Study Desk

And so God chose his Servant and sent him to you first, to bless you by making every one of you turn away from your wicked ways."

then you should all know, and all the people of Israel should know, that this man stands here before you completely well through the power of the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth—whom you crucified and whom God raised from death.

Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."

But Peter and John answered them, "You yourselves judge which is right in God's sight—to obey you or to obey God.

So the Council warned them even more strongly and then set them free. They saw that it was impossible to punish them, because the people were all praising God for what had happened.

When the believers heard it, they all joined together in prayer to God: "Master and Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them!

With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God poured rich blessings on them all.

Before you sold the property, it belonged to you; and after you sold it, the money was yours. Why, then, did you decide to do such a thing? You have not lied to people—you have lied to God!"

Peter and the other apostles answered, "We must obey God, not men.

The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.

God raised him to his right side as Leader and Savior, to give the people of Israel the opportunity to repent and have their sins forgiven.

but if it comes from God, you cannot possibly defeat them. You could find yourselves fighting against God!" The Council followed Gamaliel's advice.

As the apostles left the Council, they were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of Jesus.

And so the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew larger and larger, and a great number of priests accepted the faith.

Stephen, a man richly blessed by God and full of power, performed great miracles and wonders among the people.

So they bribed some men to say, "We heard him speaking against Moses and against God!"

Stephen answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! Before our ancestor Abraham had gone to live in Haran, the God of glory appeared to him in Mesopotamia

And so he left his country and went to live in Haran. After Abraham's father died, God made him move to this land where you now live.

God did not then give Abraham any part of it as his own, not even a square foot of ground, but God promised to give it to him, and that it would belong to him and to his descendants. At the time God made this promise, Abraham had no children.

This is what God said to him: ‘Your descendants will live in a foreign country, where they will be slaves and will be badly treated for four hundred years.