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Acts 12:1-19
/RSS FeedActs 12:1-19
1 About that time, King Herod reached out to harm some who belonged to the church.
2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3 And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
4 He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out to the people after the Passover.
The Rescue of Peter 5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was fervently praying to God for him.
6 On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison.
7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
8 “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9 So Peter followed him out, but he was unaware that what the angel was doing was real. He thought he was only seeing a vision.
10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12 And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
13 He knocked at the outer gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it.
14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that she forgot to open the gate, but ran inside and announced, “Peter is standing at the gate!”
15 “You are out of your mind,” they told her. But when she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astounded.
17 Peter motioned with his hand for silence, and he described how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. “Send word to James and to the brothers,” he said, and he left for another place.
18 At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter.
19 After Herod had searched for him unsuccessfully, he examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent some time there. -
Acts 9:31-43
/RSS FeedActs 9:31-43
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
32 As Peter traveled throughout the area, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.
33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and put away your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up,
35 and all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which is translated as Dorcas), who was always occupied with works of kindness and charity.
37 At that time, however, she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upper room.
38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there and sent two men to urge him, “Come to us without delay.”
39 So Peter got up and went with them. On his arrival, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood around him, weeping and showing him the tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
40 Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
41 Peter took her by the hand and helped her up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her to them alive.
42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
43 And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon. -
Acts 8:9-25
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9 Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great,
10 and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.”
11 They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
13 Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15 On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
16 For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.
19 “Give me this power as well,” he said, “so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter replied, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
21 You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
22 Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25 And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages. -
Acts 4:13-22
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13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.
15 So they ordered them to leave the Sanhedrin and then conferred together.
16 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.
17 But to keep this message from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
20 For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.
22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old. -
Acts 4:1-12
/RSS FeedActs 4:1-12
1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,
2 greatly disturbed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in custody until the next day.
4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
5 The next day the rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 along with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and many others from the high priest’s family.
7 They had Peter and John brought in and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people!
9 If we are being examined today about a kind service to a man who was lame, to determine how he was healed,
10 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.
11 This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’
12 Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” -
Acts 3:1-10
/RSS FeedActs 3:1-10
1 One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2 And a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those entering the temple courts.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.
4 Peter looked directly at him, as did John. “Look at us!” said Peter.
5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk! ”
7 Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.
8 He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God,
10 they recognized him as the man who used to sit begging at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. -
John 21:1-14
/RSS FeedJohn 21:1-14
1 Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.
5 So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered.
6 He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea.
8 The other disciples came ashore in the boat. They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.
9 When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
12 “Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish.
14 This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He was raised from the dead. -
John 11:38-44
/RSS FeedJohn 11:38-44
38 Jesus, once again deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.
39 “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”
40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.
42 I knew that You always hear Me, but I say this for the benefit of the people standing here, so they may believe that You sent Me.”
43 After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
44 The man who had been dead came out with his hands and feet bound in strips of linen, and his face wrapped in a cloth. “Unwrap him and let him go,” Jesus told them. -
John 9:13-34
/RSS FeedJohn 9:13-34
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them.
17 So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
18 The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents
19 and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”
20 His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind.
21 But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
23 That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
25 He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”
26 “What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”
27 He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”
30 “That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will.
32 Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”
34 They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out. -
John 9:1-12
/RSS FeedJohn 9:1-12
1 Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth,
2 and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.
4 While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
7 Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
8 At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12 “Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
