Acts 7 – Stephen before the Sanhedrin (part 1) – Sermon Outline Intro: Calvin Preached 18 sermons on Acts 7, from September 1550 to January 1551. This covers about 280 pages worth of transcribed sermons. This shows the importance of this chapter of Scripture in all the Bible. Need: Stephen's defense of the faith before the Jewish Sanhedrin court is the longest in the New Testament, is the most detailed, tracing the covenant back to Abraham, and syncs together many themes of the Bible, all streaming and culminating in Christ, while showing how God's leaders were constantly persecuted by Israel, and that the leaders often persecuted the people, as Stephen states the Sanhedrin has done to Christ. Theme: God and His people from Abraham to Christ is a story of His faithfulness despite our sin.
1. God appeared to Abraham and called him out of his homeland to walk by faith to God's land, which his children would inherit after dwelling in bondage in a foreign land for 400 years. (1-7) 2. God signifies and seals these promises to Abraham and his children with the covenant of circumcision, where Abram's name is changed to Abraham, because Abraham will be the father of many nations through Christ. (8) 3. Joseph's brothers in envy sell Him into slavery, but God empowers Joseph in Egypt, leading to the 12 Patriarchs down into Egypt where they die and their descendants enslaved; yet they are buried with father Abraham back in God's Promised Land, signifying their salvation in Him (9-16). |