Acts 7:1, 44-60And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:
“Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,
49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas marks 1853 a the date of the church’s beginning. But I’m not so sure that’s correct. I suspect it was much earlier, since the date is attached to the first church building being completed. I strongly believe St. John’s beginning should be tied to the time the people first began meeting around the Word of God, reading sermons from a book that is still in St. John’s archives, and praying together. That could have been 5 years previous.
A church is not a building. A church is a gathering of people in fellowship and prayer, around God’s word, the sacraments. This is a minor point of Stephen’s speech here. He is confronting the people in their refusal to listen to the prophets – just like their fathers before them had done. There had been moments of glory such as the exodus from Egypt, the conquest of the Promised Land, and the dedication of Solomon’s temple. But Stephen wanted to show them that in spite of those moments, their fathers had not been faithful.
This is why God had to act. We never get things right, try as we may. Sometimes we over-correct on the build bigger and more beautiful buildings side. Other times we neglect God’s house and treat it as little more than a repository for used-up furniture for the youth room, or neglected corner we often ignore. Jesus got it right. He overturned the tables of the money-changers when they got in the way of those who would otherwise worship, having turned God’s house of prayer into a den of thieves. But he also taught the people on the side of a mountain when they followed him there.
God does not dwell in buildings made by human hands. Yet God does promise to show up in such buildings when his people gather in Jesus’ name. Solomon’s dedication prayer says it well:
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. – 1 Kings 8:27-30
When God gathers people into a worshiping assembly eventually they will want to gather in a building. Whether a house or an awe-inspiring cathedral, the issue is not the building, but the hearts in which God dwells. There is the kingdom of God: the gracious reign and rule of Jesus in the hearts of believers – no matter what building they may be in.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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