Little Country Church on the edge of town

Do do do do do do

People coming every day from miles around

For meetings and for Sunday school

And it's very plain to see

It's not the way it used to be.

Welcome to the Word for today, featuring the Bible teaching ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of the Calvary Chapel Movement.

This radio program is a chapter-by-ch by chapter verse by verse study through the entire Bible.

And on today's edition of the word for today, Pastor Chuck continues his message,

The Lame Man at the Gate, as we pick up in Acts chapter 3 verse 1.

And now with today's study, here's Pastor Chuck.

Shall we turn to Acts the third chapter?

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer being the ninth hour.

The day started at 6 o'clock in the morning, sun up, and so the 9th hour would be 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

At 2.30 in the afternoon, the evening sacrifices were offered. They did not go to the temple for the

sacrifices. Following the sacrifices, as the smoke of the sacrifice was ascending into heaven,

it would be the hour of prayer and the people would stand and praise the Lord or pray into God

as the smoke of the sacrifices ascended heavenward.

And I think it's significant that they didn't go for the sacrifice. They knew that

that was no longer valid. But they waited for the hour of prayer and went into the temple

at the hour of prayer. In the early church in Jerusalem, Christianity was not considered

separate from the Jews except for the belief that

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