CROWN HIM (MAJESTY)

Verse 1
Crown Him
with many crowns
The Lamb upon His throne

Hark how the
heav'nly anthem drowns
All music but its own

Awake my soul and sing
Of Him who died for me

And hail Him as
thy matchless King
Through all eternity

Chorus 1
Majesty
Lord of all
Let every throne
before Him fall

The King of kings
O come adore
Our God who reigns
forevermore

Verse 2
Crown Him
the Lord of life
Who triumphed
o'er the grave

And rose victorious
in the strife
For those He came to save

His glories now we sing
Who died and rose on high
Who died eternal life to bring
And lives that death may die

Bridge
All hail Redeemer hail
For He has died for me
His praise and glory shall not fail
Throughout eternity

Ending
Praise God who reigns
forevermore
You're the God who reigns
forevermore

OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART

Chorus 1
Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Verse 1
To see You high and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy holy holy

Verse 2
High and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy holy holy

Bridge
Holy holy holy
Holy holy holy
Holy holy holy
I want to see You

GRAVES INTO GARDENS

Verse 1
I searched the world
but it couldn't fill me

Man's empty praise
and treasures that fade
Are never enough

Then You came along
and put me back together
And every desire is now satisfied
here in Your love

Chorus 1
Oh there's nothing better than You
There's nothing better than You
Lord there's nothing
Nothing is better than You

Verse 2
I'm not afraid
to show You my weakness

My failures and flaws
Lord You've seen them all
And You still call me friend

'Cause the God of the mountain
Is the God of the valley
And there's not a place

Your mercy and grace
won't find me again

Bridge
You turn mourning to dancing
You give beauty for ashes
You turn shame into glory
You're the only one who can

You turn graves into gardens
You turn bones into armies
You turn seas into highways
You're the only one who can

Ending
You're the only one who can

Highlight the bible text here in the event and it will show up as highlighted text in your Bible App.

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD

Verse 1
The splendor of the King
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
And trembles at His voice

Chorus 1
How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see how great
How great is our God

Verse 2
And age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the End
Beginning and the End

The Godhead three in one
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

Bridge
Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

Sunday June 26th
9:00 am Sunday School - Adult Style in basement and also available through ZOOM

9:00 am Youth!

9:00 am - 11:00 am Kids of the Kingdom in the Activity Center (kindergarten - 5th grade)

9:00 am - 11:00 am Nursery and PreK will be offered on the first floor of the Educational Building

10:15 am Regathering in our buildings/Worship Online on ebccarlinville Facebook

6:00 pm The Acts of the Apostles series by Louie Giglio led by Randy Darr (also available as a Zoom class - contact the office)

Regathering for in person worship optional or you can continue to worship online - just worship!

Monday, June 27th
6:30 pm Deacon's Meeting

Wednesday, June 29th
- Videos posted to Facebook and YouTube

Sunday July 3rd
9:00 am Sunday School - Adult Style in basement and also available through ZOOM

9:00 am Youth!

9:00 am - 11:00 am Kids of the Kingdom on the 2nd Floor
(kindergarten - 5th grade)

9:00 am - 11:00 am Nursery and PreK will be offered on the first floor of the Educational Building

10:15 am Regathering in our buildings/Worship Online on ebccarlinville Facebook

6:00 pm The Acts of the Apostles series by Louie Giglio led by Randy Darr (also available as a Zoom class - contact the office)

Regathering for in person worship optional or you can continue to worship online - just worship!

Now and in the days to come let us do our best to invite others to know Jesus as their Savior.

Perhaps today you have a question about what it means to become a Christian and you would like to have a conversation so that your questions can be asked. Email pastor@ebccarlinville.org.

If you have questions of church membership email pastor@ebccarlinville.org.

If you need to contact the office email secretary@ebccarlinville.org.

Study Notes

7:1–53 In his speech, Stephen defends himself and condemns the Jewish leaders. He recounts Israel’s history and shows how the current generation aligns with their rebellious ancestors. Stephen becomes the Church’s first martyr (someone put to death because of their faith).
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 7:1–53). Lexham Press.

Stephen is a significant character in Acts. The first named of the Seven, he is also the first named martyr of the early church. The episode about Stephen divides into three scenes: the controversy between Stephen and some of the Greek-speaking Jews (6:8–7:1); the speech of Stephen (7:2–53; the longest speech in Acts, which is further divided into five subscenes); and the martyrdom of Stephen and widespread persecution of the church (7:54–60). That the narrator will return to Stephen twice more in the remainder of the narrative (11:19; 22:20) indicates his importance for the larger story.
Parsons, M. C. (2008). Acts (p. 85). Baker Academic.

These opponents were not able to overcome the spiritual wisdom with which he spoke (6:10). Reference to Stephen’s “wisdom” and possession of “the Spirit” continue the positive portrait the narrator is seeking to paint. The “Spirit” recalls the quality possessed by all of the Seven (6:3) and specifically Stephen (6:5). Stephen’s “wisdom” provides even richer fare. All four occurrences of “wisdom” appear in Acts 6 and 7. First, as with the “Spirit,” “wisdom” is a defining characteristic of the Seven (6:3). Second, “wisdom” here is associated with Stephen’s speech, which signals something to the audience to the effect that Stephen’s interpretation of scripture demonstrates his “wisdom.” Third, Stephen’s wisdom is linked closely to the wisdom of two of the prominent figures in his speech, Joseph and Moses (7:10, 22). Finally, the note that his accusers could not withstand Stephen’s wisdom fulfills a prediction by Jesus: “So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict” (Luke 21:14–15; on “withstanding” cf. Acts 6:10).
Parsons, M. C. (2008). Acts (pp. 86–87). Baker Academic.

The second half of Acts 6 (vv. 8–15) tells of the arrest of Stephen, the most prominent of the early deacons, and leads into the record of his sermon before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7. Stephen’s sermon is the longest address in this book. It is essentially a pointed survey of the history of Israel, and the points it makes are unfolded and reinforced throughout.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr. A martyr is a person who dies for his or her beliefs, and a Christian martyr is a person who is killed because of his or her witness to Jesus Christ. Martyr comes from the Greek word martys, which means “a witness” or “one who bears a testimony.” Stephen was an outstanding witness for Jesus Christ, and it was because of his witness that he was put to death.
The Nature of Stephen’s Sermon
Before we look at Stephen’s speech in its particulars, it will be good to look at it in general, thinking about some of its characteristics.
First, it is not actually a defense. That is, Stephen is not dealing directly—at least not point by point—with the accusations that had been made against him. When Peter had been called before the Sanhedrin, Peter answered his accusers directly. They demanded to know “by what power or name” Peter had healed the lame man, and he had given a direct answer to the accusation (Acts 4:7–10). Stephen does not follow Peter’s procedure. He answers the accusations against him indirectly as he goes along.
Second, this speech is not like the sermon of Peter at Pentecost. When Peter spoke at Pentecost he quoted a verse of Scripture, explained what it meant and how it had been fulfilled, then quoted another verse of Scripture and explained what that meant, and so on. Stephen’s address is different. It is not that he is not biblical. In a sense, he is entirely biblical, since he is retelling the Old Testament. But he is not quoting Bible verses as he goes along, nor is he explaining them. Only toward the end does he begin to bring in some specific texts, quoting first from Amos 5:25–27 and then from Isaiah 66:1–2.
Something else is noticeable when Stephen’s speech is contrasted with Peter’s. Peter preached about Jesus throughout. He preached the resurrection. In Stephen’s speech Jesus is not mentioned at all until the very end, and even then he is not mentioned by name as Jesus or Jesus Christ. He is called “the Righteous One” (v. 52). Again, Stephen does not mention the resurrection, the doctrine that was so prominent earlier.
This sermon has a number of easily identifiable parts. Verses 2–8 deal with Abraham. Verses 9–16 deal with Joseph. A major section, verses 17–43, deals with Moses, followed by a section that contrasts the wilderness tabernacle with the temple in Jerusalem (vv. 44–50). Finally, there is a summation in which Stephen makes bold accusations against the Sanhedrin (vv. 51–53).
This is a fairly straightforward recital of Jewish history, as I said. But if we read it carefully, we discover that the section that deals with Moses actually answers the first of the charges that had been made against Stephen—that he had blasphemed against Moses; and his discussion of the tabernacle answers the second charge—that he had blasphemed against God.
Stephen was from the Greek-speaking portion of the early church. That is perhaps why he spoke so differently from Peter, who was a Jew. Stephen seems to have perceived, with a brilliance that surpasses that of the apostles and anticipates the keen insight that was later given to the apostle Paul, that the old order of things was passing away and a new order was coming. This becomes particularly clear when he talks about the temple. It was cherished by the Jews. But it was destined to pass away, and Stephen seems to have sensed that. His speech is a transition speech that paves the way for presenting the gospel to the Gentiles, which begins in the very next chapter of Acts.
Boice, J. M. (1997). Acts: an expositional commentary (pp. 119–121). Baker Books.

Have you read?
Reading Assignment
Genesis 25-26, Ezekiel 21-22, 2 Thessalonians 1-2, Luke 3-4