WEBVTT

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Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're

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taking this journey together to read the Bible

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in a year. Today's reading is from the book of

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Acts, chapters 6 and 7. Chapter 6 Now in those

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days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying,

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there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by

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the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected

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in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned

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the multitude of the disciples and said, It is

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not desirable that we should leave the word of

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God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek

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out from among you seven men of good reputation,

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full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may

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appoint over this business. But we will give

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ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry

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of the word. And the saying pleased the whole

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multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full

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of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus,

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Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicholas, a proselyte

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from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles,

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and when they had prayed, they laid hands on

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them. Then the word of God spread, and the number

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of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,

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and a great many of the priests were obedient

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to the faith. And Stephen, full of faith and

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power, did great wonders and signs among the

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people. Then there arose some from what is called

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the synagogue of the freedmen, Cyrenians, Alexandrians,

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and those from Cilicia and Asia, disputing with

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Stephen. And they were not able to resist the

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wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke. Then

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they secretly induced men to say, We have heard

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him speak blasphemous words against Moses and

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God. And they stirred up the people, the elders,

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and the scribes. And they came upon him, seized

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him, and brought him to the council. They also

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set up false witnesses who said, This man does

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not cease to speak blasphemous words against

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this holy place and the law. For we have heard

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them say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy

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this place and change the customs which Moses

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delivered to us. And all who sat in the council,

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looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the

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face of an angel. Chapter 7 Then the high priest

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said, Are these things so? And he said, brethren

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and fathers, listen. The God of glory appeared

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to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia

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before he dwelt in Haran and said to him, get

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out of your country and from your relatives and

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come to a land that I will show you. Then he

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came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt

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in Haran. And from there, when his father was

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dead, he moved him to this land in which you

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now dwell. And God gave him no inheritance in

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it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even

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when Abraham had no child, he promised to give

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it to him for a possession, and to his descendants

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after him. But God spoke in this way, that his

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descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and

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that they would bring them into bondage and oppress

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them for a hundred years. And the nation to whom

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they will be in bondage I will judge, said God.

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And after that they shall come out and serve

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me in this place. Then he gave him the covenant

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of circumcision. And so Abraham begot Isaac and

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circumcised him on the eighth day. And Isaac

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begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

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And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph

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into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered

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him out of all his troubles. And gave him favor

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and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of

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Egypt. And he made him governor over Egypt and

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all his house. Now famine and great trouble came

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over all the land of Egypt and Canaan. found

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no sustenance, but when Jacob heard that there

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was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first,

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and the second time Joseph was made known to

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his brothers, and Joseph's family became known

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to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his

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father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy

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-five people. So Jacob went down to Egypt, and

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he died, he and our fathers, and they were carried

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back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham

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bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor,

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the father of Shechem. But when the time of the

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promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham,

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the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, till

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another king arose who did not know Joseph. This

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man dealt treacherously with our people, and

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oppressed our forefathers, making them expose

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their babies, so that they might not live. At

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this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing

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to God, and he was brought up in his father's

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house for three months. But when he was set out,

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Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought

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him up as her own son. And Moses was learned

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in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty

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in words and deeds. Now when he was 40 years

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old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren,

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the children of Israel. And seeing one of them

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suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who

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was oppressed and struck down the Egyptian. For

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he supposed that his brethren would have understood

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that God would deliver them by his hand, but

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they did not understand. And the next day he

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appeared to two of them as they were fighting,

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and tried to reconcile them, saying, Men, you

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are brethren, why do you wrong one another? But

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he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away,

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saying, Who made you a ruler and a judge over

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us? Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian

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yesterday? Then at this saying Moses fled. and

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became a dweller in the land of Midian, where

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he had two sons. And when forty years had passed,

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an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame

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of fire in a bush in the wilderness of Mount

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Sinai. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the

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sight. And as he drew near to observe, the voice

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of the Lord came to him, saying, I am the God

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of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God

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of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses trembled

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and dared not look. Then the Lord said to him,

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Take your sandals off your feet, for the place

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where you stand is holy ground. I have surely

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seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt.

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I have heard their groaning and have come down

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to deliver them. And now come, I will send you

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to Egypt. This Moses whom they rejected, saying,

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Who made you a ruler and a judge? Is the one

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God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the

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hand of the angel who appeared to him in the

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bush? He brought them out after he had shown

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wonders and signs in the land of Egypt and in

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the Red Sea and in the wilderness forty years.

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This is that Moses who said to the children of

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Israel, The Lord your God will raise up for you

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a prophet like me from your brethren. Him you

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shall hear. This is he who was in the congregation

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in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to

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him on Mount Sinai. and with our fathers, the

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one who received the living oracles to give to

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us, whom our fathers would not obey but rejected.

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And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,

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saying to Aaron, Make us gods to go before us.

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As for this Moses, who brought us out of the

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land of Egypt, we do not know what has become

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of him. And they made a calf in those days, offered

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sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works

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of their own hands. Then God turned and gave

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them up to worship the host of heaven, as it

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is written in the book of the prophets. Did you

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offer me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during

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forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?

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You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and

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the star of your God, Rimfan, images which you

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made to worship, and I will carry you away beyond

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Babylon. Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness

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in the wilderness, as he appointed, instructing

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Moses to make it according to the pattern that

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he had seen, which our fathers, having received

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it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the

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land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove

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out before the face of our fathers until the

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days of David, who found favor before God and

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asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob.

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But Solomon built him a house. However, the Most

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High does not dwell in temples made with hands.

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As the Prophet says, Heaven is my throne and

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earth is my footstool. What house will you build

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for me, says the Lord? Or what is the place of

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my rest? Has my hand not made all these things?

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You stiff -necked and uncircumcised in heart

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and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit.

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As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the

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prophets did your fathers not persecute? And

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they killed those who foretold the coming of

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the Just One, of whom you now have become the

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betrayers and murderers, who have received the

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law by the direction of angels and have not kept

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it. When they heard these things, they were cut

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to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their

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teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit,

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gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God. And

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Jesus standing at the right hand of God and said,

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Look, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of

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Man standing at the right hand of God. Then they

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cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears,

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and ran at him with one accord. And they cast

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him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses

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laid down their clothes at the feet of a young

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man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he

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was calling on God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive

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my spirit. Then he knelt down and cried out with

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a loud voice, Lord, do not charge them with this

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sin. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

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I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as

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I did. And I look forward to seeing you again

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tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless

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you and have a great day.