Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



So all of the disciples decided they would send a contribution to the brothers living in Judea, as they were able, by sending it through Barnabas and Saul to the elders.

Then some men came down from Judea and started to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you can't be saved." 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. 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. read more.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done through them. But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses." So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim. After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days, God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts. So why do you test God by putting on the disciples' neck a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we could carry? 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. After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, "Brothers, listen to me: Simeon has explained how God first showed his concern for the gentiles by taking from among them a people for his name. This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written, ""After this, I will come back and set up David's fallen tent again. I will restore its ruined places and set it up again so that the rest of the people may search for the Lord, including all the gentiles who are called by my name,' declares the Lord. "He is the one who has been doing these things that have been known from long ago.' "Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God. Instead, we should write to them to keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from anything strangled, and from blood. After all, Moses has had people to proclaim him in every city for generations, and on every Sabbath his books are read aloud in the synagogues." 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. They wrote this letter for them to deliver: "From: The apostles and the elders, your brothers To: Their gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings. We have heard that some men, coming from us without instructions from us, have said things to trouble you and have unsettled you. So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas to tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any burden but these essential requirements: to keep away from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you avoid these things, you will do well. Goodbye." So the men were sent on their way and arrived in Antioch. They gathered the congregation together and delivered the letter. When the people read it, they were pleased with how the letter encouraged them. Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers. After staying there for some time, they were sent back with a greeting from the brothers to those who had sent them. 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. So the churches continued to be strengthened in the faith and to increase in numbers every day.

From Miletus he sent messengers to Ephesus to ask the elders of the church to meet with him. Verse ConceptsAttending Churchelders, in the churchOfficersChurch GovernmentChurch, Examples Ofeldersgoodbyes

Pay attention to yourselves and to the entire flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to be shepherds of God's church, which he acquired with his own blood. I know that when I'm gone, savage wolves will come among you and not spare the flock. Indeed, some of your own men will arise and distort the truth in order to lure the disciples into following them. read more.
So be alert! Remember that for three years, night and day, I never stopped tearfully warning each of you. "I'm now entrusting you to God and to the message of his grace, which is able to build you up and secure for you an inheritance among all who are sanctified.

The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. Verse Conceptselders, in the churchGoing To ChurchThe Elderlyelders

Elders who handle their duties well should be considered worthy of double compensation, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out grain," and, "A worker deserves his pay." Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported "by two or three witnesses."

The reason I left you in Crete was to complete what still needed to be done and to appoint elders in every city, as I myself commanded you. An elder must be blameless. He must be the husband of one wife and have children who are believers and who are not accused of having wild lifestyles or of being rebellious. Because an overseer is God's servant manager, he must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or irritable. He must not drink too much, be a violent person, or make money in shameful ways. read more.
Instead, he must be hospitable to strangers, must appreciate what is good, and be sensible, honest, moral, and self-controlled. He must be devoted to the trustworthy message that agrees with what we teach, so that he may be able to encourage others with healthy doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

Show 5 more verses
By faith our ancestors won approval. Verse ConceptsApprovalPeople Commended By God

Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will save the person who is sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.

Therefore, as a fellow elder, a witness of the Messiah's sufferings, and one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you: Be shepherds of God's flock that is among you, watching over it, not because you must but because you want to, and not greedily but eagerly, as God desires. Do not lord it over the people entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. read more.
Then, when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the victor's crown of glory that will never fade away. In a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because: "God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble."

From:aThe Elder To: The chosen lady and her children, whom I genuinely love, and not only I but also all who know the truth, Verse ConceptsElection, Description OfLove Exists Between PeopleKnowing God's TruthLove And RelationshipsLove And FamilyLoving Children

From: The Elder To: My dear friend Gaius, whom I genuinely love. Verse ConceptsAffection, GoodThose Who Loved

Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Verse ConceptsTwin Brotherszealotstaxes

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddeus, Simon the Cananaean, Verse ConceptsTwin Brotherszealots

When they came into the city, these men went to the upstairs room where they had been staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. Verse ConceptsStairwaysZealAndrewPrayer MeetingsUpper RoomsGuest Roomszealots

Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, Verse ConceptsResurrection Of Christ, AppearancesChrist Appearing

So when James, Cephas, and John (who were reputed to be leaders) recognized the grace that had been given me, they gave Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised. Verse ConceptsFellowship, In Christian ServiceFellowship, Among BelieversApostles, Function In Early ChurchGrace, And Christian LifePaul, Apostle To GentilesPillarsCompanionshipMissionary WorkMetaphorical PillarsBlessings For The Right HandThe Gospel To Jew And Gentilepartnership

But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord's brother. Verse ConceptsApostles, DescriptionChrist's Earthly FamilyThe Apostles In ActionHalf brothers

The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. Verse Conceptselders, in the churchGoing To ChurchThe Elderlyelders

Matthew, Thomas, James (the son of Alphaeus), Simon (who was called the Zealot), Verse ConceptsApostles, DescriptionJudaismTwin Brotherszealots

The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. Verse Conceptselders, in the churchGoing To ChurchThe Elderlyelders

After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, "Brothers, listen to me: Verse ConceptsPay Attention To People!

The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, Paul related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry.

When we had torn ourselves away from those brothers, we sailed straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. There we found a ship going across to Phoenicia, so we went aboard and sailed on. We came in sight of Cyprus, and leaving it on our left, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre because the ship was to unload its cargo there. read more.
So we located some disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit, they kept telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but when our time there came to an end, we left and proceeded on our journey. All of them accompanied us with their wives and children out of the city. We knelt on the beach, prayed, and said goodbye to each other. Then we reboarded the ship, and they went back home. When we completed our voyage from Tyre, we arrived at Ptolemais, greeted the brothers there, and stayed with them for one day. The next day, we left and came to Caesarea. We went to the home of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven, and stayed with him. He had four unmarried daughters who could prophesy. After we had been there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea. He came to us, took Paul's belt, and tied his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit says, "This is how the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt. Then they will hand him over to the gentiles.'" When we heard this, we and the people who lived there begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. At this Paul replied, "What do you mean by crying and breaking my heart? I'm ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die for the name of the Lord Jesus!" When he could not be persuaded otherwise, we remained silent except to say, "May the Lord's will be done." When our time there ended, we got ready to go up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us. They took us to the home of Mnason to be his guests. He was from Cyprus and had been an early disciple. When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers there welcomed us warmly. The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present.

The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, Paul related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry. When they heard about it, they praised God and told him, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous for the Law. read more.
But they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. What is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Take these men, go through the purification ceremony with them, and pay their expenses to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you are carefully observing and keeping the Law. 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." Then Paul took those men and the next day purified himself with them. Then he went into the Temple to announce the time when their days of purification would end and when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them.

When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers there welcomed us warmly. The next day, Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, Paul related one by one the things that God had done among the gentiles through his ministry. read more.
When they heard about it, they praised God and told him, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and all of them are zealous for the Law. But they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. What is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Take these men, go through the purification ceremony with them, and pay their expenses to shave their heads. Then everyone will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you are carefully observing and keeping the Law. 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."