Peter and John were still speaking to the people. The Jewish leaders came along quietly and listened to them. They heard Peter saying, "You had Jesus killed on the cross. But God has made him alive again." They became angry because Peter said, "Jesus has come alive again." One of them said, "He's saying that dead people can come alive again. We must stop him. We must not let him teach the people such things." The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John. They put them in prison.

The next day, Peter and John were brought before the Council. The Jewish leaders said to Peter and John, "How did you heal that man? By what power did you do it? Whose name did you use?"

Peter and John were full of the Holy Spirit. They were not afraid of the Jewish leaders. They remembered what Jesus had said to
them - "When you are brought before the Council, don't worry. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak."

Peter and John stood in front of the Jewish leaders. The man who was healed was with them. Peter said, "Leaders of the people, this man was healed by the power of Jesus' name. You had this same Jesus killed on the cross, but God has made him alive again. God sent Jesus to you to be your Saviour. But you didn't want him. He is the only one who can save you from your sins - no one else in this world can."

The Jewish leaders saw that Peter and John were not educated men. They were amazed that they had so much courage. However they soon realised that Peter and John had been with Jesus. They had to decide what to do with Peter and John, so they sent them outside. The man who was healed went out with them.

The Jewish leaders asked one another, "What shall we do with these two men?" And they said, "Everyone in Jerusalem knows that they have performed a miracle. We have seen the man who was healed.

We must stop them speaking to the people in Jesus' name."

So they called Peter and John to come back to the Council room. They told them, "You must never speak or teach in Jesus' name again. If you do it again, we'll punish you." Peter and John answered, "What do you think is right - to obey you or to obey God? We cannot stop telling people what we've seen and heard."

All the people were still praising God for healing the lame man. So the Jewish leaders did not put Peter and John in prison again. They decided to set them free. "You may go," they told Peter and John. "But don't you ever speak to anyone in Jesus' name again. If you do it again you'll be punished."

Peter and John returned to the house. They said to the believers, "The Jewish leaders told us, 'Don't you ever speak to anyone in Jesus' name. If you do it again, you'll be punished.' "

When the believers heard this, they knelt down and prayed, "Almighty God, we praise your name! You are the One who has made heaven and earth and sea, and everything in them. Lord, the Jewish leaders have told us not to speak in Jesus' name. They have threatened to punish us if we do it again. Give us the courage to speak your word. And Lord, we pray that the sick will be healed, and miracles and wonders performed in Jesus' name. Amen."

When they had finished praying, they felt the house shake, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They immediately went out and spoke the word of God boldly. The Apostles performed many miracles and wonders among the people. In Jesus' name, the sick were healed and evil spirits were driven out of people.

Many of the people living in the towns and villages near Jerusalem heard about this. They came to Jerusalem, bringing with them people who were sick. They also brought along those who had evil spirits. They were all healed in Jesus' name. Everyone was amazed.

Before Jesus returned to heaven he had said to his Apostles, "In my name you will perform miracles, and you will heal the sick and drive out evil spirits." Now all this was taking place. Jesus' words had come true.

The Jewish leaders saw the crowds going to the Apostles. They saw the Apostles performing miracles and wonders. They saw them healing the sick in Jesus' name. They did not like it at all, so they arrested the Apostles and put them in prison.

However the Apostles did not stay in prison for long. That night, an angel of the Lord appeared and said to them, "Follow me." He opened the prison doors and they followed him out. He said, "Go and tell the people the Good News - 'Jesus is the Messiah. He has died on the cross for your sins. If you are sorry for your sins, God will forgive you. He will give you new life.' "

The next day, the Apostles were going to be brought before the Council. Officials were sent to bring them to the Council room, but they returned without them. They told the Jewish leaders, "We don't know where those men are. When we went to the prison, we found the doors locked and the guards outside, but when we opened the doors, we couldn't find anyone in there."

The officials and all the other people in the Council room thought. "What has happened to those men?" Then someone came along and said, "I've just seen those men you put in prison yesterday. They are standing in the Temple, teaching the people." An officer and his men quickly went to the Temple and brought the Apostles to the Council room.

The Apostles stood before the Council. One of the Jewish leaders said angrily, "We told you not to teach in this man's name. But you did not obey us. You have been going all over Jerusalem, teaching the people in his name. You want to blame us for this man's death."

"We must obey God, not men," answered the Apostles boldly. "You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross, but God made him alive again. God has made him Leader and Saviour. God sent him to the people of Israel. He wants them to be sorry for their sins. He wants to forgive them."

When the Jewish leaders heard this, they were very angry. They wanted to kill the Apostles, but one of the leaders said to the officer, "Take these men outside." Then he turned to the other leaders and said, "It is better to leave these men alone. If they are doing what God wants them to do, you could find yourselves fighting against God." The Council listened carefully to this man. Then they decided to set the Apostles free.

They sent for the Apostles and had them whipped. Then they said to them, "You may go now, but don't you ever speak in Jesus' name again." The Apostles went out rejoicing. They remembered what Jesus had said to them - "Because of me, you'll be arrested. You'll be taken before the Council. You'll be whipped." They thanked God for letting them suffer for Jesus' name.

Every day the Apostles went to the Temple and taught the people. The Apostles taught them the Good News about Jesus, the Messiah. Sometimes they also went to the peoples' homes and taught them. More and more people believed and joined the group of believers. This group of believers became known as the church.

In the church was a believer named Stephen. He and six other men were chosen by the church to help the Apostles. They helped to give out food and money to the believers who were poor. Stephen was blessed by God. He was full of power, and he performed great miracles and wonders.

Some of the Jews did not like what Stephen said about the word of God. They arrested him and brought him before the Council. They made some men tell lies about him. These men said to the Council members, "This man is always saying bad things about our Temple and about the Law of Moses. He said, 'Jesus will destroy this Temple. He will change the customs which Moses gave us.' "

All the members of the Council looked at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel. One of the Jewish leaders asked Stephen, "Is this true?" Stephen answered, "Brothers and fathers, listen to me. You won't listen to what God is saying to you. You are always fighting against the Holy Spirit. Your fathers have always persecuted and killed the prophets. Now you have persecuted and killed Jesus. God gave you his Law but you did not obey it."

The Council members were very angry with Stephen when they heard this. Stephen, however, was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. He saw Jesus standing at the right-hand side of God. "Look!" he said. "I see heaven open, and Jesus standing at the right-hand side of God."

All the Council members covered their ears, shouted very loudly and rushed at Stephen. They dragged him out of the city and stoned him. Stephen knelt down. They kept on stoning him. He called out loudly, "Lord Jesus, take my spirit." Then he said, "Lord, forgive them for doing this." And he died.

Jesus had once said to his disciples, "One day people will kill you and they'll think they are serving God. I tell you this now so that when it happens, you'll remember that I told you."

Stephen was stoned to death. Immediately the church began to suffer terrible persecution. Believers, both men and women, were dragged from their homes. They were put in prison.

Jesus had once said to his disciples, "Men will hate you because of me. When they persecute you in one place, run away to another." Many of the believers immediately left Jerusalem. They went to live in other places. Wherever they went, they preached the Good News about Jesus, the Messiah. Many people believed and were baptised. Jesus had said, "The Good News will be preached - first in Jerusalem, then to all nations."

Philip was one of the believers who left Jerusalem. He and Stephen used to give out food and money to the poor believers.

Philip went to live in a big city in Samaria. He immediately started preaching there. Crowds came to listen to him. He spoke to the people about Jesus, the Messiah. The people saw him performing many miracles. They were amazed. Many lame people were healed, and evil spirits were driven out of people. So there was great joy in that city, and many people became believers and were baptised.

The Apostles in Jerusalem heard about what was happening in Samaria. They sent Peter and John there. When Peter and John arrived, they prayed for the new believers, and God gave the new believers the Holy Spirit. Peter and John preached the word of God. Then they returned to Jerusalem. On their way back to Jerusalem, they stopped at many villages in Samaria, and they preached the Good News there.

One day an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go to the road that leads from Jerusalem." Philip went there at once. Soon an important official came along in his carriage. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God. Now he was on his way home.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to that carriage. Stay close to it." Philip ran to the carriage. He stayed close to it. He heard the man reading the word of God loudly. He was reading about the Messiah. "Do you understand what you are reading?" asked Philip. "How can I?" answered the official. "I need someone to tell me what it's all about. Come up." Philip got into the carriage and sat next to him. He said to the official, "These words are telling you about the Messiah." Then he told the official the Good News about Jesus, the Messiah.

As they talked, the carriage went along slowly. They came to a place

where there was some water. The official said to Philip, "Look, here's some water. I want to be baptised." They stopped the carriage and went down into the water. Philip baptised the official. When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away.

The official returned to his carriage, and went home rejoicing. Philip found himself in another place. He went on, preaching the Good News in every town.