THINK TOGETHER.
Do you know what a Deacon is?
READ TOGETHER.
Acts 6:1-4. 1But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. 2So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”
Does your church have deacons? The word deacon means servant. Every Christian should be a servant, shouldn’t they? In that way we are all deacons. But the word deacon can also mean the specific leader in a church chosen to lead the church in service. That’s what is being described here in Acts 6 – the choosing of the first deacons.
What was the job of these first deacons? To run the church’s food program. The deacons had to make sure that everyone got a fair amount of food. Why? Because there seemed to be some discrimination happening in the church. Do you know what discrimination is? It is when you favor one group of people over another. And God hates discrimination. So the church had to make sure that this sinful discrimination wasn’t happening.
And that’s why they need deacons who weren’t just organized, but also full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. You see, the first deacons didn’t just make sure everyone got their food, they also had to make sure that the sin of discrimination was put to an end. That’s why the deacons had to be full of the Holy Spirit. They had to know what Jesus would do. They had to be full of the love of Jesus so that they would not play favorites with the different people in the church.
Like we said, every Christian can and should be a servant. Why? Because every Christians has the Holy Spirit helping them to be like Jesus, the greatest servant of all. Are you a Christian? If you are, then you have the Holy Spirit. And if you have the Holy Spirit, then you can be a servant today. You can make sure people have what they need without showing favoritism or discrimination.
Because of the Holy Spirit the church has deacons.
With the Holy Spirit we can all serve like deacons too.
DO SOMETHING TOGETHER
Introduce your family to one of the Deacons in your church. Maybe invite them over for dinner. In what way do they serve the church body? What made them say yes to being a Deacon? What makes being a Deacon difficult? Enjoyable?
PRAY TOGETHER
Father, I know I can serve others while not showing favoritism because I have the Holy Spirit, just like those first deacons did. Help me to keep finding ways to help others in wise ways. Amen.
TLICfamily 