Acts 7:1-43, "Jesus is Better"

Stephen retells Israel's history before the high priest, showing how God consistently worked outside every structure his accusers consider sacred—beyond the land, the temple, the familiar. From Abraham to Joseph to Moses, God's presence moves freely while the people repeatedly anchor themselves to lesser, visible substitutes. The golden calf stands as the starkest image of a people settling for something they can control when the greater reality proves too demanding. What are you settling for that may be keeping you from something greater?