Preach it Girl
Join Auntie Lala for a SASSY retelling of stories from the Bible—a jaunt so lively you’ll think the scriptures were written just yesterday, not thousands of years ago.
On the Preach it Girl Podcast, you’ll feel encouraged and loved, but you’ll also laugh—hopefully out loud—at the quirky characters of the Bible. These beloved men and women falter, fail, and flop—just like us. And just like us, they’re altogether forgiven.
Now that’s the best news fit to preach!
Preach it Girl
When God Transforms Tragedy into Mission: The Martyrdom That Spread Christianity
What happens when faith collides with jealousy? Stephen's remarkable story from Acts 6-8 shows us exactly that—and the results are both heartbreaking and hopeful.
Stephen emerges as a standout figure among early believers, described as "full of faith and the Holy Spirit" and performing "great wonders and signs." His effectiveness quickly breeds resentment. When falsely accused of blasphemy and dragged before the religious council, something extraordinary happens—his face transforms "like the face of an angel." Even as his accusers prepare to condemn him, Stephen radiates divine presence.
The account takes an even more astonishing turn during Stephen's stoning. Rather than cowering in fear, he gazes into heaven and sees Jesus standing at God's right hand. With rocks raining down upon him, Stephen echoes Jesus's own words of forgiveness: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." This moment of supreme sacrifice becomes a catalyst for Christianity's expansion, scattering believers throughout Judea and Samaria, spreading the gospel beyond Jerusalem's walls. And what about that young man named Saul who held the coats of Stephen's killers? His path to becoming the Apostle Paul begins here, forever shaped by what he witnessed as a willing participant.
Stephen's story speaks powerfully to our present reality. When we face opposition, false accusations, or even threats, we're reminded that God remains with us through every trial. We aren't promised an easy life, but we are promised divine presence in our darkest hours. As Auntie LaLa reminds us, take heart—Jesus stands ready to exchange our burdens for his peace, our fear for his courage, our tragedy for his redemptive purpose. So don't be afraid to get a little sassy like Stephen and stand firm in your faith. God sees you, and heaven is closer than you think.
Welcome back to Preach it Girl Podcast, a place where we aren't just sitting around waiting for Jesus' second coming and Skinny Pop to make us skinny. I mean, those things are bound to happen. But while we wait, join me, auntie Lala, for a jaunt through the scriptures so lively you'll think that they were written just yesterday, not thousands of years ago. Now put on your listening ears for a somewhat sassy retelling of stories from the Bible. Y'all, there are some seriously sassy characters in the Bible and I can't wait for you to hear their stories. You might be wondering who I am. Well, shucks, I'm a sassy woman, just like you, who loves Jesus and has finally come to the conclusion that Jesus loves women and, dare I say, especially the sassy ones. We are in Acts, chapters six through eight, and we're going to be talking about Stephen, a man full of God's spirit and just as sassy as Jesus was. Let's take a look at his story. But before we do, isn't jealousy the worst? We've all been there, the one feeling it and on the receiving end of someone else's. It's a very human thing to feel. Some are more prone than others to it. I mean, I'm more prone to gluttony than anything. Enneagram 7 here. Sometimes jealousy may come from a friend who can't be happy for your success, or other times it can be an outright murderous rage, a fire so hot from the pit of hell as this story and many before it, even way back to Cain and Abel. This story is an incredible reminder that bad things happen to good people, not just a good person who believes in God, but a person serving the Lord with all their heart, a diligent life. I just want to say this podcast is recorded the week of the tragic floods that took more than 20 young girls from a camp. I think we're all just reeling at such a horrific moment and I hope that this podcast will bring a little bit of grace and hope in our lives as we imagine what those families are going through, but also what God can do even in the worst tragedy.
Speaker 0:Let's turn into the story. So Stephen came on the scene because, as the disciples, as their community was growing full of believers, people were getting saved every day, a little jealousy broke out. Some of the converts to Christianity thought that they were not being treated fairly by the apostles or the people distributing the food, that the Jewish widows were getting a little bit better portion than the Hellenistic widows. In addressing that, the apostles decided let's appoint seven extra deacons to help distribute food that we know are trustworthy and will do God's will. So Stephen is first described in Acts, chapter 6, as a man full of faith. And the Holy Spirit Isn't that cool. As the word of God prospered, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased dramatically. Not least, a great many priests submitted themselves to the faith. That's interesting. A lot of Jewish priests converted to Christianity at this time Okay. Jewish priests converted to Christianity at this time? Okay.
Speaker 0:Stephen, brimming with God's grace and energy, was doing wonderful things among the people, unmistakable signs that God was among them. Then some men from the meeting place, whose membership was made up of freed slaves, went up against him, trying to argue him down. But they were no match for Stephen's wisdom and spirit when he spoke. If you are full of the Holy Spirit, god gives you those words. So in secret, secret jealousy, they bribed men to lie, saying that we heard him cursing God and Moses. That stirred up the people. Lord have mercy. Yes, it did.
Speaker 0:And the religious leaders and religious scholars? They grabbed Stephen and took him before the high council. They put forward their bribed witnesses to testify. This man talks nonstop against the holy place and God's law. We even heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth would tear the place down and throw out all the customs Moses gave us.
Speaker 0:And all those who sat in the high council looked at Stephen. They found they couldn't take their eyes off him. His face was like the face of an angel. Wow, you guys, imagine being accused of something that you didn't do. Meanwhile, you are so full of God's grace and Holy Spirit that you are dwelling within Jesus. You are dwelling in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And that is obvious, because there's many a times that I've been accused and my face did not transform into that of an angel. Y'all, I wish it had, but many times I did not handle it well. But Stephen did so well in fact, that the Lord poured out his glory on him and it was unmistakable. Even those accusing him could see it. Wow, that's intense.
Speaker 0:So they asked Stephen to reply to these accusations and Stephen, because they were Jewish believers, he went all the way back to Abraham, to Egypt and then Moses and pointed out, just like Jesus, moses was first rejected. But Moses came to save the Israelites from the Egyptians, from slavery, and deliver them into the promised land, which is exactly what Jesus is doing, right, he is delivering us from sin so that we can spend eternity with him. And eternity doesn't start when we die, y'all, it starts as soon as you accept Christ. I think this is a good picture of that, because Stephen even though the story does end badly spoiler even though we know that Jesus is with him right there, and Jesus is with us right when we accept him and is with us through every trial, every hardship, every tragedy. He is there with us and we see that with Stephen. That's why his face just lit up like an angel. Oh, but jealousy is just threaded through this. It's so bad. Okay, moses came to deliver him.
Speaker 0:So we get to the part where Stephen brings him all the way to the temple that Solomon built. But then he says you know, god does not live on this earth. The earth is his footstool. The Lord has made everything the earth and all that is in it and everyone that's in it. But this is where Stephen gets real sassy y'all. And you continue so bullheaded calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears, deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit. You're just like your hearts, flaps on your ears, deliberately ignoring the Holy Spirit. You're just like your ancestors. Was there ever a prophet that didn't get the same treatment as Jesus got? Your ancestors killed anyone who dared talk about the coming of the just one, and you've kept up the family tradition Traitors and murderers, all of you. You had God's law handed to you by angels, gift-wrapped, and you squandered it.
Speaker 0:At that point the council went wild. Rioting, mob began and catcalls and whistles. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed. He had eyes for God, whom he saw in all his glory, with Jesus standing at his side. And in the NIV version it says Look. Stephen said I see heaven open and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.
Speaker 0:At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they rushed Stephen. The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them. They dragged him out and pelted him with rocks. As the rocks rained down on Stephen, he prayed Master, jesus, take my life. Then he knelt down, praying loud enough for everyone to hear Master, don't blame them for this sin, don't hold it against them. His last words.
Speaker 0:When he said this, he fell asleep. Or some versions say he died. I mean he did die, but I kind of wonder, like, did the rocks kill him or did Jesus just take him? Was that just his moment? Like he just closed his eyes at that moment and he was with Jesus? I do believe 100%. The minute you close your eyes on that last day of yours, whenever that is you are in Jesus's arms. He's there to greet you on the other side. But, wow, you really have to be full of the Holy Spirit. You have to have a relationship with Jesus to be able to look at people who are murdering you, who are threatening you, naming accusations against you that aren't true, and remain faithful, remain grounded in the love of God, so much so that you love your enemies. I need work. I need work y'all.
Speaker 0:This is such a great reminder of what jealousy can look like, and so any of us that struggle with it, let's cast that off. Give that to Jesus. Jesus is the great exchanger. We can give him our terrible, yucky stuff, whether it's jealousy, gluttony, your isms, alcoholism, whatever it is and Jesus will give you back new life. He'll give you true life, and he will gladly take anything that we give him and transform it into something beautiful. He'll make your life into something transformed and beautiful kind of like. Stephen's face got transformed. Your life gets transformed when you accept Jesus. It's something and it's miraculous. Like we kind of forget in our average everyday Christian life that we are being transformed and that, right there, is miraculous.
Speaker 0:So let's look at some of the things that happened because of Stephen's death, because of his martyrdom, the sacrifice of his life that was made for Jesus. What did God do with that? Let's look at that, because I think that can give us a little hope. People were witnesses to Stephen's transformation. How many people who were accused and stoned to death acted the way that Stephen did? I only know of one, jesus. Jesus said from the cross forgive them, father, don't hold this against them. Right, stephen got to see God and Jesus stand up part heaven and he saw them looking down at him as the sacrifice of his life was made. I don't know what he was thinking, but you could tell he was in awe of it and he was paying more attention to God than he was. The stones that were being thrown at him you don't hear fear. There's no fear in Stephen's voice and the things that he said in those moments that most of us would be terrified and basically as soon as that happened, persecution broke out against the Christians at that time and the believers were dispersed all over Samaria and Judea.
Speaker 0:The sacrifice that Stephen made of his life actually made a way for believers in Christianity to spread all over Judea and Samaria. Wow, god, he's going to use anything that you offer him. That's what God said to me this morning in my quiet time. Whatever I give him, he will use for his glory and my good. I want to give God more of me, more of my time, more of my sacrifice, more of my life to him and see what he does with it Y'all. And it's miraculous every time, everything that he does.
Speaker 0:And then not only were believers dispersed all over spreading the good news about Jesus, but then there was that one guy that held those people that stoned Stephen, that held their coats, who was agreeing and encouraging this act of barbarity, and that was Saul, who later becomes the great Apostle Paul. Wow, god set him up. I mean, could that vision of Stephen ever leave Paul? I mean he knows he was forgiven when he accepted Jesus. But I mean Jesus's first words to Saul on the road were when he was blinded by the light. As Saul, why are you persecuting me? I mean, he might not have been surprised if the man said I'm Stephen, but it was Jesus.
Speaker 0:But God says when we do things for the least of these, we are doing them unto him, we are doing them for Jesus. When you serve somebody in jail or the homeless, take care of an orphan or a widow, jesus says we're taking care of him. And when we don't do these things, we we're taking care of him. And when we don't do these things, we're not taking care of him. And then Saul becomes Paul. But I can tell you he knows he's forgiven for what happened with Stephen.
Speaker 0:But he ain't forgetting that. God forgets it. He separates our sin as far as the East is from the West and chooses to forget. But we don't forget. And it keeps you humble, knowing how bad you can be, how jealous you can get, how tore up from the floor up you may have gotten. God forgives it. He washes you clean and you get to start fresh. Oh, his mercies are new every morning, y'all.
Speaker 0:I hope that this word brings you some hope today and this week. Stephen wasn't afraid and you don't have to be afraid. And even though there's rumors of war and war and tragedy and suffering all around us. God is in it. God is with you. God can walk you through it. We're not promised an easy life, but he does promise to be with us and to share the load if we give it to him. His burden is easy. Wait, his burden is easy. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. That's it All right, y'all have a great week and don't be afraid to get a little sassy, just like Stephen did, and remember God loves you and I love you too, and I can't wait to see you next time on Preach it Girl.
