Welcome to another episode of 30 Minutes in the New Testament.

30 Minutes in New Testament is a 1517 podcast network podcast. You can go to 1517.org slash podcast and check out all the other podcasts that are living over there. And while you're over there, of course, check out everything else that 1517 is doing. You can, you know, sign up for some events, sign up for some academies, sign up for some more podcasts, read some articles. After doing all that,

you can go over to the donate link in the right hand corner, become a contributor, help keep all

of that free, you know, support the work. And if you're someone who does that, we thank you

very much for doing so. Guys, we are in Acts chapter 8. We have lost the greatest deacon of all time.

He was not in that office very long, but he set like an impossible bar for all deacons for all time to try to hurdle.

Stephen is gone, and Saul approves of this, and Saul is currently ravaging the church, is what we find out.

But that has not stopped the word from being proclaimed.

In fact, you have Philip, who is out there proclaiming the word and miracles.

Also an outstanding deacon.

Another good deacon.

Unclean spirits are coming out of people.

All that stuff's going on.

And we ended with a bunch of joy in the city.

So you kind of have this tragic thing happen with Stephen.

And you're like, oh, man, that's a bummer.

But the way you end sort of some of this is that there's a lot of joy in the city because the word's still going forth. People are still believing the gospel. People are getting healed and, you know, freed of demon oppression and all this sort of stuff. And isn't this how it works? Like, in the midst of persecution, you still have Luke tell us that, hey, there's a lot of joy. Yep. Yep. Yeah. Yeah. And that is

sort of the dynamite of the gospel going out, that you're still seeing people receive the forgiveness

of sins and eternal life. And so there's hope even beyond the grave, as in Stephen's case.

So picking it up at verse nine, it says, but there was a man named Simon who had previously

practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria saying that he himself was somebody

great. I just like that line, by the way. I am somebody great. Just so you know, I am, I am awesome.

...