Sunday<\/p>\n
Acts 5:12\u00a0<\/sup>And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon\u2019s Porch. <\/span> 13\u00a0<\/sup>Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them<\/i> on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. <\/span> 16\u00a0<\/sup>Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.<\/span><\/p>\n 17\u00a0<\/sup>Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were<\/i> with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with [a<\/a>]<\/sup>indignation, <\/span> 18\u00a0<\/sup>and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison. <\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, <\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cGo, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 21\u00a0<\/sup>And when they heard that,<\/i> they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the [b<\/a>]<\/sup>council together, with all the [c<\/a>]<\/sup>elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer: Monday 26\u00a0<\/sup>Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned. <\/span> 27\u00a0<\/sup>And when they had brought them, they set them<\/i> before the council. And the high priest asked them, <\/span> 28\u00a0<\/sup>saying, \u201cDid we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man\u2019s blood on us!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 29\u00a0<\/sup>But Peter and the other<\/i> apostles answered and said: \u201cWe ought to obey God rather than men. <\/span> 30\u00a0<\/sup>The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. <\/span> 31\u00a0<\/sup>Him God has exalted to His right hand to be<\/i> Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. <\/span> 32\u00a0<\/sup>And we are His witnesses to these things, and so<\/i> also is<\/i> the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer: <\/p>\n Tuesday 40\u00a0<\/sup>And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them,<\/i> they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. <\/span> 41\u00a0<\/sup>So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for [j<\/a>]<\/sup>His name. <\/span> 42\u00a0<\/sup>And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as<\/i> the Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer: <\/p>\n Wednesday 5\u00a0<\/sup>And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.<\/span><\/p>\n 7\u00a0<\/sup>Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.<\/span><\/p>\n 8\u00a0<\/sup>And Stephen, full of [b<\/a>]<\/sup>faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. <\/span> 9\u00a0<\/sup>Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. <\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Then they secretly induced men to say, \u201cWe have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.\u201d <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him,<\/i> seized him, and brought him<\/i> to the council. <\/span> 13\u00a0<\/sup>They also set up false witnesses who said, \u201cThis man does not cease to speak [c<\/a>]<\/sup>blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.\u201d <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer:<\/p>\n Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. 2\u00a0<\/sup>And he said, \u201cBrethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, <\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>and said to him, \u2018Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. <\/span> 5\u00a0<\/sup>And God<\/i> gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough<\/i> to set his foot on. But even when Abraham<\/i> had no child, He promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him. <\/span> 6\u00a0<\/sup>But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them<\/i> four hundred years. <\/span> 7\u00a0<\/sup>\u2018And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will<\/span> judge,\u2019<\/span> said God, \u2018and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 8\u00a0<\/sup>Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham<\/i> begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot<\/i> Jacob, and Jacob begot<\/i> the twelve patriarchs.<\/span><\/p>\n 9\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cAnd the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him <\/span> 10\u00a0<\/sup>and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. <\/span> 11\u00a0<\/sup>Now a famine and great [a<\/a>]<\/sup>trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. <\/span> 12\u00a0<\/sup>But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. <\/span> 13\u00a0<\/sup>And the second time<\/i> Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph\u2019s family became known to the Pharaoh. <\/span> 14\u00a0<\/sup>Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him,<\/i> [b<\/a>]<\/sup>seventy-five people. <\/span> 15\u00a0<\/sup>So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. <\/span> 16\u00a0<\/sup>And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father<\/i> of Shechem.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer: Friday 23\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cNow when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. <\/span> 24\u00a0<\/sup>And seeing one of them<\/i> suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. <\/span> 25\u00a0<\/sup>For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. <\/span> 26\u00a0<\/sup>And the next day he appeared to two of<\/i> them as they were fighting, and tried to<\/i> reconcile them, saying, \u2018Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?\u2019 <\/span> 27\u00a0<\/sup>But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, \u2018Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?<\/span> <\/span> 28\u00a0<\/sup>Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 29\u00a0<\/sup>Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.<\/span><\/p>\n Prayer:<\/p>\n Christ is Risen from the dead trampling down death by death and those in the tombs bestowing life. 38\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThis is he who was in the [e<\/a>]<\/sup>congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with<\/i> our fathers, the one who received the living oracles[f<\/a>]<\/sup> to give to us, <\/span> 39\u00a0<\/sup>whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, <\/span> 40\u00a0<\/sup>saying to Aaron, \u2018Make us gods to go before us;<\/span> as for<\/i> this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.\u2019<\/span> <\/span> 41\u00a0<\/sup>And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. <\/span> 42\u00a0<\/sup>Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:<\/span><\/p>\n
\nWe adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.<\/p>\n
\nACts 5:22\u00a0<\/sup>But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, <\/span> 23\u00a0<\/sup>saying, \u201cIndeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing [d<\/a>]<\/sup>outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!\u201d <\/span> 24\u00a0<\/sup>Now when [e<\/a>]<\/sup>the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be. <\/span> 25\u00a0<\/sup>So one came and told them, [f<\/a>]<\/sup>saying, \u201cLook, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nLet the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight O Lord my strength and my redeemer<\/p>\n
\nActs 5:33\u00a0<\/sup>When they heard this,<\/i> they were furious[g<\/a>]<\/sup> and plotted to kill them. <\/span> 34\u00a0<\/sup>Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. <\/span> 35\u00a0<\/sup>And he said to them: \u201cMen of Israel, [h<\/a>]<\/sup>take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. <\/span> 36\u00a0<\/sup>For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, [i<\/a>]<\/sup>joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. <\/span> 37\u00a0<\/sup>After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census, and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. <\/span> 38\u00a0<\/sup>And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; <\/span> 39\u00a0<\/sup>but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it\u2014lest you even be found to fight against God.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nO Lord come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me.<\/p>\n
\nActs 6:Now in those days, when the number of<\/i> the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists,[a<\/a>]<\/sup> because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. <\/span> 2\u00a0<\/sup>Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, \u201cIt is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. <\/span> 3\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good<\/i> reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; <\/span> 4\u00a0<\/sup>but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThursday
\nActs 7:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Then the high priest said, \u201cAre these things so?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
\nHoly, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts, the whole earth is filled with Thy Glory.<\/p>\n
\nActs 7:17\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBut when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt <\/span> 18\u00a0<\/sup>till another king arose who did not know Joseph. <\/span> 19\u00a0<\/sup>This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live. <\/span> 20\u00a0<\/sup>At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father\u2019s house for three months. <\/span> 21\u00a0<\/sup>But when he was set out, Pharaoh\u2019s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. <\/span> 22\u00a0<\/sup>And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nSaturday
\nActs 7:37\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThis is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, \u2018The<\/span> Lord<\/span> your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren.<\/span> Him<\/span>[d<\/a>]<\/sup> you shall hear.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n