But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

"My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent!

And we are here to bring the Good News to you: what God promised our ancestors he would do, he has now done for us, who are their descendants, by raising Jesus to life. As it is written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.'

(SEE 13:32)

But Paul and Barnabas spoke out even more boldly: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we will leave you and go to the Gentiles.

For this is the commandment that the Lord has given us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, so that all the world may be saved.' "

He held discussions in the synagogue every Sabbath, trying to convince both Jews and Greeks.

When they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them, "If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

First in Damascus and in Jerusalem and then in the whole country of Israel and among the Gentiles, I preached that they must repent of their sins and turn to God and do the things that would show they had repented.

So they set a date with Paul, and a large number of them came that day to the place where Paul was staying. From morning till night he explained to them his message about the Kingdom of God, and he tried to convince them about Jesus by quoting from the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets.

So they left, disagreeing among themselves, after Paul had said this one thing: "How well the Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your ancestors!

because this people's minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.' "

These twelve men were sent out by Jesus with the following instructions: "Do not go to any Gentile territory or any Samaritan towns.

Instead, you are to go to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.

and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.

But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles.

And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel,

(SEE 7:5)

(SEE 7:5)

You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death---and we are witnesses to this.

For Moses said, 'The Lord your God will send you a prophet, just as he sent me, and he will be one of your own people. You are to obey everything that he tells you to do.

times of spiritual strength will come from the Lord, and he will send Jesus, who is the Messiah he has already chosen for you.

The promises of God through his prophets are for you, and you share in the covenant which God made with your ancestors. As he said to Abraham, 'Through your descendants I will bless all the people on earth.'

The land has produced its harvest; God, our God, has blessed us.

God has blessed us; may all people everywhere honor him.

May the king's name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun. May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

but the angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.

This very day in David's town your Savior was born---Christ the Lord!

When I come to you, I know that I shall come with a full measure of the blessing of Christ.

Abraham believed and was blessed; so all who believe are blessed as he was.

Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, "Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live."

But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, "Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse."

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope,

Do not pay back evil with evil or cursing with cursing; instead, pay back with a blessing, because a blessing is what God promised to give you when he called you.

The LORD says to his people, "I will come to Jerusalem to defend you and to save all of you that turn from your sins.

And I make a covenant with you: I have given you my power and my teachings to be yours forever, and from now on you are to obey me and teach your children and your descendants to obey me for all time to come."

Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will make an eternal covenant with them. I will never stop doing good things for them, and I will make them fear me with all their heart, so that they will never turn away from me.

I will purify them from the sins that they have committed against me, and I will forgive their sins and their rebellion.

Jerusalem will be a source of joy, honor, and pride to me; and every nation in the world will fear and tremble when they hear about the good things that I do for the people of Jerusalem and about the prosperity that I bring to the city."

I will give them a new heart and a new mind. I will take away their stubborn heart of stone and will give them an obedient heart.

Then they will keep my laws and faithfully obey all my commands. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.

I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.

I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful, so that you will not have any more famines.

She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus---because he will save his people from their sins."

He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water,

in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty---pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection.

For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people.

as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.

You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.

Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

To him who is able to keep you from falling and to bring you faultless and joyful before his glorious presence---