Study Desk

So I tell you, you are Peter. And I will build my church on this rock. The power of death will not be able to defeat my church.

If they refuse to listen to them, tell the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would treat someone who does not know God or who is a tax collector.

The whole church and all the other people who heard about this were filled with fear.

Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was a good thing. Some godly men buried Stephen and cried loudly for him. On that day the Jews began to persecute the church in Jerusalem, making them suffer very much. Saul was also trying to destroy the group. He went into their houses, dragged out men and women, and put them in jail. All the believers left Jerusalem. Only the apostles stayed. The believers went to different places in Judea and Samaria.

The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, these groups of believers became stronger in faith and showed their respect for the Lord by the way they lived. So the church everywhere grew in numbers.

When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.

When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They stayed there a whole year. Every time the church came together, Barnabas and Saul met with them and taught many people. It was in Antioch that the followers of the Lord Jesus were called "Christ-followers" for the first time.

During this same time, King Herod began to do harm to some of those who were part of the church.

So Peter was kept in jail, but the church was constantly praying to God for him.

In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with King Herod), and Saul.

So the church fasted and prayed. They laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.

They also chose elders for each church and stopped eating for a period of time to pray for them. These elders were men who had put their trust in the Lord Jesus, so Paul and Barnabas put them in his care.

When Paul and Barnabas arrived, they gathered the church together. They told them everything God had used them to do. They said, "God opened a door for the non-Jewish people to believe!"

The church helped them get ready to leave on their trip. The men went through the countries of Phoenicia and Samaria, where they told all about how the non-Jewish people had turned to the true God. This made all the believers very happy.

When the men arrived in Jerusalem, the apostles, the elders, and the whole church welcomed them. Paul, Barnabas, and the others told about all that God had done with them.

The apostles, the elders, and the whole church wanted to send some men with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. The group decided to choose some of their own men. They chose Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were respected by the believers.

When Paul arrived at Caesarea, he went to Jerusalem and visited the church there. After that he went to Antioch.

In Miletus Paul sent a message back to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church in Ephesus to come to him.

Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for this flock. You must be shepherds to the church of God, the people he bought with his own blood.

I want you to know that you can trust our sister in Christ, Phoebe. She is a special servant of the church in Cenchrea.