Articles by Pastor Kevin Hall

March 2026

Opening Devotion for 2026 Annual Meeting 

And the Word Increases. 

Acts 6:1–7 (ESV) —  Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.  But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.  These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.  And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

Do we still believe that Jesus can make Christian disciples out of unbelievers? Beyond that even, do we still believe that Jesus can make followers out of people who currently oppose Him? 

At the end of this little text, Luke adds an interesting little detail. He says “a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.” The Word of God was put before these priests, and they faced a choice. They could continue to follow their earthly High Priest(s), (the ones who had murdered Jesus), or they could repent and start following their true and eternal High Priest, Jesus of Nazareth. At the start of Acts chapter 6, the text says many of them were turning in faith to Jesus. 

How did this come to be? Was it Billy Graham levels of evangelism that were convincing these priests to follow Jesus? No, not in Acts 6 it wasn’t. It’s true that Acts chapter 2, Peter gave a sermon to a huge crowd and the result was a ton of people coming to the Lord. So we know that the Holy Spirit can save people in that Billy Graham like way. But this little section of Acts 6 is just as important as Acts 2, and is just as important for us to see and understand. 

Jesus Christ saves people through the work of the congregation. The most important miracle that the world could ever see happens through the mundane and familiar work of local congregations. 

I worry that it’s easy for us to scoff at that idea. Maybe we reduce it down and think “yeah but rallies save way more people.” Maybe we cynically think “congregations only make easy saves. They’re culturally driven.” There are even some people out there who don’t actually believe disciples can be made in congregations. They think the only way to save people is at rallies. They really should read Acts chapter 6. 

This little text is an important reminder to us not to fall into the traps of thinking that way. You don’t have to be saved at an event where tongues of fire descend from heaven for your salvation to be a miracle. There are no “easy saves”. Everyone who has come to believe in Jesus is a miracle in their own right because they have been called out of death and into life (John 5:24, Romans 6:4, 1 John 3:14). Going from a spiritual death sentence to living in the promise of eternal life is a marvelous gift. 

This marvelous transformation happens in local congregations all the time. It might look or even feel mundane, but it is God at work, building His Kingdom. 

In our Small Catechism, we explain that the meaning of our prayer “Thy Kingdom come” is this:

“The Kingdom of God comes indeed of itself, without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may also come to us.” (Small Catechism, Second Petition explanation, p.99 in the Ambassador Hymnal). 

The Kingdom of God is coming. Whether we work tirelessly for its advancement or even work tirelessly against it, it will come. The rule of Jesus our Christ has already been established (Ephesians 1:20-21) and will soon be brought to completion (Revelation 22:12, 20). The Kingdom of God is coming, and yet the Kingdom is already here. 

We are that Kingdom. In Matthew 21:43 Jesus says this: 

Matthew 21:43 (ESV) —  Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 

Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of God as an already existing reality. It was something that certain men and women were already a part of. You can’t take something away from someone unless they already have at least a portion in it. 

The ones who have a portion in it are the ones who have been reborn by the Spirit and by water (John 3:1-8). The Kingdom of God on earth is the body of believers who have been called by God’s grace into a living and faithful relationship with Him. All of these believers are called to gather together (1 Corinthians 10:15-22, Hebrews 10:24-25) and do the work of the Kingdom of God (John 14:12, Ephesians 4:11-16, Revelation 2:5). 

That’s why we have an organized congregation. God doesn’t need us, but He has chosen to work through us. He can accomplish whatever He wants, with or without us, but He has graciously given us the congregation as a place to gather together and be a part of His work. Through that work, the Word of God continues to increase, the number of disciples multiplies and even the enemies of Jesus Christ are called into salvation and eternal life. 

It’s exciting to be a part of that work, but sometimes there are challenges and bumps in the road. The congregation in Acts 6:1-6 needed to do some re-organizing. The ministry needed to be adjusted and changed. The serving of tables was an important part of the ministry, but the ministry of preaching and prayer is a core and absolutely essential part of ministry. The congregation came to realize that duties needed to be distributed differently so that the ministry could thrive. 

The call for us here is twofold. First, we should be willing to address shortcomings in the congregation. The “complaint” of the Hellenists led to a healthy change in the congregation. We as a congregation need to listen to each others’ needs and even complaints. These are opportunities to do good to the household of faith (Galatians 6:10). 

The solution that was brought forward, though, is probably not the solution that the Hellenists originally sought. It seems like the Hellenists had requested that “the twelve” fix the problem, but the solution to the problem required more work from other people besides the twelve. The congregation needs to be a place where we share both our needs and our gifts. It should be a safe place to bring complaints, but we should also be comfortable with the fact that our personal idea of what the “solution” should be might not take into account all the needs of the congregation. 

The second call laid on us here is to be willing to be part of the work. As I wrote above, we should build a congregation where we can ask for the ministry we need, but we also should understand that that congregation will be built by the mutual sharing of the gifts we’ve been given.

The congregation in Jerusalem faced a new challenge to minister to all their widows. This new challenge required spreading the work among a new group of laborers. The complaint led to the congregation recognizing that part of the ministry needed to be restructured. We do well to pay attention to their example. Sometimes we will change how something is done or who does it. We need to be comfortable with those changes when they are the will of the congregation. We also need to be comfortable contributing to the work and life of the congregation, because Christ has called us to those things. 

To be saved by the grace of Jesus Christ is to be made a part of His Kingdom. Everyone in that Kingdom should consider how they might labor on behalf of Christ. The congregation also, as we “pick out from among” ourselves people to do certain duties, must consider how people can best serve the needs of the Kingdom of God with the gifts they’ve been given by our King. 

The Word of God will continue to increase here among us. It might not always be flashy, but we don’t ever have to doubt that it works powerfully and miraculously. Let’s be excited to do the work of the Kingdom, and be excited that Jesus is working powerfully through us.