Study Desk

When God raised up His servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways."

then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to listen to you rather than God.

So the Council members threatened them further and let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.

When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!"

But Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.

God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God."

So the Twelve summoned all the disciples and said, "It is unacceptable for us to neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.

So the word of God continued to spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem grew rapidly, and a great number of priests became obedient to the faith.

Then they prompted some men to say, "We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

And Stephen declared: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God brought him out of that place, into this land where you are now living.

He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

God told him that his descendants would be foreigners in a strange land, and they would be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.

'But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,' God said, 'and afterward they will come forth and worship Me in this place.'