LESSON 75

PAUL AND SILAS IN BEREA

Acts 17:10-15 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁰ That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas to Berea. When they arrived there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. ¹¹ And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. ¹² As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

¹³ But when some Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God in Berea, they went there and stirred up trouble. ¹⁴ The believers acted at once, sending Paul on to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. ¹⁵ Those escorting Paul went with him all the way to Athens; then they returned to Berea with instructions for Silas and Timothy to hurry and join him.

1.   PAUL AND SILAS SENT TO BEREA V. 10

Ø  WENT TO JEWISH SYNAGOGUE

2.   BEREANS MORE OPEN MINDED V. 11

Ø  LISTENED AND SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES

3.   RESULT: MANY JEWS AND PROMINENT GREEK MEN & WOMEN V. 12

4.   JEWS FROM THESSALONICA STIRRED UP TROUBLE V. 13

5.   BELIEVERS ACTED AT ONCE V. 14

6.   PAUL ESCORTED TO ATHENS; SILAS AND TIMOTHY TO HURRY AND JOIN HIM V.15

WHEN TROUBLE COMES, STAY AHEAD OF IT!

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LESSON 74

PAUL AND SILAS IN THESSALONICA

Acts 17:1-9 New Living Translation (NLT)

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica

17 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. ² As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. ³ He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” ⁴ Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.^[a]

⁵ But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.^[b] 6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers^[c] instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. ⁷ And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

⁸ The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. ⁹ So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

1.   THESSALONICA V. 1

2.   PAUL’S CUSTOM V. 2

3.   THIS JESUS V. 3b

4.   SOME BELIEVED V. 4

5.   SOME WERE JEALOUS V. 5-7

6.   CITY THROWN INTO A TURMOIL V. 8

7.   JASON AND OTHER BELIEVERS POSTED BOND V. 9

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LESSON 73

PAUL AND SILAS SET FREE

Acts 16:35-40 New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁵ The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” ³⁶ So the jailer told Paul, “The city officials have said you and Silas are free to leave. Go in peace.”

³⁷ But Paul replied, “They have publicly beaten us without a trial and put us in prison—and we are Roman citizens. So now they want us to leave secretly? Certainly not! Let them come themselves to release us!”

³⁸ When the police reported this, the city officials were alarmed to learn that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. ³⁹ So they came to the jail and apologized to them. Then they brought them out and begged them to leave the city. ⁴⁰ When Paul and Silas left the prison, they returned to the home of Lydia. There they met with the believers and encouraged them once more. Then they left town.

1.   LET GO V. 35-36

2.   PAUL REPLIED … WE ARE ROMAN CITIZENS V. 37

3.   CITY OFFICIALS ALARMED V. 38-39

4.   RETURNED TO LYDIA’S HOUSE V. 40a

5.   THEN THEY LEFT TOWN V. 40b

WITH GOD WE WIN AND HAVE GREAT FREEDOM.

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LESSON 72

PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON

Acts 16:16-34New Living Translation (NLT)

¹⁶ One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters by telling fortunes. ¹⁷ She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” ¹⁸ This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. ¹⁹ Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. ²⁰ “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. ²¹ “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” ²² A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. ²³ They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. ²⁴ So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. ²⁵ Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. ²⁶ Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! ²⁷ The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. ²⁸ But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” ²⁹ The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” ³² And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. ³³ Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. ³⁴ He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.

1. THE SLAVE GIRL V. 16-18
2. HER MASTERS REACTION V. 19-24
3. GOD’S INTERVENTION V. 25-26
4. THE RESPONSE TO GOD’S INTERVENTION V. 27-34
   GOOD CAN’T COME FROM EVIL BUT EVIL CAN BE TURNED TO GOOD.

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LESSON 71

LYDIA ACCEPTS CHRIST

Acts 16:13-15 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. ¹⁴ One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. ¹⁵ She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

1.   HOLY GHOST DIRECTIONS TO THE RIVERBANK V. 13

2.   PROCESS OF INTRODUCING CHRIST V. 13b

3.   ABOUT LYDIA AND HER ACCEPTANCE OF CHRIST V. 14

4.   HER CHANGE AND HER CHALLENGE V. 15

CAREFULNESS AND COMPASSION MUST BE USED TO LEAD PEOPLE TO CHRIST.

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