remem.me

"This is the story of Joseph. God had told Abraham that he would have a large family, and Abraham had a grandson named Jacob, who had many sons and daughters. One of his sons, Joseph, was the second youngest and also Jacob's favorite, which made his brothers very angry. To make things worse, Joseph had a dream one day where his family was bowing down before him, and when he told his brothers, they became even more furious and began to devise a plan to get rid of him.

One day, while they were out together, some slave traders passed by. Joseph's brothers took him and sold him into slavery. Joseph was taken to Egypt, where he was bought by a man named Potiphar. While serving Potiphar, God was with Joseph, and he eventually rose up in rank, becoming in charge of everything in Potiphar’s household.

However, Potiphar’s wife became attracted to Joseph and often tried to flirt with him. Joseph told her, ""Your husband has given me everything in his house except for you. I cannot do this; it would be a great sin against God."" One day, Potiphar's wife tried even harder to get Joseph to sleep with her. She grabbed him, but Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his cloak behind. This made her very angry, so she made up a lie, telling Potiphar that Joseph had tried to sleep with her. Potiphar became furious and threw Joseph into prison.

Even in prison, God was with Joseph, and he found favor there, too. He was eventually placed in charge of the other prisoners. One day, the King of Egypt (Pharaoh) became angry with two of his workers—the wine manager and the baker—and he threw them into prison. Joseph was put in charge of them, and they spent a lot of time together.

One night, the wine manager and the baker each had strange dreams that left them confused. The next day, Joseph asked them what was wrong, and they told him their dreams. The wine manager said, “I dreamed of a vine with three branches. The branches had grapes on them, and I was squeezing the grapes into a cup and giving the cup to the King.” Joseph interpreted the dream and said, “This means that in three days, you will get your job back and be serving wine to the King again. When this happens, please remember me and help me get out of prison.”

Hearing this good interpretation, the baker told Joseph his dream. “I dreamed that there were three baskets of baked goods on my head, and birds were eating from the top basket,” he said. Joseph replied, “This means that in three days, the King will have you executed, and your head will be cut off.”

Three days later, what Joseph had said came true. The baker was executed, and the wine manager was restored to his position and began serving wine to the King again. However, he forgot about Joseph and didn’t help him get out of prison.”

"Two more years passed while Joseph remained in prison. During that time, the King of Egypt, Pharaoh, had a dream that disturbed him greatly. He summoned his magicians and wise men to interpret it, but none of them could explain its meaning.

It was then that the wine steward, who had been restored to his position two years earlier, remembered Joseph. He told Pharaoh about Joseph's remarkable ability to interpret dreams while they were in prison together. So, Pharaoh ordered that Joseph be brought out of prison immediately.

When Joseph arrived, Pharaoh said to him, ""I have had a dream, and I have been told that you can interpret it.""

Joseph responded, ""I cannot do this, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires."" Then Joseph listened to Pharaoh’s dream and interpreted it, explaining, ""Egypt will experience seven years of great abundance, followed by seven years of severe famine. The famine will be so severe that it will wipe out the memory of the seven good years.""

Joseph then advised Pharaoh, ""You should appoint a wise and discerning man to oversee the land and prepare for the famine. During the seven years of abundance, collect and store food in the cities so that Egypt will be ready for the seven years of famine.""

Pharaoh, impressed with Joseph's wisdom, said, ""Since God has revealed all of this to you, there is no one as wise and discerning as you. I will appoint you to be in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Only I, as Pharaoh, will have greater authority than you.""

Joseph was given this great responsibility, and he traveled throughout Egypt, gathering and storing food in preparation for the famine.

When the famine began, it spread not only across Egypt but to other lands as well. In Canaan, Joseph's father, Jacob, heard that food was available in Egypt and sent his sons to buy some. When Joseph’s brothers arrived in Egypt, they came before Joseph, but they did not recognize him. However, Joseph recognized them immediately.

After several encounters and some time had passed, Joseph finally revealed his identity to his brothers. He said to them, ""I am Joseph, your brother, the one you sold into slavery.""

His brothers were terrified, thinking that Joseph would punish them severely for what they had done. But Joseph reassured them, saying, ""Do not be afraid and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me into slavery. It was not you who sent me here, but God. He sent me ahead of you to save lives and accomplish a great deliverance. God used me to save you and our family.""”

"After Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, Pharaoh invited Joseph's entire family to move to Egypt. Seventy of his relatives came to live with him, and they settled in the land of Goshen. Over the years, Joseph and his brothers passed away, but the Israelites continued to multiply and flourish. Their numbers grew so large that the land was filled with them.

Eventually, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne who did not remember Joseph and the good he had done for Egypt. This Pharaoh became threatened by the growing population of the Israelites, fearing they would become too powerful. To control them, he enslaved the Israelites and forced them to work under harsh conditions. Despite this oppression, the Israelites continued to increase in number, which alarmed Pharaoh even more.

In his desperation, Pharaoh ordered the Hebrew midwives to kill all the newborn Hebrew boys. However, the midwives feared God and devised a plan to disobey Pharaoh’s command. One Hebrew woman gave birth to a baby boy and hid him for three months. When she could no longer conceal him, she crafted a floating basket and placed her baby inside, then set it among the reeds along the riverbank, knowing that Pharaoh's daughter would come to bathe there.

Sure enough, when Pharaoh's daughter arrived, she saw the basket and opened it. Upon finding the baby boy inside, she felt compassion for him. Recognizing he was one of the Hebrew children, she decided to adopt him. She called for an Israelite woman to nurse him,and that woman turned out to be the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter named the boy Moses, which means “taken from the water.”

As Moses grew older, he went out to observe his people, the Israelite slaves. One day, he witnessed an Egyptian slave-master beating a Hebrew. In a moment of anger, Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching, then killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day, Moses saw two Hebrews fighting and approached them, asking, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” One of the Hebrews retorted, “Who made you ruler over us? Are you thinking of killing me like you did to the Egyptian?”

Realizing that his secret was out, Moses became frightened. Fearing Pharaoh’s wrath, he fled to the land of Midian. While resting by a well in Midian, Moses intervened to protect the daughters of a local priest from some men who were trying to drive them away and take water for themselves. When their father learned of Moses’ good deed, he asked his daughters why they hadn’t invited Moses to eat with them. Grateful for Moses’ help, the priest invited him to stay. Moses accepted, and he ended up marrying one of the priest’s daughters, Zipporah, and starting a family.

Meanwhile, back in Egypt, the Israelites remained in slavery, crying out to God for deliverance. God heard their cries and remembered the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to bless their descendants.”

"One day, when Moses was on a mountain shepherding his sheep, he saw a bush on fire, but the fire was not consuming the bush. Moses went over to see this strange sight, and a voice spoke to him from within the bush, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, and I am sending you to lead my people out of Egypt.”

Moses answered, “But what if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” Then the Lord said to him, ""Throw down your staff on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake. God said, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake, and it turned back into a staff.

Then the Lord said, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, the skin was white; he had become a leper. Then God said, “Now put it back into your cloak.” And Moses put his hand back inside, and when he took it out, it was restored, just like new. Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second sign.”

Moses told God, “I cannot speak very well. Please send someone else.” God didn’t like that but chose Aaron to speak for Moses. He said, “Take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it."

The Lord said to Moses, “When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’”

Moses went to Pharaoh several times, asking him to let the Israelites go, and he refused every time. Each time Pharaoh refused, God sent a different horrible plague. Nine times Pharaoh refused, and nine horrible plagues tormented the people of Egypt.

The last horrible plague was that every firstborn in Egypt would die. God told all the Israelites to put lamb’s blood on their doorposts. In this way, none of the Israelites’ firstborn would die, and God’s angel of death would pass by them. This day is known as the Passover and is celebrated to this day.

At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, even the firstborn of Pharaoh. That very night, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them to leave. Six hundred thousand men, plus their wives and children, left with all of their livestock, and the Egyptians even gave them gold and silver to take with them.

When the Israelites left, they came to the Red Sea. Once again, Pharaoh hardened his heart and sent his army after them. God did a great miracle, however. He opened dry ground for the Israelites to walk through the sea. When the Egyptians went after them on that dry ground, He caused the waters to return, and every soldier chasing them was drowned.

This is the wonderful story of how God kept His promise to rescue all the Israelites.”

"After some time, David became king and settled in his beautiful palace in Jerusalem. The palace, made of cedar wood, was stunning in every way. One day, as David was reflecting on his life, he spoke with Nathan, his spiritual advisor. David said, ""Here I am living in this magnificent palace, while the place where we worship God is just a tent.""

Nathan replied, ""Go ahead and do whatever is on your heart, for God is with you.""

However, later that night, God gave Nathan a different message. Nathan returned to David and said, ""I have a message from God for you. God says, ‘You are not the one to build a house for me. I took you from being a shepherd boy, watching over your father's flocks, and made you king over my people, Israel. I have given you victory over your enemies and peace in the land. You will not build my house, but I will build you a house—a royal dynasty of kings that will endure forever. You will have a son, and he will be the one to build a temple where people can worship me. And one of your descendants will reign on the throne forever.’""

When Nathan finished, David went into the tent of worship. Sitting in God’s presence, he prayed, ""Oh, most powerful God, who am I that You have brought me to this place? And now, You promise that one of my descendants will be on the throne forever. May it be just as You have said, because I know that when You speak, it is the truth. This is what You have promised to me, Your servant David.""”

God was not pleased with what King David had done, so He sent the prophet Nathan to speak to him. Nathan told David a story:

"There were two men in a town, one rich and one poor. The rich man had many herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, but the poor man only had one little lamb that he had worked hard to buy. This lamb grew up with his children; it ate from the man’s plate, drank from his cup, and he even held it in his arms like a daughter.

One day, a guest came to the rich man’s house, and instead of taking one of his own lambs, the rich man took the poor man’s lamb, killed it, and prepared it for his guest."

David was furious when he heard this story. He shouted, "That man deserves to die!" Nathan then said to David, "David, you are that man! God says, ‘I raised you up to be king of Israel, and I gave you many things. If that wasn’t enough, I would have given you even more. But you have disobeyed Me. You have murdered Uriah and taken his wife. You have acted as though you hate Me.’”

David was struck with guilt and cried out, “I have done a terrible thing against God!” Nathan replied, “Yes, you have, but God has forgiven you. You will not die. However, because you have given God’s enemies a reason to mock Him, your son will die.”

After Nathan left, the baby born from David’s sin became very ill. David prayed and wept before God, refusing to eat. His servants tried to get him to eat, but he would not. On the seventh day, the baby died. The men who worked with David were unsure how to tell him, since he had been so distraught when the baby was sick. They feared how he would react to the news of the baby’s death.

David overheard them whispering and asked, "Has the baby died?" When they told him, "Yes," to their amazement, David got up, washed himself, put on clean clothes, and went to the house of worship to worship God. Then he returned to his home and ate a meal.

His servants were confused and said to him, "Why are you acting this way? When the child was alive, you refused to eat and cried so much. But now that the child is dead, you are up and eating?"

David replied, "As long as the child was alive, I had hope that God might show mercy and spare his life. But now that he is dead, there is nothing more I can do. I will go to be with him someday, but he cannot come back to me."

After this, David comforted Bathsheba, and they had another son. They named him Solomon.

Many years after King David, a powerful nation called Assyria began conquering neighboring countries, striking fear into the hearts of all the nations around them, including Israel. One day, God spoke to a man named Jonah, one of His messengers, and said, “Jonah, go to the city of Nineveh and warn them that I am about to destroy them because of their wickedness.”

But Jonah didn’t want to deliver this message. He decided to run away from God instead. He boarded a ship heading in the opposite direction.

As the ship sailed, God sent a massive storm. The winds howled, and the waves battered the ship, threatening to sink it. The sailors, terrified, began throwing cargo overboard to lighten the ship and prayed to their gods for help, but nothing worked.

Realizing this storm was no ordinary storm, they decided to cast lots to find out who was responsible. The lot fell on Jonah.

The sailors questioned him, and Jonah admitted, “Yes, this storm is my fault. I am running away from the God who made the sea and the land.”

They asked him, “What should we do to stop this storm?”

Jonah replied, “Throw me overboard, and the storm will stop.”

Reluctantly, the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea.

Immediately, the storm calmed, and the sea became still.

As Jonah sank into the water, God sent a huge fish to swallow him. Jonah was inside the belly of the fish, alive, for three days and three nights. During this time, he prayed to God, thanking Him for saving him and promising to obey.

After three days, God commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry land.

Once again, God spoke to Jonah, “Go to Nineveh and give them My message.”

This time, Jonah obeyed. He went to Nineveh and announced, “In 40 days, Nineveh will be destroyed!”

The people of Nineveh believed God’s message. From the king to the poorest citizen, they showed how sorry they were. They fasted, stopped their violent actions, and cried out to God, begging for mercy.

When God saw their genuine repentance, He had compassion on them and decided not to destroy the city.

This made Jonah very angry. He wanted Nineveh to be punished.

God spoke to Jonah and said, “Jonah, there are 120,000 people in this city who don’t know right from wrong. Shouldn’t I have compassion on them?”

"Many years after King David, the nation of Israel began turning their backs on God. So, God allowed other nations to come against them to discipline them. One day, God sent the king of Babylon to conquer Israel, and he took many Israelites into captivity. The king also chose certain Israelite men to be trained in the ways of his kingdom. One of these men was Daniel. God was with Daniel and showed him great favor. Over time, Daniel rose in rank and became an official in the kingdom, with even rumors that he might one day rule over the whole Babylonian Empire.

The other officials were jealous of Daniel’s success, so they tried to find a way to trap him, but they couldn’t. Finally, they thought they might catch him because of his faithfulness to God. Daniel prayed three times a day, so they went to the king and suggested, “We think you should make a law that no one in the kingdom is allowed to pray to any other god or human except you, king, for 30 days. Anyone who disobeys should be thrown into a pit of lions.”

The king agreed and made it a law. Even though Daniel knew about this new law, he continued to go up to his window and pray to God, three times each day, as usual. When the officials saw him praying, they went to the king and reported, “Daniel has broken your law. He prayed to his God.” This news upset the king because he cared about Daniel. He wanted to save him and spent the whole day trying to find a way, but he couldn’t. He had no choice but to order Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ pit. Before Daniel was thrown in, the king said to him, “Daniel, you are faithful to your God. May your God save you.”

That night, the king couldn’t sleep, worried about what might happen to Daniel. At dawn, he hurried to the lions’ pit and called out, “Daniel! Did your God save you?” Daniel answered, “My God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions, and my God saved me.”

Then the king had Daniel lifted out of the pit. Instead, he threw the officials who had accused Daniel into the lions’ pit, and the lions devoured them. That same day, the king issued a new law declaring that everyone in the kingdom must respect the God of Daniel.”

"Towards the end of Daniel’s life, God brought the Israelites back to their homeland. They lived there for about 500 years, waiting for the promised king to come.

During this time, the Israelites were conquered again, this time by the Roman army, and Rome occupied their land.

There was a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David, who was engaged to Mary. Mary was pregnant, but this was no ordinary pregnancy. She was a virgin, and God’s Spirit caused her to conceive a child.

The Roman Empire required a tax census, and everyone had to return to their ancestral hometown. So Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem, the city of King David. Bethlehem was crowded, and they couldn’t find anywhere to stay. The only place they found was a stable where animals were kept.

While they were there, Mary gave birth to her baby. She wrapped him in cloth and placed him in a manger, a box for animal feed. They named the baby Jesus.

About a month after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary took him to the temple in Jerusalem for a ceremonial custom. In Jerusalem, there lived a man named Simeon, a faithful follower of God who had been waiting his entire life to see the promised king. God’s Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die before seeing the promised king.

On the day Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple, God’s Spirit led Simeon there as well. When Simeon saw Jesus, he took him in his arms and cried out, “Now I can die in peace. I have seen the rescuer. He is a light to the nations and will bring glory to the people of Israel.”

Mary and Joseph were amazed at what Simeon said. Simeon turned to them and added, “Many will reject this child and bring about their own destruction, but he will also be the greatest joy to many others.””

"In the beginning, the uncreated God made all that is seen and unseen. From the seen, He created trees and plants to cover the earth, animals to live among the trees, fish and other creatures to fill the seas, and birds to soar across the sky.

Then, God made a man and a woman in His own image. He formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed life into him.

God planted a beautiful garden filled with everything the man and woman needed to live. In the middle of the garden, He placed two special trees: the Tree of Life and the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil.

God brought the man to the center of the garden and said, ""You may eat from all the trees you see around you, but you must not eat from the tree that gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you will die.""

As the man worked in the garden, God saw that he was alone. And God said, ""It is not good for you to be alone."" So, God put the man into a deep sleep. While he slept, God opened his side, took out a rib, and from it, He formed a woman. God brought the woman to the man.

When the man saw her, he said, ""Bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. With someone like you, I will never be alone.""

And together, the man and the woman lived in the garden, naked and unashamed.”

About 30 years after Jesus was born, there was a man named John. John lived in the wilderness, and he was an interesting guy. He wore clothes made out of ,camel hair, and had a leather belt around his waist, and he ate grasshoppers and honey.

One time, when he was out in the wilderness, God told him that he was going to be the one to prepare the people for God’s arrival among them. So John went to the Jordan River Valley and started teaching people that they needed to admit that they had failed God, turn back to Him, and be forgiven. He taught that they needed to be baptized with water to show that their lives had changed.

So a lot of people came out to John to hear him teach and to be baptized, and there were religious leaders who came out too. When John saw them, he said, “You children of snakes! What makes you think you can slither out here and sneak in on God’s forgiveness? You need to prove by the way you live your lives that you’ve changed because a tree that does not produce any fruit is worthless. It will be chopped down and thrown into a fire that never goes out.”

The people who came out to listen to John started to wonder if maybe he was the promised King they had been waiting for. But John said, “The baptism I’m giving you is just with water, but there’s someone coming after me who is much more powerful than I am, to the point that I’m not even good enough to be one of His servants. He will baptize you with God’s Spirit and with fire.”

So one day, while John was at the river, Jesus Himself came to him and asked to be baptized. And John said, “I shouldn’t be the one baptizing you; you should baptize me.” But Jesus said, “No, we need to do this because that’s what God wants.” So John baptized Jesus, and when Jesus came up out of the water, the sky split open, and God’s Spirit came and landed on Jesus like a dove would land. Then a voice came from the sky and said, “This is my Son, I love Him, and I am very pleased with Him.”

After Jesus was baptized, the Spirit led Him into the desert to be tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, He was very hungry. That is when the devil came to tempt Him.

The devil said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.”

Jesus answered him, “God’s word says, ‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive. Their lives depend on God’s word.’”

Then the devil led Jesus to Jerusalem and put Him on a high place near the Temple. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off, because God’s word says, ‘God will command His angels to help You, and their hands will catch You, and You will not hit Your foot on a rock.’”

Jesus answered, “God’s word also says, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.”

Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! God’s word says, ‘You must worship the Lord your God. Serve only Him!’”

So, the devil left Him. Then after the devil left, some angels came and began to help Jesus.

One day, Jesus was teaching in a house, and there were religious leaders there, who always seemed to be present when Jesus was teaching.

And along came some men carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to get into the house, but there were just too many people blocking the way.

So they went up on the roof, moved aside some tiles, and lowered the man on his sleeping mat down in front of Jesus.

Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The religious leaders were thinking to themselves, "This is an offense against God. Who does this man think he is? Only God can forgive someone of their wrongdoing."

And Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, asked the religious leaders, “Why do you say this is an offense against God? To prove to you that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, I will perform this sign.”

And He said to the man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.” And immediately, the man jumped to his feet, picked up his mat, and went home praising God.

Everyone was astonished, and they were praising God, saying over and over again, “Truly, we have seen wonderful things.”

One day, Jesus and his followers got into a boat to go to the other side of the lake that they were at.

When they got to the other side, there was a man there who came to meet them. This man had been driven insane by demons.

He slept in the caves where the people put their dead bodies, he went around naked, and he cut himself. The townspeople didn’t know what to do with him, so they would often put him in chains, but he would just snap the chains and run away.

This man came running up to Jesus, and Jesus immediately started making the demons leave him. The demons said, "What are you doing here? Why are you torturing us, Jesus, Son of God? Don’t torture us! Don’t send us to the bottomless pit!"

And Jesus said, "Tell me your name." And the man said, "We are Mob," because there were many demons inside of him.

Now there was a big herd of pigs on a hillside nearby, about 2,000 of them, and the demons asked Jesus if they could go into the pigs instead of the bottomless pit.

Jesus gave them permission, so they left the man and entered the pigs. Immediately, the pigs ran down the hill, off a cliff, into the lake, and they all drowned.

There were some men taking care of the pigs, and when they saw this happen, they ran back to the town to tell people what had happened.

A big group came to see for themselves, and when they got there, they saw that the man who had all the demons inside of him was clothed and not insane anymore; he was just sitting there. When the people saw this, they were terrified, and they begged Jesus to leave and go away.

So Jesus got into the boat with his followers, getting ready to leave. Then the man who had all the demons asked if he could go with him, but Jesus said, "No, you need to stay here and go tell everyone what God has done for you."

And so that is what the man did. He went back home and started telling everyone all that Jesus had done for him.

So one day, Jesus was teaching some people, and there was a man who was an expert in religious law. This man wanted to test Jesus and see how He would answer a particular question.

So he asked Jesus, “What must I do in order to be close to God forever or have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “What would you say? What does it say in the religious law?”

And the man responded, “I’d need to love God with all that I am, and I need to love my neighbor as I love myself.” Jesus said, “Yes, that’s right. If you do that, you will be close to God.”

But the man wanted to take it a little further, so he asked, “But who exactly is my neighbor?”

And Jesus responded by telling this story: "There was a man who was traveling from Jerusalem to a nearby town. While he was on this road, some men attacked him. They beat him badly, stripped him of his clothes, and left him half dead beside the road.

After this happened, a religious leader came along and saw the man. But he just went to the other side of the road and passed by. Then it happened again, another really religious guy came by. He looked at the man and also just passed by him.

But then there was a foreigner, a Samaritan, who was really looked down upon. When he saw this man, he came to him and felt sorry for him. He helped him and took care of his wounds.

He took him to a place where you could rent a room, and then he gave some money to the man who ran the place.

He said, ‘Please use this to take care of this man. I will come back, and I will cover any extra costs.’

Then Jesus asked the religious expert, “Who would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked?”

And the religious expert replied, “The one who helped him.” And Jesus said, “That's right. Now you go and live the same way."

One day, Jesus was hanging out with people who had bad reputations and those who were rejected by society. They were spending time with Jesus and listening to everything he said. The religious leaders saw this and complained, saying, “Jesus, why are you hanging out with people like this?”

Jesus responded by telling them a story. “There was a man who had two sons. One day, the younger son came to his father and said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to wait until you die to receive my part of the inheritance. Give it to me now so I can go enjoy it.’” So, the father gave both of his sons their share of the inheritance.

A few days later, the younger son took all he had and went to a far country, where he spent his inheritance on partying and wild living. Soon enough, everything was gone, and that country faced a severe famine. It became hard to find food. The young man found a job feeding pigs, and he was so hungry that even the pigs' food began to look good to him. But no one gave him anything.

One day, he realized, “Even the servants in my father’s house have plenty to eat, and here I am starving. I will go home and ask my father if he will take me as one of his servants. I have failed my father. I have failed God, and I am no longer worthy to be called his son.” So, he started his journey home.

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran toward him, embracing him. The son said, “Father, I have failed God and I have failed you. I do not deserve to be your son.”

But before the son could finish, his father called to the servants and said, “Bring my son some new clothes and put shoes on his feet. Prepare a feast. We are going to have a big party because my son has come home safely.” And they prepared a great feast.

Meanwhile, the older son heard the noise of the celebration and asked one of the servants what was going on. The servant replied, “Your younger brother has come home, and your father is throwing him a big party.”

The older brother was furious. “There is no way I’m going to that party,” he said. So, his father came out to give him a personal invitation. The older son said, “Dad, I have worked for you all these years and done everything you asked of me, and yet you never threw a party for me and my friends. But when my younger brother comes home after wasting all your money on prostitutes, you throw him a party!”

The father replied, “Son, you’ve been with me all this time, and everything I have is yours. But it is right that we celebrate, for your brother was dead and is now alive; he was lost and is now found.”

Jesus was on His way to Jericho when He encountered a man named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the entire region, and he had become very wealthy.

Zacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus, but because there was a large crowd along the street and Zacchaeus was a short man, he couldn’t see over the people. So, he decided to climb up a tree to get a better view of Jesus as He passed by.

As Jesus walked by, He looked up at Zacchaeus and said, "Zacchaeus, I want to be a guest in your home today." Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus' house! Zacchaeus hurried down the tree, excited, and welcomed Jesus into his home.

The people, however, were upset. They said, "Why would this respected religious teacher spend time with a man like Zacchaeus? He’s a sinner!"

But after spending time with Jesus, Zacchaeus stood up and said, "I will give half of all I own to the poor, and if I’ve cheated anyone on their taxes, I will pay them back four times what I stole."

Jesus then said, "Today, salvation has come to this house. This man and his family have been rescued because he has put his trust in God. The reason I’ve come is to seek and save those who are lost.”

Jesus and His followers journeyed to Jerusalem, where He went to the temple every day to teach. Large crowds gathered around Him, listening intently to His words. The people adored Him, hanging on every word He said. But the religious leaders despised Him and wanted to kill Him. However, they couldn’t find an opportunity because Jesus was always surrounded by the crowd.

One evening, they finally seized their chance. They arrested Jesus and brought Him before a council of religious leaders for a trial. They called witnesses to testify against Him, but theirstatements didn’t agree. Finally, two men claimed, “We heard Him say He could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days.”

Through it all, Jesus remained silent.

The leaders demanded, “Why are You silent? Defend Yourself!” But Jesus said nothing.

Frustrated, one of the leaders asked, “In the name of the Living God, tell us—are You the promised King?”

Jesus answered, “Yes, and you will see Me seated at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

At this, the leaders tore their clothes in outrage. “We don’t need any more witnesses,” they said. “He has condemned Himself!”

The trial ended late that night, and they held Jesus until morning. At daybreak, the leaders gathered again to decide what to do with Him. They resolved to involve the Roman authorities and brought Jesus before the Roman governor for trial.

A crowd gathered, and the religious leaders stirred them up, turning the people against Jesus. The crowd began to demand His execution.

After some time, the Roman governor sentenced Jesus to be whipped and handed Him over to be killed.

The Roman soldiers took Jesus to their headquarters. When they got there, they mocked Him, spat on Him, and beat Him. Then they led Him away to be executed.

When they got to the place of execution, there were two criminals there who were also to be executed that day. So they took Jesus, they nailed Him to a cross. They nailed His hands and His feet. Then they took one criminal and nailed him to a cross on Jesus’ left, and the other criminal and nailed him to a cross on His right.

But Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them because they don’t understand what they are doing.” All the people were watching. One of the criminals began to mock Jesus and he said, “Why don’t you save yourself if you're the promised King, and while you’re at it, why don’t you save us too!” But the other criminal said, “Here we are dying. Don’t you fear God? We deserve to die for the things we have done, but this man is innocent.” And he turned to Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus looked at him and said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

By that time, it was noon, and darkness fell on the whole land and lasted until 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and said, “Father, I trust you with my life.”

And He breathed His last breath. When the Roman captain who was in charge of the execution saw these things, he said, “This was certainly an innocent man!”

Now there was a religious feast, and it was almost time for this feast. The religious leaders were concerned—they wanted the executions to be finished before the feast began. So they asked the soldiers to break the legs of the men who were being executed. But when they got to Jesus, they found that He was already dead. Then a soldier took his spear and pierced Jesus' side. When the people saw that Jesus was dead, they went home and mourned deeply.

Now, there was a rich man named Joseph. Joseph was a member of the religious council, but he had not agreed with them and their decision. He went to Pilate and asked for permission to take the body down. Then he went and got the body, wrapped it in cloths, and took it to his own newly carved tomb, carved out of the side of a mountain. Then he took a huge rock, sealed off the entrance, and went home.

"The uncreated God created the heavens and the earth. He created everything that is seen and unseen.
One of the unseen things God created is spirits—we know them today as angels. They were created to worship and obey God. In fact, they sang for joy as God stretched out the earth and made it exactly how He wanted it to be.

But out of pride and wanting to be God themselves, some of these spirits rebelled against God. We know them as evil spirits, and their leader is called Satan.

These spirits are still at work today, going against God's rule and reign, and against every believer.

But God has said that one day these evil spirits will be judged, held accountable, and punished for all they have done.”

On Friday, Jesus was killed, and on that very same Sunday, some women who loved Him got up early in the morning and brought perfume to the tomb where Jesus was buried. They wanted to put it on His body, as was their custom. But when they got to the tomb, they saw that the huge stone was rolled away, and the tomb was empty—Jesus wasn’t there.

Suddenly, two angels appeared and spoke to the women, saying, “Why are you looking for Jesus? He’s not dead; He is alive!” Hearing this, the women rushed off to find Jesus’ followers and tell them what had just happened. When they found them and shared the news, everyone was a bit confused and didn’t really believe what the women were saying.

A while later, while they were all together, Jesus appeared right where they were. They were shocked and scared, thinking they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid, it’s me. Look at my hands and my feet and touch me, and see that I am not a ghost.” Hearing this, they were all amazed but still a little confused and uncertain.

Then Jesus said, “Do you have anything to eat?” They gave Him some fish, and He ate it. Then He said, “A long time ago, God’s messengers predicted the things that would happen to me.” He opened their minds to understand these things and explained, “God’s messengers said that the promised King would have to suffer and be killed but would come back to life on the third day. Then His followers would go out and spread the message that all the wrong things people have done can be forgiven if they would just admit them and turn from them. This message would start in Jerusalem and spread to the rest of the world.”

“But first,” Jesus said, “wait here in Jerusalem until God’s Spirit comes upon you and empowers you to do these things.”

After Jesus came back to life, He spent the next 40 days appearing to His followers in different groups and different places, proving that He had, in fact, come back to life.

At one point, He was with His followers, and He said, “I’ve been given authority over everything in heaven and everything on earth, so I want you to go and tell people about Me. And when they believe who I am, baptize them and teach them to obey everything that I’ve taught you. And know that I will be with you forever.”

Another time, He was eating a meal with His followers in Jerusalem and said, “I want you to stay here in the city until you receive the gift that God promised to send you. John baptized you in water, but God will baptize you in His Spirit when His Spirit comes to be with you and help you.”

Then, when Jesus was with His followers just outside the city of Jerusalem, they asked Him, “So is now the time when you’re going to overthrow the Romans and make Israel a free country again?”

Jesus said, “That’s not for you to know—only God knows when that will happen. But when you receive power from God’s Spirit, you are going to go and tell people about Me everywhere. First here in Jerusalem, then in the other parts of Israel, then to the country next door, and eventually to the whole world.”

As Jesus was saying this, He started rising up into the air, going up and up, and His followers were watching as He went up into the sky until they couldn’t see Him anymore. Then, two men dressed in white appeared and said, “Why are you staring up at the sky? The same way that Jesus left, He’s going to come back someday.”

After that, Jesus’ followers went back into the city of Jerusalem, full of joy. They began meeting with other followers—about 120 people in total—gathering and praying together every day, and the group was becoming more united each day.

One day, about 120 of Jesus' followers were gathered together in a room, praying. As they were praying, suddenly there came a sound from heaven, like a mighty rushing wind, filling the whole house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like little flames of fire appeared and rested on each of them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in different languages—languages they had never learned—praising God and declaring how wonderful He is. It was the Spirit of God who gave them the power to do this.

Now, in Jerusalem, many people from different countries had come for the festival. When they heard what was happening in the room, they gathered to see what was going on. They were amazed because they heard these followers of Jesus speaking in the languages of the places they had come from, talking about the greatness of God. Some of the people wereamazed and wondered how this could be, since the disciples were ordinary, uneducated people. But others mocked them, saying, “They’re just drunk!”

When Peter heard what was happening, he stood up and addressed the crowd. “We are not drunk,” he said, “It’s only 9 o’clock in the morning. What has happened here is something special. God’s Spirit has come! When Jesus was alive, He performed many mighty miracles to show you who He really was. You and many others knew this, yet you killed Him. But God raised Him from the dead!”

The people were deeply moved and asked, “What can we do?” Peter told them, “Repent of your wrongdoings and turn to God. Then God will send His Spirit to help you.”

That day, 3,000 people responded to Peter’s words, repented, and were baptized. They joined the followers of Jesus, listening to the teachings of His closest disciples. They worshiped together, prayed together, and enjoyed meals together. The believers shared everything they had, helping anyone who was in need. And every day, God added to their number those who were being saved.

There was a man named Stephen. He was full of wisdom and the power of God, and he was chosen by the followers of Jesus to be one of their leaders.

One day, Stephen was debating with some Israelites, but they quickly realized they couldn’t match his wisdom. So, they went and found some people to lie about what Stephen had said in order to stir up the crowd. These men returned and began telling lies, saying, “Stephen is speaking against our ancestors and against God.”

The crowd, which included regular people, teachers, and religious leaders, grabbed Stephen and brought him before the religious council. The men continued to tell their lies. But the religious leaders noticed that Stephen’s face was shining with a divine glow.

The high priest asked, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Stephen began by talking about their ancestry, explaining how their ancestors had often rejected the messengers of God. He said, “You are just like your ancestors. They killed those who spoke about the coming of the promised King, and now you have killed Jesus.”

This angered the crowd. But Stephen looked up and saw something they couldn’t see. He said, “I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God in a place of power and honor.”

This made the crowd even angrier. They covered their ears and screamed at the top of their lungs. They rushed at Stephen, dragged him outside the city, and began throwing rocks at him. As they stoned him, Stephen looked up to heaven and said, “Jesus, I trust You with my life.” Then, falling to his knees, Stephen cried out, “Jesus, do not hold this against them!” And with that, Stephen died.

After Stephen’s death, a wave of opposition came against the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, and many scattered into the surrounding countryside. The main leader of this opposition was a man named Paul. He would even go into their homes, drag men and women out, and throw them into jail.

During one of these times, he went to the head of the religious council and asked for a letter of permission to go to a neighboring country so he could bring back followers of Jesus from there as well and put them in jail. On his way there, a bright light came down from the sky and shone on Paul, and he fell to the ground. A voice came from this light and said, “Paul, why are you opposing me?” Paul said, “I don’t even know who you are.” The voice from the light said, “I’m Jesus, the one you are opposing. Now, go to the city and wait there until I tell you what to do.”

The men with Paul couldn’t see anything but could hear the voice. When Paul got up, he couldn’t see, so his men led him to a house in the city. When Paul arrived, he didn’t eat or drink anything for three days.

Now, there was a man in this city named Ananias. Jesus spoke to him and told him, “Go to where Paul is. He’s actually praying to me right now, and I’ve given him a vision that you will come to him and place your hands on him so that he can see.” Ananias said, “But he’s done much harm to your followers.” Jesus said, “Go; I’ve called him to tell many people about me, and he will suffer greatly because of it.”

When Ananias arrived at Paul’s location, he placed his hands on him, and something like scales fell off his eyes, and he could see again. Paul immediately received ritual cleansing, ate something, and was strengthened. He went to the places where the Israelites gathered and told them about Jesus.

Some religious leaders saw this and became angry; they plotted to kill Paul. He left and went to Jerusalem to meet with Jesus’ followers. But they were afraid of him. Barnabas, a follower, took Paul to meet them and told them all that Jesus had done for him.

Paul spent time with them, and they went out into Jerusalem, telling people everywhere about Jesus with great boldness and courage. Again, some Israelites plotted to kill Paul. He left the city for his hometown, and peace came to Jerusalem. The number of followers continued to grow daily.

There was a man named Cornelius, an officer in the Roman army stationed in a coastal city of Israel. Cornelius was a good man who prayed to God and helped people in need.

One day, while he was praying, Cornelius had a vision. An angel appeared to him and said, “Cornelius, God has heard your prayers and has seen how well you treat the people aroundyou. Now, He wants you to call for a man named Peter to come to you and tell you something.” The angel gave Cornelius detailed instructions on how to find Peter.

Cornelius called together some of his workers, shared the vision with them, and sent them to find Peter, following the angel's directions.

Meanwhile, Peter was in another town, praying on the rooftop terrace of the house where he was staying. It was the middle of the day, and Peter was hungry. As he prayed, he saw a vision. In the vision, a sheet came down from heaven, filled with all kinds of animals that were considered religiously unacceptable for Israelites to eat. A voice said to him, “Peter, kill these animals and eat them.”

Peter replied, “No, I would never do that. I have never eaten anything unacceptable in my life.”

The voice responded, “If God calls something acceptable, do not call it unacceptable.” This happened three times, and then the sheet was taken back up into heaven.

At that moment, the men Cornelius had sent arrived at the house where Peter was staying. The Spirit of God told Peter to go with them, so Peter went downstairs, met the men, and agreed to go with them. He also brought some other followers of Jesus along.

When Peter arrived at Cornelius’s house, Cornelius had gathered his family and close friends to hear what Peter had to say. As Peter entered, Cornelius fell to his knees in front of him to worship him. But Peter said, “No, get up! I’m just a person like you. Don’t worship me.”

Then Peter said, “You know it’s against our religious law for a Jewish person like me to enter the house of someone who is not Jewish. But God has shown me that all people are acceptable to Him. So, Cornelius, why have you called me here?”

Cornelius shared the vision he had of the angel and how he was told to send for Peter. Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t show favoritism. He welcomes people from every nation who respect Him and do what is right.”

Peter began to tell Cornelius and everyone there about Jesus—how He lived, how He was executed, and how He came back to life. Peter said, “If you trust in Jesus, you can be forgiven for all the ways you’ve failed God.”

While Peter was still speaking, God’s Spirit came and filled everyone listening. They began speaking in languages they had never learned before. Peter and his companions were amazed. Peter said, “If God has filled them with His Spirit just like He did for us, then they should be baptized too.”

So, they were baptized, and Cornelius invited Peter to stay for a few more days. Peter agreed, and they spent time together rejoicing in what God had done.

Paul and a group of believers decided to revisit the people they had shared the message of God with, to see how they were doing. They traveled from city to city, encouraging these believers to remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus’ closest followers and the guidance of the elders in Jerusalem. The believers were strengthened in their faith, and their numbers continued to grow.

As Paul and his group planned their next steps, they wanted to go to a specific place, but the Spirit of God prevented them. A little while later, they chose another destination, but again, the Spirit of God stopped them.

That night, Paul had a dream. In the dream, a man from Macedonia appeared and called out to him, saying, “Please, come here and help us!”

The next morning, Paul shared the dream with his group. After discussing it, they concluded that the dream was from God. So, they set out for Macedonia.

When they arrived, they spent time in one of the cities. On the first day of the week, they went outside the city gates to a riverbank, believing they would find people gathered there for prayer.

By the river, they met a woman named Lydia. She was a merchant who sold purple cloth. Paul and his companions shared about God and the message of Jesus with her and the women gathered with her. The Spirit of God worked in Lydia’s heart, opening her understanding so she could believe the message about Jesus.

That very day, Lydia and her entire household believed and were baptized in the river. Afterward, she said to Paul, “If you believe that my faith is genuine, please come and stay at my home.” At first, Paul hesitated, but Lydia insisted. Finally, he and his group agreed and spent the night at her house.

After this, Paul and his group continued their travels, visiting city after city, sharing God’s message and encouraging believers wherever they went.

When Jesus was on earth, one of His closest followers was a man named John. After Jesus went up to heaven, John became a leader in the early church. At one point, John was arrested for talking about Jesus and was sent to live in exile on an island called Patmos.

One day while John was there, the Spirit of God came upon him, and he saw a series of visions about things that were going to happen in the future. In one of the visions, Jesus told John to write everything he saw and send it to His followers.

John wrote down many things God revealed to him, and near the end of the visions, he described something extraordinary.

He said, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, because the old heaven and the old earth were no longer there. Then I saw a new Jerusalem coming down from the sky. It was beautiful, like a bride on her wedding day, dressed for her husband.

I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Look! God has come to live with His people. He will be their God, and they will be His people. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief, no more sadness, and no more pain. The old way of things is gone forever.’

Then I heard God Himself speak. He said, ‘I am making everything new! Write this down because these words are trustworthy and true. I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty, I will give the water of life freely. All those who overcome trials will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children. But those who are evil and reject Me will face judgment in a fiery lake of burning sulfur. That is where they will end.’”

So John faithfully wrote everything down and sent the message to Jesus’ followers, so they would know the hope and promises God had for them.

"Adam and Eve were living in the garden that God made for them, and God would regularly visit them during the cool of the day.

One day, a snake came to Eve, and this was no ordinary snake. The snake said, “Did God really say that you are not allowed to eat from any of the fruits in the garden?” And Eve said, “No, He said that we can’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If we eat from it or even touch it, we will surely die.” The snake said, “You won’t die. If you eat that fruit, you will become like God; you will know good from evil.”

Eve looked at the fruit and saw that it was desirable, so she grabbed the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to Adam, who was there with her. They became aware of their nakedness and grabbed leaves to cover themselves.

In the afternoon that day, when God came to walk in the garden, He called out to Adam. “Adam, Adam, where are you?” Adam answered, “We are hiding because we are naked.”

God said, “Who told you that you are naked? Did you eat from the tree I told you not to?” Adam said, “Yes, but it was the woman you gave me who gave me to eat.” So God turned to the woman and said, “Woman, what have you done?” Eve said, “It was the snake who tricked me.”

Then God turned to the snake and said: “Cursed are you above all other animals. Because of this, you will slither on your belly in the dirt, and you and the woman’s descendants will always be enemies. One of her descendants will crush your head, but you will bite his ankle.”

God turned to the woman and said, “From now on, labor will be painful for you, and your relationship with your husband will never be the same; you will fight for control.”

Then God turned to the man and said, “Because you have disobeyed me and eaten the fruit I told you not to, the ground will be cursed. You will sow, and thorns and briers will come up. You will work very hard for just enough food, and one day you will return to dust, just as you came from it.”

God took animal skins and made clothes for the man and the woman to cover them, and He said, “These people are like Me; they know good from evil. I can’t let them eat from the fruit that makes them live forever.” So He forced them out of the garden and made sure that they could never get back into the garden and eat from the tree that would make them live forever.”

"After Adam and Eve left the garden, they had children, and their children had children, and before long, the earth was becoming populated. Many years later, there was a man whose name was Abraham, and his wife's name was Sarah. They did not have any children, even though they were already starting to get old. One day, God spoke to Abraham and said,

“Abraham, I want you to leave this place where you're living now and go to the place that I’ll point out to you and live there. I am going to turn you and your descendants into a huge and influential nation of people. I am going to make you famous. Everyone is going to know your name. Anyone who treats you well, I am going to treat well. And anyone who treats you poorly, I am going to punish. And through you, I am going to do something amazing for the whole world.”

So, Abraham obeyed God. He packed up his belongings, and along with his wife, he took his nephew Lot and his family, and they set out for the land that God pointed out to him. When they got there, they started traveling around and camping in different places. Abraham would regularly give offerings to God in these different places. After Abraham and Lot had been living in this land for a while, they both came to have lots of sheep. At one point, the shepherds who worked for them started fighting with each other over where the sheep could graze.

One day, Abraham went to Lot and said, “Lot, this is not good. We are family; we shouldn’t be having these types of problems. So here's what I think we should do: I think you should look all around this land and decide where you want to live. Go and take your flocks there, and wherever you go, I will go in the opposite direction.” So Lot took a look all over the land and picked the best-looking land that he could find, and he moved everything and started living there.

Then God appeared to Abraham again and said, “Abraham, I want you to look all around in every direction, because I am giving all of this to you. It’s all going to belong to you and your descendants. I am giving you more descendants than you can count. It will be like trying to count the grains of sand.”

More time went by after that, and Abraham was 99 years old, and his wife Sarah was 90 years old, and they still didn’t have any children. God spoke to Abraham one day and said, “Abraham, I am going to give you a son.” Abraham knelt down in front of God and thought to himself, there is no way a 99-year-old man like me or a 90-year-old woman like Sarah could possibly have children now.

But God said, “No, one year from now you are going to have a son, and I want you to name him Isaac. And all of the promises that I made to you, I will keep to him and his descendants.” And that’s what happened. Sarah got pregnant, and a year later, she gave birth to a son, and they named him Isaac.”

"After God told Abraham and Sarah that they were going to have a son, a year went by, and they did. They had a little boy, and they named him Isaac. Years passed, and Isaac grew up a little older. One day, God came and spoke to Abraham. God said, “Abraham, I want you to go to a certain mountain that I will point out to you, and there I want you to kill your son Isaac and burn his body as a way to worship me.”

So, the next morning, Abraham got up early to get everything ready. Abraham, Isaac, and two of Abraham's workers started the journey to the mountain. They walked for three days, and when they could see the mountain off in the distance, Abraham told his two workers, “You guys stay here while Isaac and I go up to the mountain to worship God, and then we will come back to you.” So Abraham and Isaac continued on their way.

Isaac carried the firewood, and Abraham carried a pot with some coals to start the fire, as well as a knife. As they were walking up the mountain, Isaac said, “Dad, we have the wood and the knife, but what animal are we going to kill to worship God?” Abraham replied, “Isaac, God himself will provide it.” So they kept going.

When they arrived at the place God had pointed out, Abraham built an altar by piling up stones. He laid the wood on it and then tied Isaac up and placed him on top of the wood. Abraham took the knife and was just about to kill his son when he heard a voice. The voice said, “Abraham! Abraham!” and Abraham answered, “Yes?” The voice then said, “Don’t hurt your son! Now I know that you are fully committed to me because you were even willing to sacrifice your son for me.”

Abraham looked up and saw a sheep caught in some bushes. He took the sheep from the bushes and sacrificed it instead of his son to worship God. Then God spoke to Abraham again, saying, “Because you were willing to offer your son in obedience to me, I will bless you abundantly. I will multiply your family and give you so many descendants. Through your descendants, I will do something amazing for all the nations of the world.””