Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from the book of
Acts, chapters 16 through 18. Chapter 16 Then
he came to Derbe and Lystra, and behold, a certain
disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of
a certain Jewish woman, who believed, but his
father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the
brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul
wanted to have him go on with him, and he took
him and circumcised him because of the Jews who
were in that region, for they all knew that his
father was Greek. And as they went through the
cities, they delivered to them the decrees to
keep, which were determined by the apostles and
elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened
in the faith and increased in number daily. Now
when they had gone through Phrygia and the region
of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit
to preach the word in Asia. After they had come
to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but
the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by
Mysia, they came down to Troas. And a vision
appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia
stood and pleaded with him, saying, Come over
to Macedonia and help us. Now after he had seen
the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia,
concluding that the Lord had called us to preach
the gospel to them. Therefore, sailing from Troas,
we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the
next day came to Neapolis, and from there to
Philippi, which is the foremost city of that
part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying
in that city for some days. And on a Sabbath
day, we went out of the city to the riverside,
where prayer was customarily made. And we sat
down and spoke to the women who met there. Now
a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was
a seller of purple from the city of Teatera.
who worshipped God. The Lord opened her heart
to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she
and her household were baptized, she begged us,
saying, If you have judged me to be faithful
to the Lord, come to my house and stay. So she
persuaded us. Now it happened, as we went to
prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with
a spirit of divination met us, who brought her
masters much profit by fortune -telling. This
girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying,
These men are the servants of the Most High God,
who proclaim to us the way of salvation. And
this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly
annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command
you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her. And he came out that very hour. But when
her masters saw that their hope of profit was
gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged
them into the marketplace. to the authorities.
And they brought them to the magistrates and
said, These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble
our city, and they teach customs which are not
lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.
Then the multitude rose up together against them,
and the magistrates tore off their clothes and
commanded them to be beaten with rods. And when
they had laid many strips on them, they threw
them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep
them securely. Having received such a charge,
he put them into the inner prison and fastened
their feet in the stocks. But at midnight, Paul
and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,
and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly,
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken, and immediately all
the doors were opened and everyone's chains were
loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking
from sleep and seeing the prison doors open,
supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword
and was about to kill himself. But Paul called
with a loud voice saying, Do yourself no harm,
for we are all here. Then he called for a light,
ran in and fell down trembling before Paul and
Silas. And he brought them out and said, Sirs,
what must I do to be saved? So they said, Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,
you and your household. Then they spoke the word
of the Lord to him and to all who were in his
house. And he took them the same hour of the
night and washed their stripes. And immediately
he and all his family were baptized. Now when
he had brought them into his house, he set food
before them, and he rejoiced, having believed
in God with all his household. And when it was
day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying,
Let those men go. So the keeper of the prison
reported these words to Paul, saying, The magistrates
have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart
and go in peace. But Paul said to them, They
have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans, and
have thrown us into prison. And now do they put
us out secretly? No, indeed. Let them come themselves
and get us out. And the officers told these words
to the magistrates, and they were afraid when
they heard that they were Romans. Then they came
and pleaded with them and brought them out and
asked them to depart from the city. So they went
out of the prison and entered the house of Lydia.
and when they had seen the brethren they encouraged
them and departed chapter seventeen now when
they had passed through amphipolis and apollonia
they came to thessalonica where there was a synagogue
of the jews then paul as his custom was went
into them and for three Sabbaths reasoned with
them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating
that the Christ had to suffer and rise again
from the dead, and are saying, This Jesus, whom
I preach to you, is the Christ. And some of them
were persuaded, and a great multitude of the
devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women,
joined Paul and Silas. But the Jews who were
not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of
the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering
a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked
the house of Jason, and sought to bring them
out to the people. But when they did not find
them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to
the rulers of the city, crying out, These who
have turned the world upside down have come here
too. Jason has harbored them, and these are all
acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying
there is another king. Jesus. And they troubled
the crowd and the rulers of the city when they
heard these things. So when they had taken security
from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Then
the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas
away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they
went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were
more fair -minded than those in Thessalonica,
in that they received the word with all readiness
and searched the scriptures daily to find out
whether these things were so. Therefore many
of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks,
prominent women as well as men. But when the
Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word
of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came
there also and stirred up the crowds. Then immediately
the brethren sent Paul away to go to the sea.
But both Silas and Timothy remained there. So
those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens,
and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy
to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his
spirit was provoked within him when he saw that
the city was given over to idols. Therefore he
reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with
the Gentile worshippers, and in the marketplace
daily with those who happened to be there. Then
certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered
him, and some said, What does this babbler want
to say? Others said, He seems to be a proclaimer
of foreign gods, because he preached to them
Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him
and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May
we know what this new doctrine is of which you
speak, for you are bringing some strange things
to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these
things mean. For all the Athenians and the foreigners
who were there spent their time in nothing else
but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus
and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all
things you are very religious. For as I was passing
through and considering the objects of your worship,
I even found an altar with this inscription.
And he has made from one blood every nation of
men to dwell on all the face of the earth. and
has determined their pre -appointed times and
the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they
should seek the Lord in the hope that they might
grope for him and find him, though he is not
far from each one of us. For in him we live and
move and have our being, as also some of your
own poets have said, for we are also his offspring.
Therefore, since we are the offspring of God,
we ought not to think that the divine nature
is like gold or silver or stone. something shaped
by art and man's devising. Truly, these times
of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands
all men everywhere to repent, because he has
appointed a day on which he will judge the world
in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained.
He has given assurance of this to all by raising
him from the dead. And when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some mocked while others
said, We will hear you again on this matter.
So Paul departed from among them. However, some
men joined him and believed. Among them Dionysius
the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others
with them. After these things, Paul departed
from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found
a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who
had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to
depart from Rome. And he came to them. So because
he was of the same trade, he stayed with them
and worked, for by occupation they were tent
makers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every
Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. When
Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul
was compelled by the Spirit and testified to
the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they
opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments
and said to them, Your blood be upon your own
heads, I am clean. From now on I will go to the
Gentiles. He departed from there and entered
the house of a certain man named Justus, one
who worshipped God, whose house was next door
to the synagogue. Then Crispus, the ruler of
the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all
his household, and many of the Corinthians, hearing,
believed and were baptized. Now the Lord spoke
to Paul in the night by vision. Do not be afraid,
but speak, and do not keep silent. For I am with
you, and no one will attack you to hurt you,
for I have many people in this city. And he continued
there a year and six months, teaching the word
of God among them. When Galio was proconsul of
Achaia, the Jews, with one accord, rose up against
Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, saying,
This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary
to the law. And when Paul was about to open his
mouth, Galio said to the Jews, If it were a matter
of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, O Jews, there
would be reason why I should bear with you. But
if it is a question of words and names and your
own law, look to it yourselves, for I do not
want to be a judge of such matters. And he drove
them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks
took Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and
beat him before the judgment seat. But Galio
took no notice of these things. So Paul still
remained a good while. Then he took leave of
the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla
and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut
off at Sincrea, for he had taken a vow, and he
came to Ephesus and left them there. But he himself
entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
When they asked him to stay a longer time with
them, he did not consent, but took leave of them,
saying, I must by all means keep this coming
feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to
you. God willing, and he sailed from Ephesus.
And when he had landed at Caesarea and gone up
and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
After he had spent some time there, he departed
and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia
in order, strengthening all the disciples. Now
a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria,
an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures,
came to Ephesus. This man had been instructed
in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in
spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things
of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism
of John. So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took
him aside and explained to him the way of God,
more accurately. And when he desired to cross
to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the
disciples to receive him. And when he arrived,
he greatly helped those who had believed through
grace, for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly,
showing from the scriptures that Jesus is the
Christ. I hope you enjoyed today's reading as
much as I did. And I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey. God
bless you and have a great day.