So whenever you give to the poor, don't blow a trumpet before you like the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they will be praised by people. I tell all of you with certainty, they have their full reward!

The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock.

The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and battered that house, and it collapsed and its collapse was total."

But he asked them, "Is there a man among you who, if he had one sheep and it fell into a ditch on the Sabbath, wouldn't take hold of it and pull it out?

"He told them, "An enemy did this!' "The servants asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull them out?'

"He said, "No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them.

He replied, "The man who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.

He told them, "It's one of you Twelve, the one who is dipping his bread into the bowl with me.

"No one lights a lamp and hides it under a bowl or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a lamp stand so that those who come in will see the light.

Jesus told him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Then he asked them, "If your son or ox falls into a well on the Sabbath day, you would pull him out immediately, wouldn't you?"

It's suitable neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People throw it away. Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!"

"Then the servant manager told himself, "What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I'm not strong enough to plow, and I'm ashamed to beg.

The man replied, "A hundred jars of olive oil.' The manager told him, "Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write "50."'

Then he asked another debtor, "How much do you owe?' The man replied, "A hundred containers of wheat.' The manager told him, "Get your bill and write "80."'

Near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew. It has five colonnades,

At certain times an angel of the Lord would go down into the pool and stir up the water, and whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.

The sick man answered him, "Sir, I don't have anyone to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I'm trying to get there, someone else steps down ahead of me."

He told them, "You are from below, I'm from above. You are of this world, but I'm not of this world.

and told him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated "Sent One"). So he went off, washed, and came back seeing.

I will display wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.

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

Then Paul and his men set sail from Paphos and arrived in Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them and went back to Jerusalem.

Then Paul stood up, motioned with his hand, and said:

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

When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who kept talking to them and urging them to continue in the grace of God.

But when the Jewish leaders saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to object to the statements made by Paul and even to abuse him.

Then Paul and Barnabas boldly declared, "We had to speak God's word to you first, but since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are now going to turn to the gentiles.

But the Jewish leaders stirred up devout women of high social standing and the officials in the city, started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their territory.

So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium.

In Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

Paul and Barnabas found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding territory.

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

When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have become like men and have come down to us!"

They began to call Barnabas Zeus, and Paul Hermes, because he was the main speaker.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

Even by saying this, it was all Paul and Barnabas could do to keep the crowds from offering sacrifices to them.

But some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds by persuasion. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, thinking he was dead.

Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church, and with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Paul and Barnabas had quite a dispute and argument with them. So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.

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.

After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, "Brothers, listen to me:

Then the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers.

So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul,

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

A few days later, Paul told Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they're doing."

but Paul did not think it was right to take along the man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and who had not gone with them into the work.

while Paul chose Silas and left after the brothers had entrusted him to the grace of the Lord.

Paul also went to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish wife whose husband was a Greek.

Paul wanted this man to go with him, so he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who lived in that region, since everyone knew that Timothy's father was a Greek.

Because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia, Paul and Timothy went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia.

During the night Paul had a vision. A man from Macedonia was standing there and pleading with him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!"

A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a dealer in purple goods, was listening to us. She was a worshiper of God, and the Lord opened her heart to listen carefully to what was being said by Paul.

She would follow Paul and us and shout, "These men are servants of the Most High God and are proclaiming to you a way of salvation!"

She kept doing this for many days until Paul became annoyed, turned to her and told the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus the Messiah to come out of her!" And it came out that very moment.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities who met together in the public square.

The crowd joined in the attack against them. Then the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped of their clothes and ordered them beaten with rods.

Around midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.

But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Don't hurt yourself, because we are all here!"

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.

The jailer reported these words to Paul, and added, "The magistrates have sent word to release you. So come out now and go in peace."

But Paul told the guards, "The magistrates have had us beaten publicly without a trial and have thrown us into jail, even though we are Roman citizens. Now are they going to throw us out secretly? Certainly not! Have them come and escort us out."

The guards reported these words to the magistrates, and they became afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

Leaving the jail, Paul and Silas went to Lydia's house. They saw the brothers, encouraged them, and then left.

Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

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

Some of them were persuaded and began to be associated with Paul and Silas, especially a large crowd of devout Greeks and the wives of many prominent men.

But the Jewish leaders became jealous, and they took some contemptible characters who used to hang out in the public square, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason's home and searched it for Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the people.

That night the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the Jewish synagogue.

But when the Jewish leaders in Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul also in Berea, they went there to upset and incite the crowds.

Then the brothers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed there.

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.

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was deeply disturbed to see the city full of idols.

Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some asked, "What is this blabbermouth trying to say?" while others said, "He seems to be preaching about foreign gods." This was because Paul was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

So Paul stood up in front of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way.

And so Paul left the meeting.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to visit them,

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.

Now Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole family. Many Corinthians who heard Paul also believed and were baptized.

One night, the Lord told Paul in a vision, "Stop being afraid to speak out! Don't remain silent!

So Paul lived there for a year and a half and continued to teach the word of God among the people there.

While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jewish leaders gathered together, attacked Paul, and brought him before the judge's seat.

Paul was about to speak when Gallio admonished the Jewish leaders, "If there were some misdemeanor or crime involved, it would be reasonable to put up with you Jews.

After staying there for quite a while longer, Paul said goodbye to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut in Cenchrea, since he was under a vow.

It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul passed through the inland districts and came to Ephesus. He found a few disciples there

Then Paul said, "John baptized when they repented, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus."

When Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in foreign languages and to prophesy.

But when some people became stubborn, refused to believe, and slandered the Way in front of the people, Paul left them, taking his disciples away with him, and held daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

God continued to do extraordinary miracles through Paul.

Then some Jews who went around trying to drive out demons attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus on those who had evil spirits, saying, "I command you by that Jesus whom Paul preaches!"

But the evil spirit told them, "Jesus I know, and I am getting acquainted with Paul, but who are you?"

After these things had happened, Paul decided to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then to go on to Jerusalem. "After I have gone there," he told them, "I must also see Rome."

You also see and hear that, not only in Ephesus, but almost all over Asia, this man Paul has won over and taken away a large crowd by telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all.

The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed into the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's fellow travelers from Macedonia.

Paul wanted to go into the crowd, but the disciples wouldn't let him.

When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples and encouraged them. Then he said goodbye to them and left to go to Macedonia.

On the first day of the week, when we had met to break bread, Paul began to address the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he went on speaking until midnight.

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.