45 minutes
- Opening
- 4
- Passage
- 5
- Questions
- 24
- Application
- 7
- Prayer
- 5
Total · 45 minutes
Sermon Study · Leader Edition
Don’t Miss Your Moment
July 19, 2026 · Austin Axen
Leader preparation · 2–3 minutes
Your aim for this conversation
Read Acts 6:8, Acts 7:1–2 and Acts 7:54–60, the parts Austin read on Sunday. Skim Stephen's sermon in Acts 7:2–53 to see what he said before the stoning.
The conversation is for each person to notice the moments God gives them to serve, speak and stand, and to name one they will watch for this week.
Essential questions: Q1, Q2, Q3. Use Q4 when time permits; it asks about someone who has wronged us, so let people pass.
Timing plan
The Big Idea
Stephen's moment invites us to never miss our moment: our moment to serve, our moment to speak and our moment to stand.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
01
Moment to Serve
Stephen was full of faith, the Spirit, grace and power, and he was busy doing good among the people. Austin said to plug into the Holy Spirit's power and look for ways to serve the people in our circle.
02
Moment to Speak
Stephen's public faith brought the high priest's question, and he answered with the longest recorded sermon in Acts. Austin said to live in a way that invites curiosity about our faith and to speak with clarity: know your audience and know your message.
03
Moment to Stand
Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he died praying for his accusers and giving his spirit to Jesus. We can stand for Jesus because Jesus stands for us.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read Acts 6:8, Acts 7:1–2 and Acts 7:54–60 together in the ESV.
1
Acts 6:8 · Essential · 5 minutes
Doing and among
Austin said what stood out to him in Acts 6:8 was not the signs and wonders but "the word doing and the word among." Where are you among people most often in an ordinary week, and what is one thing you could do there to serve someone before next Wednesday?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Austin said Stephen "didn't wait for opportunities, but he looked for opportunities." What would looking for one look like in the place you named?
- Austin compared the Holy Spirit to the charging station on his long drive north. What drains you before you get the chance to serve, and what helps you plug back in?
If it stalls
Read Acts 6:8 aloud and ask people to listen for the words "doing" and "among."
2
Acts 7:1–2 · Essential · 7 minutes
Curiosity and clarity
The high priest's question gave Stephen his moment to speak, and Austin said his own brother's "curiosity presented an opportunity for clarity" on their backpacking trip. When has someone's question about your life opened a door to talk about your faith, and what helped you speak or held you back?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Austin asked, "do people know who I am? And do people know what I believe?" Would the people you spend the most time with be able to answer that about you?
- Austin said to "know your audience and know your message." If someone asked you this week why you follow Jesus, what would you say in a sentence or two?
If it stalls
Offer a general example, such as a coworker asking how you got through a hard week, or a neighbor asking why you go to church. Let people pass.
3
Acts 7:55–56 · Essential · 6 minutes
Jesus standing
Stephen saw "Jesus standing at the right hand of God," and Austin said, "you can stand for Jesus because Jesus stands for you." When has standing for your faith cost you something, and what helped you hold steady?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Austin said Jesus is "ruling over the events of your life and interceding on your behalf." Where do you most need to remember that this week?
- Stephen was accused of doing something wrong when he was doing something right. Has that happened to you, and how did you respond?
Background you may need
- Austin said Scripture does not tell us why Jesus is standing in this one scene. Let the picture encourage people without building a teaching on it that the text does not give.
If it stalls
Read verses 55 and 56 aloud and point out that Stephen sees Jesus standing, not seated. Ask what that picture says to someone under pressure.
4
Acts 7:59–60 · Optional · 6 minutes
Praying for accusers
As they were stoning him, Stephen asked the Lord not to hold this sin against them, and Austin pointed out that Jesus prayed the same way from the cross. Where is it hardest for you to pray for someone who has wronged you, and what would praying for them the way Stephen did look like this week?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Optional, more personal: Is there someone you have not been able to pray for at all? What makes it hard?
- Stephen also prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." How might knowing where he was going have helped him pray for the men who were stoning him?
Background you may need
- Praying for someone who has hurt us does not mean pretending the wrong did not happen or going back to someone who is unsafe. Do not press anyone for details.
If it stalls
Allow a quiet minute for people to think of one person before anyone answers aloud. Let people pass.
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Plug into the Holy Spirit's power: learn what Scripture teaches about who he is and what it looks like to walk in him.
- Adopt William Carey's mindset this week: "expect great things from God and attempt great things for God."
- Look for opportunities in your circle to do great things for God and good things for people.
- Know your audience and know your message, so you are ready when your moment to speak comes.
- If the Old Testament is unfamiliar to you, read Stephen's sermon in Acts 7 again and notice how it points to Jesus.
- Be ready this week for your moment to serve, your moment to speak and your moment to stand.
Application
Each evening before next Wednesday, write down one moment from that day when you had a chance to serve, speak or stand, and what you did with it.
My notes
Close in prayer
Fill us with your Spirit as you filled Stephen, and make us ready to serve, speak and stand when you give us the moment.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the July 19, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.
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