit

May 3, 2026 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60 The Endurance of the Spirit Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship (in response to Psalm 31) One: In challenging times, we turn to God, our rock and our refuge. Many: Our lives are in God’s hands – the One who will still our fears. One: We can trust God who blew Spirit into each of us, and guides us to full life. Many: May God’s face shine on us and on all who worship the Lord. One: The Lord provides redemption for each and for all. Many: Thanks be to God, who shows steadfast love to all creation! All: Today we praise God and take courage as we wait for the Lord. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer Abundant and Generous God, we’ve come to honor you in this hour, grateful for the gifts you pour out on us day by day. Accept our praise. Fill us with your Spirit so we might act in love toward those who stand in need all around us. Renew in each of us the recognition of Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life.” Turn our hearts to scripture to inspire us, even as we grow into salvation, encouraging us to taste and see that the Lord is good. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song A Sermon for all Ages The Apostles Creed – Ecumenical Version. UMH882 Prayer for illumination Your Word, O God, is a source of refuge and guidance. Lead us, and inspire our hearts and souls as we engage holy Scripture with our minds and spirits. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Jimmy Hoke) Scripture Acts 7:555-60 Sermon The Endurance of the Spirit The theme for our lesson today is rocks. We can find rocks everywhere. Rocks can be very useful, they absorb water, they can keep weeds from growing. Rocks can also do some damage, if they hit your windshield while driving, or someone throws it at your window. In our scripture for today – Steven, a prophet is killed by people throwing rocks at him. This story is important because Steven is the first Christian martyr. A martyr is someone killed for practicing their faith.. martyrs are our example of how to keep the faith in difficult situations. Remember the book of Acts is all about how the goodness of Christ spread throughout the world the work of the Holy Spirit. In this case, the hs uses death to encourage the disciples to move further out into the world. After Easter, they were couped up in one room. Eventually it became safe to meet in people’s houses. The houses got so crowded that they had to move to public spaces. And even that got crowded. Every time they met, they had a meal. People were coming for the free meal. It got too overwhelming for the apostles to do everything. To cook, serve, cleanup and also prepare a worship service. So they had the first church council meeting ever in order to get more help. 7 men were appointed to be helpers. IT was their job to prepare and serve the meal, while the apostles worked on worship. Steven was one of those 7 men. He became a deacon – literally a server. The word deacon is just a fancy word for helper. So that is how we got our offices of the church – apostle, elder, deacon. Today every denomination uses these words, but they give them different definitions. A deacon is usually a lay person who has been given a responsibility to forward the mission. The story does say that hands were laid on steven, so he may have been ordained. In church we all have a part to pay – whether it is cooking, mowing the grass, visiting, giving, or singing int eh choir, or sitting in the pew. The helpers are the most important part of the church. As I said, steven had hands layed on him – he also felt called to preach. His first sermon was a little long – that is why we don’t read all of chapter 7 today. He was honest with the people – telling him they were not living up to his faith. They were so insulted that they stoned him to death. As he was being killed – he prays for the crowd and forgives them. Just before he dies, he looks up and sees a dove, and he knows the holy spirit is with him. If you ever see a picture of a man crying and looking up at a dove – that is Steven. Also in that moment he says that he sees Jesus standing at the right of God in heaven. Most people see Jesus sitting. Steven’s unique vision of Jesus is our inspiration to not be afraid to stand up for our faith. They don’t stone people anymore. So we don’t have to be afraid to help out. We can live as Christians, to help those in need, to serve the church, to look for the dove in our lives. We don’t have to be afraid to respresent Christ, even if it means giving a tough sermon to someone. Willie James Jennings, Acts: “The church was born in the tight space between faith and fear and forever lives in that space. Only the Holy Spirit keeps that space from collapsing in on us.” Do we feel that tension? Do we fear only the loss of institutional power, or do we fear something more existential, more rooted in God’s justice and shalom? If our only fear is to keep the budgets filled and doors open, then perhaps our fear is misplaced, and we are no longer “The Church,” but a club grasping for relevance in a world that no longer needs us. The holy spirit is still working today. The disciples left Jerusalem and went throughout Europe, the word crossed the ocean and came to America and spread like wildfire – even here to Wilmington. The spirit is leading us to keep spreading the word whereever we go. Evangelism, stewardship, worship and music, aiding society, youth work - these are your ministries, ministries which laypeople can do well. If you accept those ministries, then the same thing that happened to Stephen will likely happen to you. I don't mean you'll be stoned to death - few Christians make such a sacrifice today. I mean what happened to Stephen before his death. Remember? Acts says, "And Stephen (became) full of grace and power (and) did great wonders and signs among the people." So enthused did he become by practicing his faith, he couldn't resist gathering people to preach to them. In doing this he discovered the secret to a vital faith - acting in the name of Christ will lead to a fervent love of Christ. My friends, I give you the same commission Peter gave Stephen. Accept the ministry God offers you. Accept it for the faith-lift it will give you. Accept it for what you can give him, his church, his world. CSS Publishing, Lima, Ohio, Prayer of the Day Our Way: you call us to celebrate your peace in a world which worships war; to celebrate your freedom in the face of oppression; to celebrate the seed of faith planted in the doubts of our hearts. Our Life: you would have us celebrate the safe ground of hope emerging from the flood of our tears; celebrate those who love us in the midst of hurt and hatred; celebrate our salvation as we struggle with sin. Our Truth: you teach us to celebrate our new life in the gift of the Risen Lord; to celebrate the grace of your heart which melts our fears; to celebrate that all our moments are cradled in your hands. Our Way, our Truth, our Life, we lift our prayers to you as we pray, saying… (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Lord’s Prayer A Moment for Stewardship As the sun’s presence lengthens in the northern hemisphere, trees burst into full green and flowers blossom in field and forest, we recognize the blessing of these days. Many feel the bubbling up of joy in response to Jesus’ resurrection. Many know the gifts of light, laughter, and love which confirm our growing into abundant LIFE. And we’re eager to taste and see the Lord is good! Sometimes that happens as the foundation of relationships grows more real in our congregation. Sometimes it happens as serendipity when we welcome strangers and find they become dear friends. Sometimes it happens as one gift inspiring another and soon the box is overflowing with what is offered. Today, you’re invited to share what you have already received: your time, your talent, your treasure (including moments of your life translated into the money). Let’s use this opportunity as one way to celebrate the One who calls us into marvelous light! Prayer of Thanksgiving Provider God, Thank you for offering your Realm to us here and now! In the resurrected Jesus, you show us the way, the truth, and the life. With these gifts, we cast our vote for that life: days of generosity instead of fear, hours of hope instead of daily despair. So help us use these offerings, trusting you to show your Way through our congregation, our community and throughout your cosmos. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Invitation to Communion You shape a safe place for us, Imaginative God, as you sent your Child, Jesus, to show us the Way. Born a tiny baby as we are, he showed us how to grow into your people. The cornerstone of your Realm, Jesus uses us to build a spiritual home for all. Committing his spirit to you, he entered the emptiness of death, so we might stand on the solid ground of the resurrected life. Once, we were nobodies, alone and hopeless, but by your mercy, we are now living your Truth, gathered in your love around this Table, where your Spirit shows us the Life of his bread and cup. You lean over to serve us the bread, enveloping us in your grace so we might be filled and sent to be your people. You offer us the cup of hope, which can heal our troubled hearts and strengthen us to serve your world. And when the Way leads us home to you, when your Life gathers us around the Table which is prepared by your Truth, we will sing glad songs of praise to you forever. So we come, eager to share this feast and live fully in you! (Lectionary Liturgies, thom Shuman) Communion Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in the power of God in you and through you. Do the work of loving God, neighbor, and self. Do the work of holding the complexity of life in tension with compassion and care. Do the work of believing a future with hope is possible. Do the work of nurturing that hope into a vision and vision into reality. Do the work of glorifying God by following the way of Christ and praying with our lives. Do the works. Amen. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Cheryl Lindsay) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction May God bless you as you leave this place to follow the Way, to seek after the Truth, and to rejoice in the Life of the Triune God who draws us together and sends us out to be agents of Resurrection life in a hurting world. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2025. Indeed, all our lives we admire people who appear to be strong. At nine that may be the tough little kid who challenges his classmates on the playground. At 17 it could be the guy who has a hot car and breaks all the girls' hearts. At 25 it might be the aggressive young executive already climbing her way up the corporate ladder. But at some point, earlier or later, hopefully we begin to see an inner strength, and appreciate its superiority. Might, the promised gift of the Spirit, is that inner strength and the courage to act upon our convictions. Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah still comprised the earliest Christian community as Luke describes it in Acts. But among them were Greek-speaking Jews, and there were complaints that their needs were being neglected. So the disciples chose seven from that group to serve as their designated assistants. One of those seven was a man named Stephen. All we know of Stephen is Luke's description that he was a man "full of grace and power" and that he did "great wonders and signs among the people." And we know the incident that leads up to today's lesson: how the Jews challenged his preaching, had him arrested and placed before the council where he preached passionately and eloquently. They only became more deeply enraged, and dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. According at least to Luke's account, this then was the first Christian martyr. What had Stephen expected? The seven had been chosen to assist in the distribution of food to the widows. They were to wait on tables in order to free the apostles to devote themselves to prayer and to serving the word. To this end they received the laying on of hands from the twelve. Stephen's gifts were broader than that. So he preached. And his preaching was powerful enough not only to encourage believers but to threaten enemies. Had Stephen heard how Jesus had reassured his disciples the night before his own death? "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me...Peace I leave with you...not as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." Such invisible realities are expressed in more startling language in ancient times and by primitive peoples. A story in the Baltimore Sun about such a primitive tribe deep in the Lacondon Forest on the border of Mexico and Guatemala quoted one of the elders regarding such a truth. The old man observed that long ago his people had behaved properly in the homes of the gods. He told how everyone said -- and knew it was true -- that a person who would desecrate the homes of the gods by breaking a stone would die. "But now," the old man lamented, "our young people break the stones and shout, 'It is not true! See! I break the stones in the house of the gods and I do not die.' But they do not see that every time they break a stone, they die!" We die too each time we deny our Lord, whether we realize it or not. In so many familiar places, in routine situations, with people we know well, we have an opportunity to give witness to the love of God. Or, we deny, betray, make excuses, fail; then our faith is shaken and we die inside. None of us is fully, consistently faithful. So constantly we seek forgiveness, recon There is an old story about a rabbi who, while in Persia, found a great ruby. This was not just any ruby. It was a ruby that belonged in the emperor’s crown. An official crier was sent out who went about the capital with this message: “Whoever returns the emperor’s jewel within thirty days will be rewarded.” But then he added an ominous warning: “If it be found on him after thirty days his head will be cut off.” On the thirty-first day--a day after the deadline--the rabbi brought the ruby to the palace. The emperor asked, “Did you not hear the proclamation that the ruby must be returned within thirty days or the possessor of it will be beheaded?” The humble rabbi responded, “Yes, your majesty, I did on the first day.” The emperor asked, “Then why did you not return the ruby until now, the thirty-first day?” The rabbi responded, “I did not return it within the thirty days so that you could not say I returned it because I feared you. I returned it because I believe in God.” The emperor was impressed by the rabbi’s witness to his faith and he exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of these Jews.” (1) Clyde Reed, in his book, Celebrate the Temporary, writes, “One of the most common obstacles to celebrating life fully is our avoidance of pain. We dread pain . . . We would do anything to escape pain. Our culture reinforces our avoidance of pain by assuring us we can live a painless life. Advertisements constantly encourage us to believe that life can be pain free. But to live without pain is a myth . . . This is an unmistakable, clear, unalterable fact. Many of us do not realize that pain and joy run together. When we cut ourselves off from pain, we have unwittingly cut ourselves off from joy as well.” t is interesting that a few years ago manufacturers were able to produce iodine that did not sting. They thought this was the most wonderful product that could possibly be offered on the market--antiseptic iodine that had no sting. They began imagining the millions that their innovation would bring them. Unfortunately stingless iodine bombed in the marketplace no matter how effective it was as an antiseptic. Many people seemed to feel that without the sting the iodine must not be working. They refused to buy it. The company had to add an ingredient to their iodine to put the sting back in so that people would have confidence in their product. An old Scottish story tells of a man who feared he was on his death bed. He sent for an acquaintance with whom he had had a bitter quarrel and asked that they put away their feelings of enmity. The acquaintance agreed and started to leave the room. The old man rose up on his elbow and spoke one final word, “But remember, if I get well our old quarrel still stands.” We can understand his attitude. The need for revenge is a powerful emotion. However, compare his attitude with a woman in Florida who was raped, shot in the head, brutally mutilated and left to die. Astoundingly, she survived the ordeal--though she was left permanently blind. In a television interview the host of the show was reflecting on the bitterness she must feel because of the many scars she had from this experience that she would have to deal with the rest of her life. Her astonishing reply was something to this effect: “Oh, no! That man took one night of my life, I refuse to give him one additional second!” (3) Most of us are not as wise as that woman. She realized that forgiveness is more beneficial to the person who offers it than the person who receives it. Bitterness and resentment eat at the soul. Forgiveness is healing and a key to lasting joy. It is very difficult for us to identify with Jesus praying on the cross in behalf of those who had magine the scene. So rapidly had the church in Jerusalem been growing the Christians had long since moved out of the small homes in which they had met each night for dinner. Now they meet in a social hall which strives to be a family-style restaurant, but is degenerating into a soup kitchen. Scurrying about are the waiters - Philip and Matthew, Bartholomew and Nathan and most of the other disciples, juggling stacks of dishes in their fishermen's hands and undoubtedly dropping many of them. In the center stands maitre d' Peter, so busy telling stories about Jesus that he never sees the line of people standing at the door waiting to be seated. In the corner is James, shuffling from one foot to the other. Peter may be the center of attention, but James is the proprietor of the place. As Jesus' brother he's been appointed Bishop of Jerusalem. But he knows no more than the rest how to run a restaurant. Finally comes the explosion. "My widowed mother didn't get dinner!" explains someone in Greek. "We're not charging enough to make ends meet!" says another. "The food's burnt," comes another Greek voice. Leave it to the sophisticates who speak Greek to complain. "Enough!" says Peter, throwing up his hands. "Find someone else to do the cooking and serving. That's not the job of disciples." Then comes the watershed event. Stephen and six other levelheaded laypeople are quickly elected to run the meals. They roll up their sleeves, grab some aprons, and jump in, never realizing they have become the world's first church council. A while ago I attended a three-day seminar at a nearby seminary. While there I stayed with a friend of a friend, a young man my age named Bob. Bob is in his first year of preparing for ordination. For eight years he was a high school history teacher and had established a reputation for brilliance - he could motivate the most intransigent and expand the horizons of the slowest. Bob was also a dedicated Christian layman; he taught Sunday school, served on council, and was adored by all. Therein lay the problem. People could not resist the temptation of telling Bob, "Any young man, as dedicated to the church as you, should be a pastor." Finally he couldn't resist the pressure, and entered the seminary. He's not wildly enthused about his preparation for ordination, but he'll make a good pastor. The tragedy is, he was a great teacher. Peter did not ask for the appointment of Stephen and the others to do things the disciples simply did not have time for - unimportant things not worthy of disciples. Peter wanted them to perform functions which the disciples could not do well. They had bungled the administration of the church's welfare system; they didn't know how to feed the hundreds of people who came for dinner each night. So they turned to a group of people who could offer a ministry better than the disciples - laypeople. Things haven't changed greatly in 2000 years. There still are many ministries for laypeople to perform; many of them still can be done well only by laypeople. Consider some of the ministries laypeople can do better than pastors. The value of the laity's personal speaking of faith was recognized in the book The Total Image: Selling Jesus In The Modern Age. Author Virginia Owens writes, "It really is a very simple and obvious proposition I make: A person, whether human or divine, cannot be known - as a person rather than an image - except by immediate presence. If we want to project an image, either of Christians or the church, we can do that by means of television, magazines, books, billboards, movies, bumper stickers, buttons, records, and posters. If we want people to know Christ, we must be there face-to-face, bearing Christ within us." Our lesson from Acts says Christians were multiplying daily. There were not enough disciples to lead many people to Christ so quickly. Only laypeople could have done it. Stewardship is another ministry depending almost entirely on laypeople. A sanctuary for worship, books for Sunday school, professional musicians, newsetters - almost all of the programs of the church are possible only when funds are available. The more you give, the more programs of ministry we can offer. Many people consider the giving of money an embarrassing subject which should not be mentioned from the pulpit. They're often the same tight-fisted people who should be embarrassed by such a discussion. The Bible is very forth-right in its mention of money. It claims we own nothing and hold all we have as a trust from God. The instinct to acquire that makes America tick made the prophets furious. Jesus, whom the Bible records more often talking about money than about prayer, said wealth always is one of two things - dangerous or damnable. To soft-pedal stewardship is to concede the field to mammon. There are no luggage racks on hearses, goes the old adage. You can't take it with you. And why should we want do? After all, we are never more like God than when we give.