[31] The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, these groups of believers became stronger in faith and showed their respect for the Lord by the way they lived. So the church everywhere grew in numbers.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.9.31.ERV
[22] But Saul became more and more powerful in proving that Jesus is the Messiah. His proofs were so strong that the Jews who lived in Damascus could not argue with him.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.9.22.ERV
[17] So Ananias left and went to the house of Judas. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Saul, my brother, the Lord Jesus sent me. He is the one you saw on the road when you came here. He sent me so that you can see again and also be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
[18] Immediately, something that looked like fish scales fell off Saul’s eyes. He was able to see! Then he got up and was baptized.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.9.17-18.ERV
[9] For three days, Saul could not see; he did not eat or drink.
[10] There was a follower of Jesus in Damascus named Ananias. In a vision the Lord said to him, “Ananias!” Ananias answered, “Here I am, Lord.”
[11] The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight Street. Find the house of Judas and ask for a man named Saul from the city of Tarsus. He is there now, praying.
[12] He has seen a vision in which a man named Ananias came and laid his hands on him so that he could see again.”
[13] But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man. They told me about the many bad things he did to your holy people in Jerusalem.
[14] Now he has come here to Damascus. The leading priests have given him the power to arrest all people who trust in you.”
[15] But the Lord Jesus said to Ananias, “Go! I have chosen Saul for an important work. I want him to tell other nations, their rulers, and the people of Israel about me.
[16] I will show him all that he must suffer for me.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.9.9-16.ERV
[1] In Jerusalem Saul was still trying to scare the followers of the Lord, even saying he would kill them. He went to the high priest
[2] and asked him to write letters to the synagogues in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted the high priest to give him the authority to find people in Damascus who were followers of the Way. If he found any believers there, men or women, he would arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem.
[3] So Saul went to Damascus. When he came near the city, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shined around him.
[4] He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
[5] Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice answered, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.
[6] Get up now and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.9.1-6.ERV
[36] While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look, here is water! What is stopping me from being baptized?”
[38] Then the official ordered the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
[39] When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the official never saw him again. The official continued on his way home. He was very happy.
[40] But Philip appeared in a city called Azotus. He was going to the city of Caesarea. He told people the Good News in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.8.36-40.ERV
[32] The part of the Scriptures that he was reading was this: “He was like a sheep being led to the butcher. He was like a lamb that makes no sound as its wool is being cut off. He said nothing.
[33] He was shamed, and all his rights were taken away. His life on earth has ended. So there will be no story about his descendants.” Isaiah 53:7-8
[34] The official said to Philip, “Please, tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?”
[35] Philip began to speak. He started with this same Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.8.32-35.ERV
[18] Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money.
[19] He said, “Give me this power so that when I lay my hands on someone, they will receive the Holy Spirit.”
[20] Peter said to Simon, “You and your money should both be destroyed because you thought you could buy God’s gift with money.
[21] You cannot share with us in this work. Your heart is not right before God.
[22] Change your heart! Turn away from these evil thoughts and pray to the Lord. Maybe he will forgive you.
[23] I see that you are full of bitter jealousy and cannot stop yourself from doing wrong.”
[24] Simon answered, “Both of you pray to the Lord for me, so that what you have said will not happen to me.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.8.18-24.ERV
[12] But Philip told the people the Good News about God’s kingdom and the power of Jesus Christ. Men and women believed Philip and were baptized.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.8.12.ERV
[1-3] Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was a good thing. Some godly men buried Stephen and cried loudly for him.
On that day the Jews began to persecute the church in Jerusalem, making them suffer very much. Saul was also trying to destroy the group. He went into their houses, dragged out men and women, and put them in jail.
All the believers left Jerusalem. Only the apostles stayed. The believers went to different places in Judea and Samaria.
[4] They were scattered everywhere, and in every place they went, they told people the Good News.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.8.1-4.ERV
[59] As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
[60] He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” These were his last words before he died.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.7.59-60.ERV
[54] When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him.
[55] But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side.
[56] Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.7.54-56.ERV
[51] Then Stephen said, “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You refuse to give your hearts to God or even listen to him. You are always against what the Holy Spirit wants you to do. That’s how your ancestors were, and you are just like them!
[52] They persecuted every prophet who ever lived. They even killed those who long ago said that the Righteous One would come. And now you have turned against that Righteous One and killed him.
[53] You are the people who received God’s law, which he gave you through his angels. But you don’t obey it!”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.7.51-53.ERV
[25] Moses thought that his people would understand that God was using him to save them. But they did not understand.
[35] “This Moses was the one his people said they did not want. They said, ‘Did anyone say you could be our ruler and judge?’ But he is the one God sent to be a ruler and savior. God sent him with the help of an angel, the one Moses saw in the burning bush.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.7.25-35.ERV
[9] “These ancestors of ours became jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him
[10] and saved him from all his troubles. Pharaoh was the king of Egypt then. He liked Joseph and respected him because of the wisdom God gave him. Pharaoh gave Joseph the job of being a governor of Egypt. He even let him rule over all the people in Pharaoh’s house.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.7.9-10.ERV
[9] But some of the Jews there were from the synagogue of Free Men, as it was called. The group included Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They started arguing with Stephen.
[10] But the Spirit was helping him speak with wisdom. His words were so strong that these Jews could not argue with him.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.6.9-10.ERV
[8] Stephen received a great blessing. God gave him power to do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.6.8.ERV
[2] The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together. The apostles said to them, “It would not be right for us to give up our work of teaching God’s word in order to be in charge of getting food to people.
[3] So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men who have a good reputation. They must be full of wisdom and the Spirit. We will give them this work to do.
[4] Then we can use all our time to pray and to teach the word of God.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.6.2-4.ERV
[40] They called the apostles in again. They beat them and told them not to speak anymore using the name of Jesus. Then they let them go free.
[41] The apostles left the council meeting. They were happy because they were given the honor of suffering dishonor for Jesus.
[42] The apostles did not stop teaching the people. They continued to tell the Good News—that Jesus is the Messiah. They did this every day in the Temple area and in people’s homes.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.40-42.ERV
[34] But one member of the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, stood up. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He told the men to make the apostles leave the meeting for a few minutes.
[38] And so now I tell you, stay away from these men. Leave them alone. If their plan is something they thought up, it will fail.
[39] But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!” The Jewish leaders agreed with what Gamaliel said.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.34-39.ERV
[31] Jesus is the one God honored by giving him a place at his right side. He made him our Leader and Savior. God did this to give all the people of Israel the opportunity to change and turn to God to have their sins forgiven.
[32] We saw all these things happen, and we can say that they are true. The Holy Spirit also shows that these things are true. God has given this Spirit to all those who obey him.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.31-32.ERV
[23] They said, “The jail was closed and locked. The guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!”
[25] Then another man came and told them, “Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple area teaching the people.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.23-25.ERV
[17] The high priest and all his friends, a group called the Sadducees, became very jealous.
[18] They grabbed the apostles and put them in jail.
[19] But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail. The angel led the apostles outside and said,
[20] “Go and stand in the Temple area. Tell the people everything about this new life.”
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.17-20.ERV
[7] About three hours later his wife came in. Sapphira did not know about what had happened to her husband.
[8] Peter said to her, “Tell me how much money you got for your field. Was it this much?” Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was all we got for the field.”
[9] Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! Do you hear those footsteps? The men who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out in the same way.”
[10] At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.7-10.ERV
[1] There was a man named Ananias. His wife’s name was Sapphira. Ananias sold some land he had,
[2] but he gave only part of the money to the apostles. He secretly kept some of the money for himself. His wife knew this, and she agreed with it.
[3] Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your mind with such an idea? You kept part of the money for yourself and lied about it to the Holy Spirit!
[4] Before you sold the field, it belonged to you, right? And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. How could you even think of doing such a thing? You lied to God, not to us!”
[5-6] When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came and wrapped his body. They carried it out and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.5.1-6.ERV
[33] With great power the apostles were making it known to everyone that the Lord Jesus was raised from death. And God blessed all the believers very much.
[34] None of them could say they needed anything. Everyone who owned fields or houses sold them. They brought the money they got
[35] and gave it to the apostles. Then everyone was given whatever they needed.
https://bible.com/bible/406/act.4.33-35.ERV
