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Week 33 Acts 10 Day 1 READ Acts 10:5-6 5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.” An angel had appeared to Cornelius and told him his prayers and gifts had been received by God. Then the angel told Cornelius to send some men to Joppa and ask for Peter. His location was even specified. This reveals that God knows every detail about everyone. In the meantime, God needed to prepare

Week 34 Acts 10 Day 1 READ Acts 10:19-20 19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. 20 Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.” Peter was still confused about the meaning of all the animals sent down on a sheet and he was told to kill and eat them. The Holy Spirit directly spoke to him about visitors downstairs. Even though he would not

Week 35 Acts 10 Day 1 READ Acts 10:30-33 30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. 31 He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! 32 Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’

Week 36 Acts 10, 11 Day 1 READ Acts 10:44-46 44 Even as Peter was saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to the message. 45 The Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, too. 46 For they heard them speaking in other tongues and praising God. Peter was not through speaking when suddenly the Holy Spirit fell on the listeners. Peter’s Jewish friends, who had exper

Week 37 Acts 11 Day 1 READ Acts 11:11-12 11 “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. 12 The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. Peter continues to defend himself before the accusing believing Jews in Jerusalem. They didn’t understand how he could go into the home of a Gen

Week 38 Acts 11, 12 Day 1 READ Acts 11:22-24 22 When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord. The Jewish believers in Jerusalem were always concerned about spiritual activitie

Week 39 Acts 12 Day 1 READ Acts 12:4-5 4 Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. 5 But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. Herod wanted to make sure Peter could not escape. There had been the resurrection of Jesus and Peter’s previous escape so this time he had 16 guards watching over him. The Passover was not a tim

Week 40 Acts 12 Day 1 READ Acts 12:15-16 15 “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” 16 Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. Those fervently praying for Peter could not believe he was at the door. They thought the servant girl has lost her mind. He kept knocking and finally they opened the door. When they saw him “they were amazed.” This reveals even

Week 41 Acts 13 Day 1 READ Acts 13:1 1 Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. There were several Antiochs in the first century. This one was three hundred miles north of Jerusalem and located near the Mediterranean, and the third largest city in the Roman Empire. Only five people are singled out. Some were

Week 42 Acts 13 Day 1 READ Acts 13:9-10 9 Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Here are two names for the same person—“Saul, also known as Paul.” Some think he was given the new name after his conversion. Others think it was common for those

Week 43 Acts 13 Day 1 READ Acts 13:17-20 17 “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. 18 He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. After that, God gave them judges to rule until

Week 44 Acts 13 Day 1 READ Acts 13:32-33 32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’ Paul had told of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus plus His appearances to others. Now he tells the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles that he has Good

Week 45 Acts 13, 14 Day 1 READ Acts 13:44-45 44 The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. 45 But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. They had urged Paul and Barnabas to return the following week. By this time almost all the city was there to hear what they had to say. The leaders of Judaism, however, were jealous of the attention Paul

Week 46 Acts 14 Day 1 READ Acts 14:3-4 3 But the apostles stayed there a long time, preaching boldly about the grace of the Lord. And the Lord proved their message was true by giving them power to do miraculous signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the town were divided in their opinion about them. Some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. Even at Iconium the Jewish leaders stirred up opposition against Paul ad Barnabas, but the two missionaries stayed a

Week 47 Acts 14 Day 1 READ Acts 14:16-18 16 In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, 17 but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” 18 But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them. Paul and Barnabas were trying to keep the people from treating them as gods. They told them about

Week 48 Acts 15 Day 1 READ Acts 15:1-2 1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. As Paul and B

Week 49 Acts 15 Day 1 READ Acts 15:12 12 Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. The opponents of Paul and Barnabas were more courteous than most groups are today. If one does not agree with another the typical response today is not to allow that person or group to be heard. Paul and Barnabas did not brag about what they did for God but about the “signs and wonders God ha

Week 50 Acts 15 Day 1 READ Acts 15:23-27 23 This is the letter they took with them: “This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings! 24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! 25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved

Week 51 Acts 15, 16 Day 1 READ Acts 15:39-41 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there. Paul and Barnabas separated because they could not agree about taking along Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, as their helper. Barnabas and

Week 52 Acts 16 Day 1 READ Acts 16:11-12 11 We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days. Paul and his party quickly followed the Lord’s directions and eventually reached Philippi. As a Roman colony the people had the rights of the Romans. This figures prominent

Week 53 Acts 16 Day 1 READ Acts 16:20-21 20 “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. 21 “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” This is what happened after Paul cast out the demon from the slave girl who was earning money for her master. The Romans allowed idol worshipping but the people didn’t want to hear the message of salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely the master w

Week 54 Acts 16 Day 1 READ Acts 16:31-32 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” 32 And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. The Philippian jailer asked the question that determines one’s eternal destining, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer was the gospel in a nutshell: “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your ho

Week 55 Acts 17 Day 1 READ Acts 17:1-2 1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. Paul and Silas traveled on to Thessalonica. They sought out the Jews first to present Jesus as the Messiah. They were there about a month reasoning with

Week 56 Acts 17 Day 1 READ Acts 17:10 10 That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Driven out of Thessalonica did not keep Paul and Silas from witnessing about the resurrected Jesus. On arriving in Berea they went to the Jewish synagogue to talk about the Messiah. Persecution usually produces more boldness to witness than causing a drawing back. Those in the East and Middle East have experi