Rhema

Stephen was a Jew who had lived outside of Israel. He accepted Christianity and became one of the seven deacons chosen by the disciples to take care of the widows and the needy people in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1-5). Stephen is described as a man who was unusually full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Introduction Acts 6:5 introduces a faithful man of God named Stephen: “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” It is noteworthy that there have always been those faithful believers whose love for and commitment to the Lord seem to shine through so greatly that others around them notice, and Stephen was such a man. Nothing is known about the personal life of Stephen—his parents, his siblings, or whether he had a wife or children; however, what is known about him is what is truly important. He was faithful, even when faced with certain death. Stephen found himself in the middle of a conflict between the Jews who still embraced the Jewish culture and those who had turned more toward the Gree...

Peter’s Life Before Christ Peter was originally named Simon. Jesus was the One Who changed Peter’s name. Peter means “rock" or literally Petra. Peter was born in Betsaida (in Galilee, Israel.)   By profession, he was a fisherman.  His father (also a fisherman) was named Jona; his brother, the apostle Andrew. Peter was married. He and his brother (Andrew), along with their partners (the apostles James and John) were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee.  Zebedee (the father of James and John) was also a partner. The house in which Peter lived, in Capernaum, is still standing; in the 5th century AD, however, a Christian church was constructed over it. Peter’s journey with Christ Peter left everything behind to follow the Lord (verse 11). Peter was perhaps the very first disciple that Jesus called along with His brother Andrew. For the next three years, Peter lived as a disciple of the Lord Jesus. Being a natural-born leader, Peter became the de facto spokesman for t...

The Apostle Paul’s Birth & Education 1) A.D. 6 Born a Roman citizen to Jewish parents in Tarsus 2) 20–30 Studies Torah in Jerusalem with Gamaliel; becomes a Pharisee 3) 30–33 Persecutes followers of Jesus of Nazareth in Jerusalem and Judea During the closing years of Caesar Augustus’s reign, a boy was born to a Jewish family in Tarsus. The family traced its descent from the tribe of Benjamin, and they named their son after the most illustrious member in their family’s history: Saul, the first king of Israel. As a Roman citizen, the boy had three names, by one of which he became famous: Paulus. Though born in a center of Greek culture, Saul was sent to school in Jerusalem, where he studied the Jewish scriptures and religious law under renowned rabbi Gamaliel “the Elder.”Gamaliel was a member of the Jewish ruling council (the Sanhedrin) and grandson of the famous rabbi Hillel. Saul – The Persecutor of the Church Before becoming the great missionary evangelist, Paul was known ...