83. The First Church

Acts 2:42-47

Jesus’ friends loved listening to the disciples’ teaching about Jesus. They loved meeting together. They loved eating bread together and remembering that Jesus’ body had been broken on the cross to rescue them. They loved praying together.

Because Jesus’ friends loved each other, they shared their things so that everyone had enough. They sold some of their things so that they could give money to people who didn’t have any.

Each day they would meet together near the temple in Jerusalem and sing praises to Jesus. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples power to do amazing things.

Everyone in Jerusalem heard about what was going on. The meetings got bigger and bigger as more and more people decided they wanted to live with Jesus as their king too.

84. Philip and the Ethiopian Acts 8:26-40

Philip was one of Jesus’ friends. He had to leave Jerusalem because the religious leaders there did not like people saying Jesus was the king.

One day an angel told Philip to walk along a particular road – so he did. There he saw a chariot. The man sitting in it was a very important person from a faraway country called Ethiopia. He was reading the words of God’s messenger Isaiah, about someone who would die like a lamb even though he did not deserve to be punished.

God’s Holy Spirit told Philip to go and talk to the Ethiopian – so he did.

“Do you understand what you are reading?”

Philip asked him.

“No,” said the man. “I am full of confusion about who Isaiah was talking about. Do you know?”

Philip did know! He told the Ethiopian that Isaiah was talking about Jesus. He explained that Jesus was God’s promise-keeping king who had died to rescue his people.

The Ethiopian wanted to live with Jesus as his King. He asked Philip to baptize him to show he was part of God’s people. Then the Ethiopian carried on home. Now he wasn’t full of confusion – now he was full of happiness.

85. The Road to Damascus Acts

9:1-20; 26:12-18

In Jerusalem lived a man named Paul who REALLY did not like Jesus and his friends. He wanted to stop anyone talking about Jesus.

One day Paul was on his way to the city of Damascus. His plan was to put all Jesus’ friends there in prison.

But as Paul walked along the road, suddenly a light brighter than the sun flashed around him. He fell to the ground. And a voice spoke: “Paul, Paul, why are you trying to harm me by hurting my friends?”

“Who are you?” said Paul.

“I am Jesus,” answered the voice. “I have chosen you to go and tell people all over the world about me. Now get up, go into Damascus, and wait.”

When Paul got up, he couldn’t see. He went to Damascus and waited.

In Damascus lived a friend of Jesus called Ananias. Jesus spoke to him in a vision: “Go and find Paul. Put your hand on him and I will make him see again.”

Ananias was very surprised, but obeyed Jesus. Paul’s eyes started working again, and he was baptized. Then the man who had wanted to stop anyone talking about Jesus started talking to everyone about Jesus!