Rise of the early church

Early Church History Timeline This early church history timeline, in my opinion, addresses issues that ought to be of concern to all Christians.

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

What image do you picture in your mind? Why is the image so different, so less radical today than it was then? The Early Church was a Community You may be surprised to find out that the early church was not a weekly gathering in a church building, looking at the backs of the heads of people you rarely see during the week.

In fact, there is no record of a church building for the first two hundred years. In fact, they were together every day, working together, and sharing their new life with others.

Life in the Early Church - Sabbath School Lesson 3, 3rd Qtr

As Rodney Stark, a sociologist of religion who has written extensively on the topic, put it:

Love was the primary message of the early church. But their message was not a mere sermon from a pulpit. Every day was spent caring for each other in practical ways, and laying down their lives for each other.

This was the substance, the visible reality of the new commandment of their Lord: By this all men will know that you are My disciples.

Those disciples with wealth sold their assets and laid the entire sum at the feet of the apostles. The generosity they had for their poorer brothers, their radical forsaking of material wealth, and their affectionate trust for their shepherds were part and parcel of their faith.

Such acts were not just the noble zeal of a few impulsive zealots, but a way of life practiced by all. That could only come from another spirit 19 — not the Holy Spirit.

Love produced a full-featured culture based on the teachings of the Messiah. He had said that all of the Law and the Prophets hang on two commandments: All of the instructions in the Law were impossible to fulfill without clinging to love just as a climber scaling a cliff clings to every handhold in the rock.

No benefit would come from trying to obey the Law without love. The scribes and Pharisees had demonstrated that all too well. But as the first disciples hung on to love, a new and living way to fulfill the Law opened up to them.

There remains therefore a Sabbath-keeping for the people of God. The Sabbath was for resting and for evangelism, while the first day of the week was for celebrating the resurrection, beginning on the evening of the first day what we call Saturday night.

He was a Samaritan philosopher who grew up pagan. After becoming a believer in Christ, he defended the beliefs of the early church to governors and officials. Somewhere around AD, he described what the church did then: And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits… Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly.

The pagan influences in the new places pulled much harder on the souls of the new disciples. These people did not have the background in the Law of Moses as the first disciples in Jerusalem did, but had been steeped in the idolatry and immorality of the day.

They required more care and instruction to remain set apart and not slip back into the popular culture, but it was a constant battle — one that was often lost. In the beginning, the communities were self-governing clans, loosely connected in a confederation under the care of the apostles.

Local elders ruled the clans, 32 watching over their flocks and themselves to preserve the unity and love between them, both within and between their communities. The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.

Their power came through the force of their great intellects, both within and without the church. They often had a philosophical or legal background, which equipped them to engage in complex arguments to attempt make their religion agreeable to the governors and philosophers of the day.

The apostles noticed a change, and wrote letters of correction and warning. The most outstanding of these is First John, but the letter of Jude addresses the same issues, and so do the opening chapters of the Book of Revelation.Early Church • 1 - AD; Middle Ages • - AD The Rise of the Evangelicals Mark Noll's The Rise of Evangelicalism.

The history of early Christianity covers the period from the origins of Christianity to the First Council of Nicaea in The Rise of Christianity, Jonathan, From One Identity to Another: The Mother Church of Jerusalem Between the Two Jewish Revolts Against Rome (/6 EC). Paris: Éditions du Cerf, collection Judaïsme ancien et.

The Rise of the Church The early Church father help brought order and structure to the church in many ways. There were three Church Fathers who helped the Rise of the Church, they were Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome.

The Early Church History Timeline is a point by point overview of the first 4 centuries of Christianity, from the apostles to Constantine, with references and links to further information.

The rapid growth of the early Christian church is a source of perennial fascination. As Rodney Stark, a sociologist of religion who has written extensively on the topic, put it: “ How did a tiny and obscure messianic movement from the edge of the Roman Empire dislodge classical paganism and become.

The Roman Empire was the dominant political and military force during the early days of Christianity, with the city of Rome as its foundation.

Earliest Days of the Roman Christian Church Search the site GO.