The most played episodes among Podcast App listeners.

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   Number 1: Episode NT40 - Ananias and Sapphira

   Story 40 – Ananias and Sapphira Based on Acts chapter 4 verses 32 to 37 and chapter 5 verse 1 to 16 The thing about praying is that God answers your prayers - and the new church in Jerusalem had just prayed for great boldness when speaking about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. They had also asked for healing power and for signs and wonders to be done in the name of Jesus. And, in answer to that prayer and as confirmation that the Lord had heard and would give them what they’d asked for, the building they were in was shaken. As that happened, once again, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and went out preaching about Jesus with great boldness. They also found that they were one in heart and mind – they belonged to each other as brothers and sisters. No one felt that what they owned was theirs alone, but was to be shared by everyone in the church as needed. This meant that, at times, some in the church would sell houses or land and bring the proceeds from that sale to the apostles so that they could distribute it as required, with the result that there were no needy people in the church. An example of this was a man known as Barnabas. His real name was Joseph and he was from the tribe of Israel called the Levites who helped in the Temple, although his family was actually from Cyprus! He was known as Barnabas because it means ‘son of encouragement’ and that seemed to sum up who he was – so the nickname had stuck! One day Barnabas sold some land he owned, probably back in Cyprus and, when the money arrived, he brought it to the apostles and laid it at their feet to indicate that he was happy for them to use it in any way they saw fit. However, when the enemy of the church, the devil, saw what Barnabas and many others were doing, he saw an opportunity to destroy the church, to make it rotten from the inside out and he looked for – and found – a couple in the church who he could use for his wicked purposes. The idea was simple, destroy the church by destroying its integrity. Make one person a liar and the whole testimony of the church would be rubbished, with conflict and mayhem following in its wake. The enemy prepared his attack well by playing on the pride and vanity of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They had watched as people like Barnabas had brought the money from the sale of land and houses to the apostles. No doubt the devil had encouraged them to feel envious of the way Barnabas was thanked, trying to make them believe that there was some kind of spiritual elite they could be part of. He must have reminded them that they also had some land they could sell and, just as they were about to sell the land so that they could look good in the eyes of people, the devil must have caused them to doubt the faithfulness of God. After all, selling a piece of land and giving the money away was a big thing to do – you couldn’t just get it back later! So the devil encouraged them to come up with a plan that would give them the best of both worlds: the security of a nice little hidden nest-egg from the sale of the land, while at the same time appearing to be one of the supposed spiritual elite by their giving. All they had to do was tell the apostles their plan to sell the piece of land, but not tell them the truth about the actual price they were going to get for it. It seemed such a small lie. They were going to give MOST of the money away and only keep back SOME for themselves. No one else need know except them. The buyer wasn’t part of the church and so they felt their secret would be safe. When the transaction was completed, the day arrived when Ananias brought the money to the apostles. He brought most of what the land had actually sold for - and the exact amount he’d told the apostles it had sold for! So, walking up to Peter, knowing that all eyes were on him, Ananias swelled with pride. He was part of the elite now, they would look up to him after such sacrificial giving. No doubt with a pious and holy...

   April 12, 2021·11min
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   Number 2: Episode NT39 - Peter and John on Trial

   Story 39 – Peter and John on Trial Based on Acts chapter 4 verses 1 to 31 A miracle had taken place right outside the Temple in Jerusalem. And now, inside the temple area, a man crippled from birth was walking, leaping and praising God that he’d been healed. Maybe if that’d been all that had happened, then those in charge of the temple may have looked on and done no more. But Peter, one of the followers of Jesus, had started to teach the crowds, saying that through Jesus there was life after death – something that the ruling Sadducees refused to believe! This man and his friend had to be silenced – how dare they teach such lies! So, while they were still speaking to the crowds, the Priests, the captain of the Temple guard and the unbelieving Sadducees – came and arrested Peter, John and the man who’d been healed. And, because it was evening, they put them in jail, waiting until the next day before they took matters further! But even though the apostles Peter and John had been arrested and locked away from the crowds, the message they’d taught in the Temple was remembered by the people who’d heard it, and many believed what they’d heard, so that the number of men who believed, without counting women and children, grew to about 5000. The next day, the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law gathered together to consider what should be done with the apostles. Both Annas and Caiaphas were there, the leaders who’d overseen the death of Jesus. Then the prisoners were brought before them. As Peter and John were brought before the leaders, the words Jesus had spoken must have rung in their ears, ‘You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will be accused before kings and governors of being my followers. This will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply!’ (P) Well, now was such a time when they were going to need Jesus to give them the words to reply to the questions that were about to come their way. As they stood before the council, the leaders demanded, ‘By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?’ Once again being filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter replied, ‘Rulers and elders of our people, if you’re asking us to explain our act of kindness to a crippled man and how he was healed, you all need to know this: He has been healed in the name and by the power of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. This is how the Scriptures talk about Jesus, they say, ‘The stone that you builders rejected - has now become the stone which holds everything together.’ You can’t be saved in any other way! Because there is no one else in all of heaven that people can call on to save them except Jesus! Some of the leaders sat there open-mouthed – amazed at the boldness of Peter and John, especially as they were just ordinary men without any religious teaching. But at the same time, they also realised that these men had been with Jesus. (P) The leaders were at a loss as to what to do, particularly as the man who’d been healed was standing right there with them. So they ordered that the three of them be put outside the room so they could talk about what to do next. ‘What’re we going to do with them?’ they asked each other. ‘The whole of Jerusalem knows they’ve done an outstanding miracle and there’s no way we can deny it. But we have to stop this thing spreading.’ So they agreed to warn the apostles not to speak about Jesus again! Peter, John and the healed man were called back to hear their judgement. ‘This is our decision,’ the Sadducees and leaders said, ‘you are not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus ever again!’ Peter and John shook their heads. What the leaders were asking was impossible; how could they stop now? So looking at the council they replied, ‘Well, you must judge for...

   April 05, 2021·8min
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   Number 3: Episode NT38 - A Crippled Beggar

   Based on Acts chapter 3 verses 1 to 20 Story 38 – A Crippled Beggar The people in the temple came running from all directions! Once again something truly incredible had taken place – a miracle! And there he was! The beggar they’d seen almost every day on their way to the temple. But HE WAS no longer sitting on the floor with his mis-shapen and useless ankles and feet in front of him, instead he was jumping and walking and praising God while hanging on to a couple of men as he learnt how to balance on feet that’d never walked before! What was happening? What had these men done? How’d he been healed so completely and so quickly? A crowd started to gather around the three men, and then one of the men motioned for silence and shouted out in a loud voice, ‘Men of Israel, why do you look at us as though we’ve made this man walk by our own power? No! It is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Fathers who has brought glory to Jesus by doing this thing!’ (P) ‘This thing,’ the healing of the lame man, had happened just five minutes before. Peter and John, apostles of Jesus, had been on their way to the temple to take part in the afternoon prayer service when, at the same time, a man crippled from birth in his ankles and feet had been brought to sit at the temple gate called ‘Beautiful’. Each day he was carried to the temple to beg for money from the people going in, hoping that a few of them would give him something. As Peter and John were about to enter through the temple gate, the man asked them for money. (P) That’s when things started to happen that no one expected. Somehow the Holy Spirit spoke to Peter and John and both of them stopped and looked intently at the man. ‘Look at us!’ Peter said, and the lame man looked up at them, certain they were going to give him some money! But instead of getting out his purse, Peter spoke. ‘I don’t have silver or gold to give you,’ he said, and a slightly puzzled look came over the beggar’s face. ‘But what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!’ After saying this, Peter leant forward, took the man by the right hand and helped him to his feet! And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles which had been so useless that he’d never walked, were healed and strengthened! As Peter helped him, the lame man, now completely healed - jumped up, stood on his feet and began to walk! He’d never walked before in his whole life! Then, walking, leaping into the air and praising God, the three of them went into the Temple together! That’s when the commotion took place and everyone rushed over to them. The man couldn’t hold himself back as he learnt to walk while holding tightly on to Peter and John, and in a loud voice he praised God that he’d been healed! So there they were, a vast crowd surrounding them, while Peter spoke to them all about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the one who’d been crucified a few months earlier. ‘The Jesus who’s healed this man,’ Peter continued, ‘is the same Jesus YOU handed over and rejected in front of Pilate even though Pilate had decided to let Him go!’ Many of them could remember the day they’d stood before Pilate, and the mood of the crowd as they’d shouted for Barabbas to be released. And then, when Pilate had asked, how they’d screamed for Jesus to be crucified! But Peter was still talking, ‘You rejected the holy, righteous One and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God – raised Him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this FACT! It is by trusting in the name of Jesus that this complete healing has come about - as you can all see.’ A terrible feeling of guilt came over the crowd as Peter carried on, ‘Brothers, I know that what you did to Jesus was done because you didn’t realise who He was, and the same can be said of your leaders. But when it happened, God was at work fulfilling what the prophets had said about the Messiah beforehand – that He must suffer these...

   March 29, 2021·7min
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   Number 4: Episode NT37- Pentecost - Never the Same Again!

   Based on Acts chapter 2 Story 37 – Pentecost – Never the same again! Seven weeks had gone by since the Passover in Jerusalem, when Jesus had been executed by Roman crucifixion – an execution that at the time had looked like a terrible defeat as the ‘Messiah’ was murdered at the hands of evil men. But so much had changed since then! Yes, Jesus had been put to death by wicked men, and yet what had happened to Him was never out of God’s control! And since then, God had raised Jesus back to life! And over the next 40 days He’d spent time with His disciples showing them that He really was alive and not a ghost, and at the same time teaching them about the Kingdom of God. And, most exciting of all, Jesus had promised that within days He’d baptise them with the Holy Spirit so that they could tell everyone, starting with the residents of Jerusalem and ending up – well, at the furthest ends of the earth – about who He was and what God had done through Him! (PAUSE) At the end of those very special 40 days, Jesus had been taken back to heaven. But even though He’d gone back to heaven, His disciples knew they could still talk to Him, and He could still let them know what He wanted. So, instead of feeling sad, they spent their time praising God in the temple for what He’d done and then, in a more private place, they continued to pray, asking Jesus to do what He’d promised, to send the Holy Spirit. (PAUSE) And so now it was the Jewish celebration of Pentecost, 50 days after Passover, which marked the end of the barley harvest (and also marked the time they’d been given the Torah on Mount Sinai), and for this festival, every Jewish man was commanded to come before the Lord in His temple in Jerusalem. So Jerusalem was buzzing with people from all over the place, Jews who’d come back to Jerusalem for this special celebration even though they now lived in many different countries all over the world! (PAUSE) On the day of the Pentecost celebration, the city stirred early with people on the streets enjoying the festivities. The disciples were also up early when, suddenly, the house where they were gathered was filled with the sound of a powerful, rushing wind and then something appeared that looked like tongues made of fire and, as the disciples watched, the tongues of fire separated and came to rest on all the disciples, all 120 or so of them! At once everybody in the room was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they started speaking in all kinds of different languages as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability! Nobody could keep this quiet! People all over Jerusalem heard the sound of the powerful, rushing wind and came running to see what was happening. And when they got there, they were amazed - not really sure what to make of it all - as each of them heard their own language being spoken by the believers! No one could understand what was going on! ‘How can this happen?’ they asked each other. ‘These people are all from Galilee, and yet – we hear them speaking the languages of the lands we were born in – our native languages – from all around the world! And they’re speaking about the wonderful things God has done!’ What confused people even more was that the disciples really were from Galilee and, to be honest, Galilee was considered to be a backwater, not exactly cultured, and their strong accents usually made them incapable of speaking any language clearly – some said they even struggled with their own language! And yet, after that incredibly loud noise of rushing wind, and the settling of the tongues of fire, here they were fluently speaking languages from places they’d surely never been! ‘What does it mean?’ the onlookers asked, shaking their heads and unable to understand it. (P) But a few of them who came to see what all the commotion was about, heard the people speaking different languages and started to laugh! ‘If you ask me,’ they said, ‘these people have had a little too much wine!!’ It was then that Peter...

   March 22, 2021·9min
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   Number 5: Episode NT36 – Jesus’ Ascension

   Based on Acts chapter 1 verses 1 to 14 Story 36 – Jesus’ Ascension (PETER) ‘Jesus had risen from the dead! And from time to time during the 40 days after His resurrection He came to see us, His disciples, or apostles as we were also called. Apostle means ‘Someone who’s sent out’, and we were called apostles of Jesus because He’d chosen us and sent us out to tell people about Him and God’s Kingdom. As we spent time with Him during those days He talked to us about all kinds of matters concerning the Kingdom of God. And, while He was with us, He ate food and showed us time and time again that He wasn’t a ghost or anything like that - but a living, breathing person. The same Jesus we’d known and loved before His crucifixion, whose first concern was always the Kingdom of God.’ ‘Anyway, we’d returned to Jerusalem from Galilee, and while He was eating with us He gave us, His apostles, an important commandment. (P) He said, ‘Don’t leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift He promised.’ He looked around at us expecting us to understand, but most of us sat there with blank expressions on our faces, so He added, ‘Remember? I’ve told you about it before! John baptised with water, but in just a few days you’ll be baptised with the Holy Spirit!’’ (PAUSE) ‘Now that God had raised Jesus back to life, and He was talking about the Kingdom of God again, we began to think that all our old ideas about Jesus becoming King of Israel and kicking the Romans out of our country must have been right all along. So we kept asking Him, ‘Lord, is it now that you’re going to free Israel and make us the most important kingdom in the world?’’ ‘Jesus must have been so disappointed with us, we still didn’t understand and were making the same old mistakes we’d always made. So, one day, as we asked Him yet again, He said, ‘The Father sets those dates and they aren’t for you to know.’ (P) That put us in our place! And then He spoke once more of the subject that was so close to His heart, His Kingdom. ‘But when the Holy Spirit comes,’ He continued, ‘you’ll receive power, and then you’ll tell people everywhere about me! You’ll start right here in this city, Jerusalem; and then you’ll move out to Judea, the area around Jerusalem; and then you’ll move even further away from here, to Samaria, where the Samaritans live; and then – to the ends of the earth.’’ ‘I guess it took us a while to really understand what Jesus meant. He hadn’t been raised from the dead so that He could become the King of a single country! The whole earth belonged to Him! His Kingdom was bigger than any country, or any nationality or people group! His Kingdom was to cover the whole earth and our job in this Kingdom was to tell everyone about Him, to point to Him, the real King who’d died to take the punishment we so richly deserve! And now He was telling us that sometime soon, He’d return to His Father and send the Holy Spirit to help us – to help us tell the whole world that Jesus is alive and our sins can be forgiven, our guilt can be washed away and we can be children of God and citizens in His Kingdom – all because of what Jesus did on that cross!’ ‘It wasn’t long after this that Jesus went back to be with His Father. While He’d been with us He’d come and gone as He’d wanted, just appearing or disappearing, sometimes even appearing in a locked room. But now that He was going to leave us, going to heaven so that He could send the Holy Spirit, He left in a different way. I guess He could have just gone, disappeared and not come back, but if He’d done that we’d all have been thinking, ‘Maybe He’s not gone for good? Maybe He’ll come back if we just wait.’ I think Jesus understood that we needed to know He’d really gone back to His Father in heaven, so one day He took the 11 of us, His apostles, to the Mount of Olives about a kilometre outside of Jerusalem. And as we stood there with Him, He rose up into the sky and a cloud, like the cloud that’d been on the top...

   March 15, 2021·8min
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