DEUTERONOMY 5-6:
Yesterday we heard Moses expound on the most important command to never worship any idol or any god other than the Lord. He based this on the Israelite's experience of hearing God's voice and not seeing his form. Moses was realistic and knew that Israel would eventually leave God, and that God would judge them. He gave them this amazing promise: "from there (where you have been exiled by your enemies) you will search again for the LORD your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him."

PSALM 52:
This is another psalm from David's experiences. He was betrayed by a man called Doeg, and then that man killed priests who had done nothing wrong. This psalm stands as testimony that God notices such things and will eventually bring just punishment for all injustice.

ACTS 9a:
In chapter 8, we heard the fantastic way the Lord led Philip. The Lord wanted a certain Ethiopian high official to be saved. The traditional church in Ethiopia still traces its history to that official. And Philip had the privilege of being miraculously teleported to a new location. He continued from there in preaching the Gospel, all the way to Caesarea, which is where we find him later.

NLT Translation notes:
Ps. 52:9 I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good [reputation//name] in the presence of your faithful people.
====
Acts 9:14 And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name [here//0]."
21 All who heard him were amazed [and asked//0]. "Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus' followers in Jerusalem?" [0//they asked]. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?"
25 So during the night, some of [his fellow/the other] believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall.
34 Peter said to him, "Aeneas, [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ] heals you! Get up, and roll up your sleeping mat!" And he was healed instantly.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

DEUTERONOMY 4:
Yesterday Moses gave his personal account of how God led the people of Israel in not attacking three nations, but finally led them in attacking two kings. Moses pleaded with God to allow him to cross the Jordan into the promised land, but God refused to let him.

PSALM 51:
This is one of the most quoted and most famous psalms. David's sincere and broken-hearted prayer for forgiveness is a pattern for all of us to follow.

ACTS 8b:
Yesterday we heard how the believers in Jerusalem were scattered by a wave of persecution following Stephen's martyrdom. Philip (the deacon, not the apostle) is given the wonderful privilege to turn many to the Lord in Samaria. My own thought about why the Holy Spirit was not given when the believers were baptized is because Peter really was given the "keys to the kingdom." Peter was present when the Jewish people received the Holy Spirit, and when the despised mixed-breed Samaritans received the Holy Spirit, and when non-Jews received that same gift.

NLT Translation notes:
Ps. 51:7 [Please perform the ritual of purification over me to cleanse me from my sins//Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;]
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you [once again//0].
15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
that my mouth may praise you [again/0].
====
Acts 8:12 But now the people believed Philip's message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and [about Jesus as the Christ or Messiah//the name of Jesus Christ]. As a result, many men and women were baptized.
16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, [although/for] they had [0/only] been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah [while a driver was driving the carriage//0].
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading [aloud/0] from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

DEUTERONOMY 2-3:
Yesterday we heard Moses preaching and confronting the people of Israel about their bickering and their incredible stubbornness in refusing to believe the Lord's commands, and their refusal to believe God's loving intent in his commands.

PSALM 50:
Remember what Moses said yesterday in Deuteronomy? This Psalm tells us what God wants most from his people.

ACTS 8:
Yesterday we heard the conclusion of Stephen's speech. He confronted the high council with the indisputable fact that the people of Israel had always refused to follow what God told them and killed the prophets. "They (our ancestors) even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered." Shortly after saying that, Stephen died as Saul watched.

NLT Translation notes:
Ps. 50:14 Make thankfulness your sacrifice to [Me, your] God,
and keep the vows you made to [Me,/0] the Most High.
23 But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.
If you keep to my path,
I will reveal to you the salvation [given by Me, your God!//of your God]."
====
Acts 8:12 But now the people believed Philip's message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and [about Jesus as the Christ or Messiah//the name of Jesus Christ]. As a result, many men and women were baptized.
16 The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, [although/for] they had [0/only] been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
28 and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah [while a driver was driving the carriage//0].
30 Philip ran over and heard the man reading [aloud/0] from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.