Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
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Immerse contains the full text of the New Living Translation with brief introductions to each book. Nothing has been added or removed from the Bible text. Click here to look inside.
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of the Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience
- Use Immerse: Luke & Acts instead of your regular chapter-and-verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural
simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like
songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book. - Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together
for 4 weeks—more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures. - Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Luke & Acts, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”
4 Questions to get your conversations started:
- What stood out to you this week?
- Was there anything confusing or troubling?
- Did anything make you think differently about God?
- How might this change the way we live?
The Immerse Bible Series is the proud winner of the prestigious Bible of the Year award from the ECPA Christian Book Awards. Immerse: The Reading Bible is specially crafted for a distraction-free listening and reading experience, helping you dive in and get immersed in Scripture. You’ll have a great experience using Immerse by yourself. But for an even richer experience, try reading with friends.
Immerse: The Bible Reading Experience is an invitation to a different kind of community interaction with the Bible. Less like a Bible study, more like a book club.
– 4, 8, or 16-week Bible listening plans take you through a large section of the Bible like the New Testament or the Torah
– Meet once a week for a free-flowing discussion about the text
– Wrestle with questions and celebrate ‘aha!’ moments together
Welcome to Immerse Luke and Acts, day 14, week three. But the believers who were scattered preached the good news about Jesus wherever they went. Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. Many evil spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims and many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone from the least to the greatest often spoke of him as the great one, the power of God. They listened closely to him because for a long time, he had astounded them with his magic. But now the people believed Philip's message of good news concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God's message, they sent Peter and John there. As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered the money to buy this power. "Let me have this power too," he exclaimed, "so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter replied, "May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God's gift can be bought. You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin. Pray to the Lord for me," Simon exclaimed, "that these terrible things you've said won't happen to me." After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem and they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the good news. As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, "Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia. A eunuch of great authority under the Kondake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Holy Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and walk along beside the carriage." Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man replied, "How can I, unless someone instructs me?" And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants, for his life was taken from the earth? The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?" So beginning with this same scripture, Philip told him the good news about Jesus. As they wrote along, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, there's some water. Why can't I be baptized?" He ordered the carriage to stop and they went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the good news there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea. Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord's followers. So he went to the high priest. He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the way he found there. He wanted to bring them, both men and women, back to Jerusalem, in chains. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked, and the voice replied, "I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do." The men with Saul stood speechless for they heard the sound of someone's voice but saw no one. Saul picked himself up off the ground, but when he opened his eyes, he was blind. So his companions led him by the hand to Damascus. He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. Now there was a believer in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision calling Ananias, "Yes, Lord," he replied. The Lord said, "Go over to Straight Street to the house of Judas. When you get there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again." "But Lord," exclaimed Ananias, "I've heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem. And he is authorized by the leading priests to arrest everyone who calls upon your name." But the Lord said, "Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel, and I will show him how much he must suffer for my namesake." So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and he regained his sight, then he got up and was baptized. Afterward, he ate some food and regained his strength. Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days and immediately he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogue saying, "He is indeed the Son of God." "All who heard him were amazed. Isn't this the same man who caused such devastation among Jesus followers in Jerusalem?" they asked. "And didn't he come here to arrest them and take them in chains to the leading priests?" Saul's preaching became more and more powerful and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. After a while, some of the Jews plotted together to kill him. They were watching for him day and night at the city gate so they could murder him, but Saul was told about their plot. So during the night, some of the other believers lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the city wall. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer. Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him. When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown. The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord, and with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers. This concludes today's Immersed Reading Experience. Thank you for joining us. [BLANK_AUDIO]
