Now those who had gathered together began to ask Jesus, "Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages as the Spirit gave them that ability.

"Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand something, so pay close attention to my words. These men are not drunk as you suppose, for it's only nine o'clock in the morning.

"Fellow Israelis, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a man authenticated to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs that God performed through him among you, as you yourselves know.

Peter answered them, "Every one of you must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.

For this promise belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those who are distant, whom the Lord our God may call to himself."

When Peter saw this, he told the people: "Fellow Israelis, why are you wondering about this, and why are you staring at us as if by our own power or godliness we made him walk?

as you stretch out your hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

As long as it remained unsold, wasn't it your own? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? So how could you have thought of doing what you did? You didn't lie only to men, but also to God!"

"How could you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?" Peter asked her. "Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and these men will carry you outside as well."

As a result, people kept carrying their sick into the streets and placing them on stretchers and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he went by.

When the commander of the Temple guards and the high priests heard these words, they were utterly at a loss as to what could have happened to them.

God has exalted to his right hand this very man as our Leader and Savior in order to extend repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

In those days, as the number of the disciples was growing larger and larger, a complaint was made by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food.

But some men who belonged to the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), as well as some Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, stood up and began to debate with Stephen.

God gave him no property here, not even a foot of land, yet he promised to give it to him and to his descendants after him as a permanent possession, even though he had no child.

"Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him

"Now as the time approached for the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham, the people's population increased a great deal in Egypt.

When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

Because of this, Moses fled and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There he had two sons.

It was this Moses who told the Israelis, "God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own brothers, just as he did me.'

So God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the heavenly bodies. As it is written in the book of the Prophets: "O house of Israel, you didn't offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices those 40 years in the wilderness, did you?

You even took along the tent of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made in order to worship them. So I will take you into exile as far as Babylon.'

"Our ancestors had the Tent of Testimony in the wilderness constructed, just as the one who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.

However, the Most High does not live in buildings made by human hands. As the prophet says,

"You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven't obeyed it!"

As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!"

Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.

Unclean spirits screamed with a loud voice as they came out of the many people they had possessed, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed.

As a result, there was great rejoicing in that city.

The eunuch asked Philip, "I ask you, who is the prophet talking about? Himself? Or someone else?"

As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, "Look, there's some water. What keeps me from being baptized?"

But Philip found himself at Azotus. As he was passing through that region, he kept proclaiming the good news in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

As Saul traveled along and was approaching Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.

So Ananias left and went to that house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were traveling, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."

So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace. As it continued to be built up and to live in the fear of the Lord, it kept increasing in numbers through the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.

He was a devout man who feared God, as did everyone in his home. He gave many gifts to the poor among the people and always prayed to God.

The angel answered him, "Your prayers and your gifts to the poor have arisen as a reminder to God. Send men now to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter.

So Peter welcomed them as his guests. The next day, he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along with him.

As Peter talked with him, he went in and found that many people had gathered.

and that is why I didn't hesitate when I was sent for. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"

"When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he was first given to us.

Now the people who were scattered by the persecution that started because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.

So all of the disciples decided they would send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea, as they were able,

When morning came, there was a great commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.

Now Herod had been in a violent quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him as a group. After they had won over Blastus, who oversaw security for the king's sleeping quarters, they asked for a peace agreement because their country depended on the king's country for food.

They went through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish occult practitioner and false prophet named Bar-jesus.

But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked him straight in the eye

he destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan. Then God gave their land to the Israelis as an inheritance

It was from this man's descendants that God, as he promised, brought to Israel a Savior, who is Jesus.

he has fulfilled for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.'

God raised him from the dead, never to experience decay, as he said, "I'll give you the holy promises made to David.'

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving, the people kept urging them to tell them the same things the next Sabbath.

He was listening to Paul as he spoke. Paul watched him closely, and when he saw that he had faith to be healed,

As they were proclaiming the good news in that city, they discipled a large number of people. Then they went back to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch,

They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.

God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.

We certainly believe that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that we are saved, just as they are."

The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.

This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,

Both Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch to teach and proclaim the word of the Lord, as did many others.

As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for them to obey.

They went as far as Mysia and tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them,

As soon as he had seen the vision, we immediately looked for a way to go to Macedonia, because we were convinced that God had called us to tell the people there the good news.

Once, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of fortune-telling and who had brought her owners a great deal of money by predicting the future.

and are advocating customs that we're not allowed to accept or practice as Romans."

The jailer asked for torches and rushed inside. Trembling as he knelt in front of Paul and Silas,

He brought Paul and Silas upstairs into his house and set food before them. He was thrilled, as was his household, to believe in God.

As usual, Paul entered there and on three Sabbaths discussed the Scriptures with them.

and Jason has welcomed them as his guests. All of them oppose the emperor's decrees by saying that there is another king Jesus!"

The men who escorted Paul took him all the way to Athens and, after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left.

So he began holding discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and other worshipers, as well as every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there.

For as I was walking around and looking closely at the objects you worship, I even found an altar with this written on it: "To an unknown god.' So I am telling you about the unknown object you worship.

and he isn't served by people as if he needed anything. He himself gives everyone life, breath, and everything else.

For we live, move, and exist because of him, as some of your own poets have said: ""Since we are his children, too.'

But when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself entirely to the word as he emphatically assured the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah.

As he told them goodbye, he said, "I will come back to you again if it is God's will." Then he set sail from Ephesus.

A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in a window, began to sink off into a deep sleep as Paul kept speaking longer and longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.

Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in Asia, as he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.

From Miletus he sent messengers to Ephesus to ask the elders of the church to meet with him.

All of them cried and cried as they put their arms around Paul and kissed him affectionately.

As for the gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our decision that they should keep away from food that has been sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything strangled, and from sexual immorality."

Just as Paul was about to be taken into the barracks, he asked the tribune, "May I say something to you?"

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia but raised in this city and educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict ways of our ancestral Law. I am as zealous for God as all of you are today.

as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was going there to tie up those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.'

because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and that there is no such thing as an angel or spirit, but the Pharisees believe in all those things.

That night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Have courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, you must testify in Rome, too."

He answered, "The Jewish leaders have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the Council tomorrow as though they were going to examine his case more carefully.

But so as not to detain you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness.

They found me in the Temple doing these things just as I had completed the purification ceremony. No crowd or noisy mob was present.

unless it is for the one thing I shouted as I stood among them: "It is for the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'"

As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became afraid and said, "For the present you may go. When I get a chance, I will send for you again."

and asking Festus to have Paul brought to Jerusalem as a favor. They were laying an ambush to kill him on the road.

But Paul said, "I am standing before the emperor's judgment seat where I ought to be tried. I haven't done anything wrong to the Jewish leaders, as you know very well.

If I'm guilty and have done something that deserves death, I'm willing to die. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can hand me over to them as a favor. I appeal to the emperor!"

They have known for a long time, if they would but testify to it, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the standards of our strictest religious party.

As he continued his defense, Festus shouted, "You're out of your mind, Paul! Too much education is driving you crazy!"