Thematic Bible: Effective


Thematic Bible



He lost no time in preaching throughout the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God ??21 to the amazement of all his hearers, who said, "Is this not the man who in Jerusalem harried those who invoke this Name, the man who came here for the express purpose of carrying them all in chains to the high priests?" Verse ConceptsHeraldSonsSaid To Be The Christempowerment

So Paul stood up and motioning with his hand said, "Listen, men of Israel and you who reverence God. The God of this People Israel chose our fathers; he multiplied the people as they sojourned in the land of Egypt and with arm uplifted led them out of it. For about forty years he bore with them in the desert, read more.
and after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan he gave them their land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty years. After that he gave them judges, down to the prophet Samuel. Then it was that they begged for a king, and God gave them forty years of Saul, the son of Kish, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. After deposing him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom he bore this testimony that 'In David, the son of Jessai, I have found a man after my own heart, who will obey all my will.' From his offspring God brought to Israel, as he had promised, a saviour in Jesus, before whose coming John had already preached a baptism of repentance for all the people of Israel. And as John was closing his career he said, 'What do you take me for? I am not He; no, he is coming after me, and I am not fit to untie the sandals on his feet!' Brothers, sons of Abraham's race and all among you who reverence God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us. The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, by condemning him in their ignorance, fulfilled the words of the prophets which are read every sabbath; though they could find him guilty of no crime that deserved death, they begged Pilate to have him put to death, and, after carrying out all that had been predicted of him in scripture, they lowered him from the gibbet and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. For many days he was seen by those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem; they are now his witnesses to the People. So we now preach to you the glad news that the promise made to the fathers has been fulfilled by God for us their children, when he raised Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm, thou art my son, to-day have I become thy father. And as a proof that he has raised him from the dead, never to return to decay, he has said this: I will give you the holiness of David that fails not. Hence in another psalm he says, thou wilt not let thy holy One suffer decay. Of course David, after serving God's purpose in his own generation, died and was laid beside his fathers; he suffered decay, but He whom God raised did not suffer decay. So you must understand, my brothers, that remission of sins is proclaimed to you through him, and that by him everyone who believes is absolved from all that the law of Moses never could absolve you from. Beware then in case the prophetic saying applies to you: Look, you disdainful folk, wonder at this and perish for in your days I do a deed, a deed you will never believe, not though one were to explain it to you." As Paul and Barnabas went out, the people begged to have all this repeated to them on the following sabbath. After the synagogue broke up, a number of the Jews and the devout proselytes followed them; Paul and Barnabas talked to them and encouraged them to hold by the grace of God.

So he got up and went on his way. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official of Candace the queen of the Ethiopians (he was her chief treasurer), who had come to Jerusalem for worship and was on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join that chariot." read more.
When Philip ran up, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. "Do you really understand what you are reading?" he asked. "Why, how can I possibly understand it," said the eunuch, "unless some one puts me on the right track?" And he begged Philip to get up and sit beside him. Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was as follows: ??he was led like a sheep to be slaughtered, and as a lamb is dumb before the shearer, so he opens not his lips. By humbling himself he had his doom removed. Who can tell his family? For his life is cut off from the earth. So the eunuch said to Philip, "Pray, who is the prophet speaking about? Is it himself or someone else?" Then Philip opened his lips, and starting from this scripture preached the gospel of Jesus to him. As they travelled on, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Here is water! What is to prevent me being baptized?" -- So he ordered the chariot to stop. Both of them stepped into the water, and Philip baptized the eunuch.

Philip travelled down to a town in Samaria, where he preached Christ to the people. And the crowds attended like one man to what was said by Philip, listening to him and watching the miracles he performed. For unclean spirits came screaming and shrieking out of many who had been possessed, and many paralytics and lame people were healed. read more.
So there was great rejoicing in that town. Now for some time previous a man called Simon had been practising magic arts in the town, to the utter astonishment of the Samaritan nation; he made himself out to be a great person, and all sorts and conditions of people attached themselves to him, declaring he was that Power of God which is known as 'the Great Power.' They attached themselves to him because he had dazzled them with his skill in magic for a considerable time. But when they believed Philip, who preached the gospel of the Reign of God and the name of Jesus, they had themselves baptized, both men and women;


But Peter stood up along with the eleven, and raising his voice he addressed them thus: "Men of Judaea and residents in Jerusalem, let everyone of you understand this ??attend to what I say: these men are not drunk, as you imagine. Why, it is only nine in the morning! No, this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel ??17 In the last days, saith God, then will I pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams: read more.
on my very slaves and slave-girls in those days will I pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And I will display wonders in heaven above and signs on earth below, blood and fire and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be changed into darkness and the moon into blood, ere the great, open Day of the Lord arrives. And everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men of Israel, listen to my words. Jesus the Nazarene, a man accredited to you by God through miracles, wonders, and signs which God performed by him among you (as you yourselves know), this Jesus, betrayed in the predestined course of God's deliberate purpose, you got wicked men to nail to the cross and murder; but God raised him by checking the pangs of death. Death could not hold him. For David says of him, I saw the Lord before me evermore; lest I be shaken, he is at my right hand. My heart is glad, my tongue exults, my very flesh will rest in hope, because thou wilt not forsake my soul in the grave, nor let thy holy one suffer decay. Thou hast made known to me the paths of life, thou wilt fill me with delight in thy presence. Brothers, I can speak quite plainly to you about the patriarch David; he died and was buried and his tomb remains with us to this day. (He was a prophet; he knew God had sworn an oath to him that he would seat one of his descendants on his throne; so he spoke with a prevision of the resurrection of the Christ, when he said that he was not forsaken in the grave nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus God raised, as we can all bear witness. Uplifted then by God's right hand, and receiving from the Father the long-promised holy Spirit, he has poured on us what you now see and hear.) For it was not David who ascended to heaven; David says, The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies a footstool for your feet'. So let all the house of Israel understand beyond a doubt that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus whom you have crucified." When they heard this, it went straight to their hearts; they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what are we to do?" "Repent," said Peter, "let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; then you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is meant for you and for your children and for all who are far off, for anyone whom the Lord our God may call to himself." And with many another appeal he urged and entreated them. "Save yourselves," he cried, "from this crooked generation!" So those who accepted what he said were baptized; about three thousand souls were brought in, that day.