M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
8 Saul agreed to Stephen being killed. At that time the church people at Jerusalem had much trouble. The church people all went into Judea and Samaria. Only the apostles stayed on at Jerusalem.
2 Good men buried Stephen. They were very sad because he died.
3 Saul made much trouble for the church people. He went into every house, pulled out men and women, and put them into prison.
4 The people who left Jerusalem went all around telling the good news about Jesus.
5 Then Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about Christ.
6 And all the people together listened to what Philip said because they heard and saw the big works which he did.
7 Many people who were held by bad spirits were made free from them. The spirits came out of them crying loudly. Many other sick people were healed too. People who could not stand, and others who were lame, were healed.
8 The people all over the city were very glad.
9 But there was one man named Simon, a witch-doctor, who fooled the people of Samaria. He tried to make people believe that he could do big things.
10 And all the people, young and old, listened to him. They said, `This man is a big power of God.'
11 He had fooled them for a long time with his work as a witch. That is why they listened to him.
12 But Philip came and told them about God's kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. The people believed him. Then both men and women were baptised.
13 Simon believed also. When he was baptised, he went with Philip. He was very much surprised when he saw the signs and the big works which were done.
14 Then the apostles at Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria believed God's word. So they sent Peter and John to them.
15 When they came to them, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.
16 Until that time, none of the people there had received the Holy Spirit. They had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus.
17 Then the apostles put their hands on the people and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 Simon saw that the people received the Holy Spirit when the apostles put their hands on them. Then he brought money to the apostles.
19 He said, `Give me this power, too, so that anyone on whom I put my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.'
20 Peter said, `May you and your money be destroyed! You thought that you could buy the gift of God with money.
21 You have no part in this matter. You cannot have any of this because God sees that your heart is not right.
22 Stop your wrong ways. Ask the Lord. Perhaps God will forgive you for the wrong things you wanted to do.
23 I see that you are very bitter. Your wrong ways control you all together.'
24 Simon said, `Ask the Lord for me, so that none of the things you have talked about will happen to me.'
25 The apostles told the people the word of the Lord. Then they went back to Jerusalem. On the way they told the good news in many villages in Samaria.
26 The angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. `Get up,' said the angel. `Go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. It is desert there.'
27 So Philip went. He saw a man from the country of Ethiopia. This man was a servant of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopian people. She gave this servant much power. He took care of her money. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
28 Now he was on his way back. He sat in his carriage reading from the book which was written long ago by Isaiah, the prophet of God.
29 The Spirit of the Lord said to Stephen, `Go over to that man in the carriage.'
30 So Philip went running to him. He heard him reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah. `Do you understand what you are reading?' Philip asked.
31 `How can I? I have no man to teach me,' he answered. He asked Philip to get into the carriage and ride with him.
32 This is what he was reading: `He was led as a sheep to be killed. A lamb says nothing while its wool is being cut, so he also says nothing.
33 He was put down very low. He was not allowed to have a proper trial. He had no children to follow after him. For his life is taken from the earth.'
34 Then the man from Ethiopia asked Philip, `Please tell me, who is the prophet talking about, himself or some other man?'
35 Then Philip told him about Jesus. He began with what the man read in the book.
36 While they were going along, they came to some water by the road. The man said, `See, here is water. What is there to stop me from being baptised?'
37 Philip answered, `If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptised.' The man said, `I do believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'
38 The man told the driver to stop. Then both he and Philip went down into the water, and Philip baptised him.
39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away. The man did not see him again, but he went on his way and was very happy.
40 Next, Philip came to the town of Azotus. He told the good news in all the cities through which he passed. Then he came to Caesarea.
3 Jesus went into the meeting house again. A man was there whose right hand was thin and weak.
2 The Pharisees watched Jesus to see if he would heal the man on the Sabbath day. They wanted to find something wrong about Jesus.
3 He spoke to the man whose hand was thin and weak. He said, `Stand here.'
4 Then he spoke to the Pharisees. He said, `Is it right to do good things on the Sabbath day or to do wrong things? Is it right to heal people so they will live, or to let them die?' But the Pharisees said nothing.
5 Jesus was angry as he looked at them. And he was sad that their hearts were so hard. Then he said to the man, `Hold out your hand.' The man did so, and it was made well like the other hand.
6 The Pharisees went out. Right away they and the servants of King Herod planned together how to kill Jesus.
8 Jesus and his disciples went away to the sea of Galilee. Many people went with Jesus. They came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and from the other side of the Jordan River. And many more people came also, a great many from around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. They also had heard about the great works that Jesus had done.
9 Jesus saw that the crowd was very big. He told the disciples to have a small boat ready for him so that he would have more room.
10 He did this because he healed many people. All who were sick tried to touch him.
11 When the bad spirits saw Jesus, they bowed down before him. They shouted, `You are God's Son!'
12 He told them they must not tell anyone who he was.
13 Then Jesus went up on the hill. He wanted some of the people to come with him. So he called them and they came.
14 He chose twelve disciples to stay with him. He wanted to send them out to other places to tell people God's word.
15 He gave them power to heal people and to drive bad spirits out of people.
16 One of the twelve was Simon, whom Jesus called Peter.
17 He also chose James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, whom he named Boanerges, which means "Men of Thunder."
19 He also chose Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon of Canan, and Judas Iscariot, the one who gave Jesus over to people who hated him. Then Jesus and his disciples went home.
20 So many people came again that they could not even eat.
21 When Jesus' family heard about this, they came to take him away. They said, `He is crazy.'
22 The scribes who came from Jerusalem also talked about Jesus. They said, `Beelzebub, the chief of bad spirits, is in this man. He drives out bad spirits by the help of Beelzebub.'
23 Jesus called the people and talked to them in stories. He asked, `How can Satan drive out Satan?
24 If one part of a country fights against another part of the country, that country cannot be strong.
25 If one part of a family fights against the other part of the family, it cannot stand.
26 If Satan fights against himself and the bad spirits fight against each other, he cannot stand. It will be the end of him.
27 If anyone wants to go into a strong man's house and steal his things, he must first tie the strong man. Then he can steal his things.
28 `I tell you the truth. All wrong things that people do and say about anyone will be forgiven.
29 But people who say wrong things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. A person who does that will be punished for ever.'
30 Jesus said all this because the scribes said, `A bad spirit is in him.'
31 Jesus' mother and brothers came to him. They stood outside. They sent someone to him.
32 Many people were sitting around him. They said, `See, your mother and your brothers are outside. They want you.'
33 Jesus asked them, `Who are my mother and my brothers?'
34 Then he looked at the people who sat around him. He said, `These people are my mother and my brothers!
35 Anyone who obeys God is my brother, my sister, and my mother.'
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