Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come this morning to yet another attack Satan made on the fledgling church. He tried external opposition; he tried internal lying. Neither of them worked. So in the passage this morning, we see him attempt to distract the apostles and divert their energy away from prayer and the ministry of the word. Why does Luke tell us about this episode? Well, in itself it is useful to teach us that the apostles are not the whole church. Far from it. In showing us that the power of the apostles is communicated to their successors already here, maybe only a few months after the ascension of Christ, Luke is already hinting that apostles aren't the whole story. There is a whole lot more to the church than 12, 13, or 14 apostles. When the church multiplies, it is necessary to multiply officers as well. When there are more Christians, Christ supplies more elders and deacons.
