Gary Gleans

  Acts 7:1-8 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?”   2  And Stephen said: “Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,   3  and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’   4  Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.   5  Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.   6  And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.   7  ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’   8  And he gave him the co

  Acts 6:8-15 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people.   9  Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen.   10  But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.   11  Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”   12  And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council,   13  and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law,   14  for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”   15  And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was

  Acts 6:1-7 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.     So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.     Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them   and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.   They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.   So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number

  Acts 5:17-42 17  But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy   18  they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.   19  But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,   20  “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”   21  And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach. Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.   22  But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported,   23  “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”   24  Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly