Introduction: The Story Goes On

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” — Acts 1:8

At the end of the last book, Jesus went back to heaven. But before He went, He gave His followers a job to do, and a promise.

The job was to tell everyone about Him: first in Jerusalem, then in the countryside all around, then in Samaria, and then all the way to the ends of the earth.

The promise was that they wouldn’t have to do it on their own. God would send the Holy Spirit to give them power.

So Jesus’ followers waited in Jerusalem, praying together. There were about a hundred and twenty of them. They were ordinary people: fishermen and tax collectors, mothers and brothers and friends. They had no money, no army and no important friends. How could people like that ever tell the whole world about Jesus?

This book begins the third part of Tell Me the Story: New Testament Stories. It comes from a book of the Bible called Acts, which was written by Luke, the same man who wrote the Gospel of Luke. Acts tells what happened after Jesus went back to heaven.

You will see wind and fire, and a crowd of thousands hearing about Jesus in their own languages. You will see a man who couldn’t walk leap up and praise God, and prison doors swing open in the night. You will meet brave Stephen, and Philip on a desert road, and Saul, the enemy of the church who became its greatest friend.

The story of Jesus didn’t stop when He went back to heaven. It just kept on going. And it’s still going on today.

Dear God, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help Jesus’ followers. As we read these stories, please help us to be brave and to tell other people about Jesus too. Amen.