Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading the book of Acts with Session 2, the summaries of chapters 3, 4, and 5.

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Acts

Session 2

Chapter 3. Refreshing

At the ninth hour on a given day, Peter and John go to the temple to pray:

• At the gate called Beautiful a lame man lays there begging alms;
• Peter says to the man: Look at us; So he looks up at them;
• Peter says they have no silver or gold;
• But what they do have they will give to him:
• He says to the man: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
• Stand up and walk; Peter takes his right hand, helps him up;
• Then, standing, his feet and legs suddenly change;
• Walking and leaping he enters the temple praising God;
• All the people around them are amazed at what they see;
• The man holds the disciples as they go out to Solomon’s porch;
• There, Peter addresses the crowd: Why are you amazed at this?
• We have no special power to heal this man by ourselves;
• The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob glorified His Son, Jesus,
• Whom you denied when Pilate was determined to release Him,
• And you insisted that he release a murderer to you,
• Then you killed the Prince of life whom God raised from death;
• It is through faith in His name this man can walk and is healed;
• Now I know that what you did was because of your ignorance,
• And of your leaders also, of things foretold by the prophets,
• Which have now been fulfilled here in your presence;
• Therefore, you should repent of your sins, and be changed,
• So that the presence of Jesus Christ may come back to you,
• And bring a new time of refreshing upon you;
• Moses had said the Lord would raise a Prophet among them,
• And everyone who heard Him must do what He says;
• But those who will not obey Him will be destroyed;
• All the prophets foretold the coming of these days;
• And the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed,
• That all families of the earth would be blessed,
• Beginning first with you in God sending Jesus to you,
• To turn you away from your sins.

Chapter 4. Cornerstone

While Peter is preaching to the people, the religious leaders are angry:

• They will not allow teaching the resurrection of Jesus;
• They take the two disciples into custody as night approaches;
• While Peter is preaching about 5,000 men become believers;
• The next day in Jerusalem, the disciples are surrounded;
• They are the center of attention of the religious leaders,
• Including the high priest and all of his family;
• They are asked who gave them the power to do miracles;
• Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to the accusers;
• He tells them the helpless man who is now made well,
• Stands before them healed in the name of Jesus Christ,
• The Man from Nazareth, whom they crucified,
• And whom God raised from the dead;
• The stone you builders rejected
• Has now become the chief cornerstone;
• There is no salvation under any other name, and
• No other name from heaven by which we must be saved;
• The crowd takes notice of the boldness of the disciples;
• And they know these men have been with Jesus;
• Looking at the man who is healed, they are speechless;
• Then the disciples are sent away from the council;
• So the religious leaders can confer among themselves:
• We see the miracle, but what do we do with these men?
• They decide they will severely threaten them;
• They tell them never to speak again in the name of Jesus;
• But Peter and John say they cannot agree to that:
• They must speak of the things they have seen and heard;
• Fearful of the people, the leaders cannot punish the men;
• So, they threaten them some more, and then let them go;
• The people are glorifying God because of the miracle;
• The man who is healed is over forty years of age;
• Released, the disciples return to their friends;
• And report all that has happened to them;
• There is great rejoicing, giving praises to God;
• And quoting their father David:
• ‘The people of the nations have plotted evil things;
• Rulers of the earth joined against the Lord and His Christ;’
• They ask the Lord to give them boldness to speak His word;
• And allow miracles to be done in the name of Jesus;
• They pray again and they are all filled with the Holy Spirit;
• The apostles give witness to the resurrection of the Lord;
• The believers put all their possessions together;
• They sell what they own, bring the money to the apostles;
• Anyone who has a need is supported;
• Barnabas, called Son of Encouragement, owns some land;
• He sells it and brings the money to the apostles.

Chapter 5. Miracles

A man and his wife sell some land they own, keep back part of the price:

• Ananias and Sapphira bring in part of the sales price;
• They lay it at the feet of the apostles;
• Peter, knowing the heart of Ananias, asks him a question:
• Why has he allowed Satan to take control of his heart,
• So that he would keep back part of the proceeds of his sale?
• He tells Ananias he has not lied to men, but to God;
• As soon as he hears these words, he falls down dead;
• The young men wrap his body, carry him out, bury him;
• Sapphira, not knowing what has happened, comes in later;
• Peter questions her about the land sale they have made;
• She lies about the price they received for the land;
• Peter asks her why she agreed to test the Spirit of the Lord;
• Then he tells her she will die like her husband has died;
• She falls down, dead, the young men bury her by her husband;
• Everyone who hears about this become very fearful;
• Through the apostles, many miracles are done in the church;
• Believers, both men and women, continue to come to the Lord;
• Sick people are laid out on the streets, hoping for a miracle;
• They hope the shadow of Peter passing by will heal them;
• The sick and tormented from surrounding cities are brought in;
• Everyone who comes to Jerusalem for healing is healed;
• The high priest and the Sadducees become angry with jealousy;
• They arrest the apostles and put them in prison;
• At night, an angel of the Lord opens the prison, lets them out;
• The angel tells them to go preach in the temple in the morning;
• The high priest, his people, and the council have a meeting;
• They want the apostles brought to them from the prison;
• Those who go to get them report the prison is sealed tight;
• The guards are there, but the apostles are not in the prison;
• Someone tells the council the apostles are in the temple;
• Politely, the council asks the apostles to come to them;
• The council does not wish to arouse the peoples’ anger;
• They remind the apostles of the order the council gave them:
• Not to invoke the name of Jesus in their preaching;
• Peter and the apostles say they must obey God, not men;
• God raised up Jesus to be the Savior of Israel and all men;
• The apostles are to be His witnesses for all these things;
• And to the Holy Spirit, given by God to those who obey Him;
• When the council hears these things they are furious;
• They begin making plans to kill the apostles;
• Gamaliel, a respected Pharisee, stands to speak to the council;
• First off, he asks that the apostles be moved outside;
• To the council he says they must be careful with these men;
• He reminds them of some men who came against them:
• Theudas and four hundred men with him were destroyed,
• Also a man named Judas, with some others, perished;
• Gamaliel cautions the council to leave these men alone;
• He says they should watch and see what happens:
• If these men are working on their own, they will fail;
• But if they are of God, they cannot be defeated;
• The council decides to beat the apostles and orders them:
• Not to speak in the name of Jesus, then they let them go;
• The apostles are rejoicing they could suffer for Jesus’s name;
• And they continue preaching Jesus as the Christ.

End of Session 2 of the book of Acts.