When Peter got back to Jerusalem some Jews were fighting with him because he went to people who weren’t the children of Israel and ate with them. So Peter told them all about what had happened, how he had been praying and saw the sheet come down from heaven with all the animals in it that they weren’t supposed to eat from the time of Moses.

Peter told them how God had told him not to say they were dirty anymore because Jesus had made them all clean. Peter told them how the men came from another city to get him, and how the Spirit told him to go and not be worrying about it, but trusting God.

Peter told them about the soldier who had sent for him because an angel came from heaven when he was praying and told him to send for Peter. Peter told them everything he told the people who were waiting in the soldiers house and he told them how the Holy Spirit from God fell on them while Peter was talking.

 

 

 

Peter said, Should I go against God and not do what God said?

When the ones fighting with Peter heard this, they were all very happy and thought about how great God is to bring all the countries of the world to share in God’s goodness and His heaven.

The hand of the Lord was with the followers and lots of people believed in the Lord. They went all around the country and world telling the people to hold on hard to Jesus with all their heart and thinking.

One of the followers saw from God that there wouldn’t be enough food in Jerusalem so the followers in other places around the world gathered money and food to send back to the followers in Jerusalem so they would have enough.

Then Herod the king over them, hurt some of the followers, and killed one named James, and put Peter in jail. Four soldiers were guarding Peter in the jail, but the other followers there were praying for him all the time.

 

 

 

Now Herod the king was going to bring Peter out and kill him the next day because it would make the bad ones of the children of Israel happy.

 

 

But the night before that happened an angel of the Lord came to Peter and his light filled the jail. Peter was sleeping there chained to a soldier on each side of him. The angel hit Peter on the side and lifted him up and said, Get up fast. And the chains fell off Peter’s hands.

 

 

 

The angel said, Get dressed and put on your sandals and throw your coat around you and follow me. So Peter did what the angel said, but he thought he was just dreaming.

As they walked to the gate it opened by itself and the went to the second and it opened by itself, they walked out into the street and the angel disappeared.

When Peter found himself standing there in the street he knew it wasn’t a dream and that God had sent an angel to get him out of jail and to keep him from being killed by Herod.

He went to the house where the followers were staying and knocked on the door of the gate and a girl came to see who was knocking. Peter told her who it was and she knew what his voice sounded like and she was so happy that she forgot to open the gate and let him in. She went and told the other people inside instead.

They said it wasn’t Peter but his angel. But Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door they were amazed to see it really was Peter standing there. Peter came inside and quieted them down and told how the Lord had got him out of the jail and then told them to go tell the other followers.

 

 

Then Peter left and went to another city so Herod couldn’t get him.

The soldiers were really upset when they couldn’t find Peter and they looked everywhere for him. Then Herod had the guards killed when they couldn’t find Peter. And Herod went to live in another city.

 

Later, Herod was all dressed up in his fancy king’s clothes and giving a speech to two other cities that he was upset with, the people were so amazed at his talking that they said, It is God talking.

 

 

 

 

Herod liked that and was getting puffed up about it.

 

 

 

 

But the angel of the Lord struck him then and worms ate him up and he died.

 

 

So he wasn’t able to stop the true words of God from going all around the world. The words from God kept on going and growing all around.

As the followers were sitting with the Lord and praying, the Holy Spirit said, Take Barnabas and Paul and send them to go around to the other countries to tell them about Jesus. So the followers took them and put their hands on them and prayed for them and sent them out to go to the other countries.

As they were in one city they were talking to one city leader about Jesus and another man there with bad powers (that pretended to be from God and doing good), tried to say that Paul was lying. Paul looked at him and said, O sneaky one, you are all full of the bad one. The hand of the Lord will be on you and make you blind for a while. When the leader saw the power of what Paul did he was amazed and believed in Jesus.

Then Paul and the men with him went to another city. On the rest day they went into the church house and they were loving God with the people there. When they were done the man leading them asked Paul, do you have any words from God for us.

Paul stood up and waved with his hand and said, You men who hold God up high, listen. The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers and lifted up the people when they lived in Egypt and brought them out. For 40 years He stayed with them in the wild lands even when they were treating Him bad.

Then the Lord took away the people from 7 countries and put his people in their land. He put leaders over them for 450 years until the time when Samuel was born. Then the people wanted to have a king over them like the other countries in the world so God gave them king Saul for 40 years.

Then the Lord put David to be king over His people because David wanted all God and His ways with all his heart and would only do what God wanted. From the children of this man, David, God gave the promised One to save us, Jesus.

John was sent in front of Jesus to get the hearts of the people ready. He said, One is coming after me who I am not good enough to even touch his shoes. The leaders killed Jesus but God made Him alive from death forever. This is the One who takes all your bad stuff away and gives you all His good stuff.

The people asked Paul to come back and tell them more about Jesus the next rest day. Paul told them to say close to God and keep in His love. The next rest day almost the whole city came to hear Paul but when the leaders saw how many people came they wanted the people to come to them instead; and so they said bad things about Paul to turn the people away from him so they wouldn't hear about Jesus and be saved.

Paul said, It is right that we told you children of Israel first about Jesus, but since you won’t hear it, we will go to the other countries of the world that aren’t children of Israel. Because God said, I make you a light for the whole world to bring them to Me to live forever.

 

The people threw Paul and the men with him out of their city and so they went away real happy in God and full of His Holy Spirit.

 

In another city called Iconium lots and lots of people believed in Jesus and were given the gift of the Holy Spirit to live inside them.

 

 

Bad ones came against them there too, and were getting ready to throw rocks at them to kill them, so they went to another city and told the good news there about Jesus.

A man was there whose legs and feet didn’t work ever in his life since he was born. When he heard Paul talking about Jesus, Paul saw that the man had faith to be healed so Paul said real loud, Stand up straight on your feet. The man jumped up and walked around.

When the people saw what Paul did, they brought flowers and stuff to celebrate and love and bow down to Paul and the men with him. Paul said, No, no, no! Why are you doing this? We are only men like you. Turn away from this stuff to the living God, the One who made heaven, and the world, and the sea and everything in them.

 

But He still gave them good rain and fruit and filled their hearts with gladness. God let the countries do what they wanted then, but now calls everyone to come back to Him.

Then bad ones came and said bad stuff against Paul so the people threw rocks at him until he was dead. But the other followers stood around Paul and he got up and they went to another city.

After they had told all the good stuff in that place they went back to the cities where they had been before and told the words again, making the ones who trusted in Jesus there very strong in Jesus. He told them to keep going and getting bigger faith by getting more words from God. He told them not to stop because bad stuff comes, but just keep with the Lord and keep going.

Paul and the followers with him picked leaders in each city and showed them the right stuff to do and then put their hearts in God’s hands and went back to the city that sent them out. There they told all the stuff that God had done everywhere they went and how He had kept them safe and made sure they had everything they needed and showed them how God had opened the door of faith to the other countries of the world so everyone everywhere could come to God and be well and happy forever.