Study Desk

The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them.

But Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than any human authority.

But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while.

Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing.

After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

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

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia.

"But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet.

‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,' God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.'

"These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him

"But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food.

But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph.

Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn't.

"But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?' he asked.

"But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt.

But it was Solomon who actually built it.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand.

But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.

But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.