Friday, September 11, 2026
Acts 7:9-16
More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Acts 7 is one of the most important speeches in the New Testament. In this chapter, Stephen stands on trial before the council. When he is given the chance to speak, he offers a powerful defense of the Jesus movement.
First, Stephen shows that God’s calling has never been bound to one specific place. God called Abraham while he was living in Mesopotamia, rescued Joseph in Egypt, and called Moses on holy ground in the Midian wilderness. Second, Stephen challenges the assumption that God can be confined to any physical structure, even the temple. Finally, he names a painful pattern in Israel’s history: God sends leaders, and the people often reject them—most fully and tragically in their rejection of Jesus.
Acts 7:9–16 comes near the beginning of Stephen’s speech. In this section, Stephen is inviting the council to value the love and mission of God more highly than their attachment to a place, a building, or a familiar set of rules. He reminds them that God’s heart has always been to reach all people in all places, and that the love of Jesus is the way this mission is fulfilled.
Christianity in America, especially mainline Protestantism, has been in decline for some time. Like Stephen, many voices today are reminding institutions and congregations that what matters most is the love of Jesus—not the land, the building, or “the way we’ve always done it.” Too often, those voices are not being heard.
In the end, all of these things will pass away, and only love will remain. So perhaps the bold question for us today, as we seek to see the church flourish, is this: Where is the love of God taking us? Who is God calling Peace to love in this moment?
There are many possible answers to that question. God has more love than we could ever pour out.
A mentor once told me, “Buildings are not ministry; they are tools for ministry.” We do not need to throw the building baby out with the bathwater. But we do need to ask: how can we use our place and space to love others more deeply?
– Pr. Jason
Jesus, give me the courage of Stephen to challenge my community to love our neighbors. Show us how to use all that you have given us for the sake of your children. Amen.
