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  READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 12 Wednesday, September 7, 2022   CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 12 When Acts 12 opens, at least some of the apostles are in Jerusalem, and Barnabas and Saul are in Syrian Antioch, collecting support so the church in Jerusalem can survive the coming famine. (Acts 11:27-30. The church is established in Jerusalem and growing in the regions on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When the chapter closes, Barnabas and Saul are poised for their missionary trip in modern-day Asia Minor. Saul will take on the Greek version of his name, Paul and the story of Jesus will spread to Rome and beyond.    ( https://www.bibleref.com/Acts/12/Acts-chapter-12.html ) 1) Verses 1-10, Peter's Miraculous Escape from Prison, (Part 1) MRS. ELNORA 12  It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.   2  He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.   3  When he saw that this met with approval a

   READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 11 Wednesday, August 31, 2022   CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 11 Until Stephen’s death in Acts, Chapter 7 the story of Jesus’ followers remained mostly in Jerusalem. When Saul began his persecution of the church, they fled the area. As they left, they took Jesus’ story with them. Philip shared Jesus’ story with Samaritans and an Ethiopian official in Acts, Chapter 8. In Acts, Chapter 9 we saw how Saul’s persecution of the church led to his own conversion. Peter brought the gospel to a group of Gentiles in Acts 10.  Acts 11 continues the story of how the good news about Jesus came to the Gentiles and how the work of the apostle Paul begins. Hundreds of years before, the Jewish exiles in Babylon had managed to return to Jerusalem with their religion and cultural identity still intact. Over time several foreign rulers tried to destroy Judaism and all Jewish culture. They banned the observance of their religion and sacrificed unclean animals on their altar.

   READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 10 Wednesday, August 24, 2022   CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 10 Jesus told the disciples they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth in Acts, Chapter 1. Oddly, the disciples didn’t understand this meant the Holy Spirit would come upon Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles alike. After several years reaching Jews and proselytes in Jerusalem and Samaritans in Samaria, God calls Peter to bring the message to Gentiles. In upcoming chapters, we will see that Peter’s witness that Gentiles can be saved clears the way for Paul’s ministry to Gentiles in modern-day Turkey, Greece, and Italy.  1) Verses 1-8, Cornelius Calls for Peter, MS. DEBBIE 1 There was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout man and feared God along with his whole household. He did many charitable deeds for the Jewish people and always prayed to God. 3 About three in the afternoon he distinc

  READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 9 Wednesday, August 17, 2022   CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 9 The murder of the Jesus-follower Stephen is ignited by fierce persecution against the church, led by a young Pharisee-trained man named Saul (Acts 7:54-8:3;9:1-2). When he realizes Jesus truly is the Messiah, that fervor fuels his own evangelism (Acts 9:3-30). Meanwhile, Peter travels to the coast of Judea. Soon, he will teach a prominent Gentile household about Jesus and discover that Gentiles can be saved (Acts 10). The stage will be set for Saul to spread the saving news of Jesus to "the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8) under the Greek version of his name: Paul. 1) Verses 1-19, Paul's Conversion, MS. DEBBIE A cts 9: 1-19 - Saul’s Conversion 1 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he mi

   READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 8 Wednesday, August 10, 2022   CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 8 Acts 1:8 gives the outline of the book of Acts; Acts 1-7 describes the spread of the gospel through Jerusalem; Acts 8:1-11:18 shows the gospel spreading in Judea and Samaria; Acts 11:19-28 sees the gospel spread to the "end of the earth," finalizing in Rome. In Acts, Chapter 7 Stephen was stoned. he was one of the first martyrs and there were many more like him who were martyred in the years that followed. Ironically, although Paul is the central figure in spreading Jesus' good news to the ends of the earth, his early persecution of the church in Jerusalem is actually very instrumental in spreading the gospel through Judea and Samaria. 1) Verses 1-8, The Church Persecuted & Scattered and Philip in Samaria, MS. ELNORA 8  And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scatte