1. Lesson 3: The New Testament Church

2. The Church in Reality
Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49

3. The Church in Reality
and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47

4. The Basis of Membership
Go into all the world and preach the gospel of my death and resurrection to all mankind. They who believe, repent and are baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirt shall be saved and those who disbelieve shall be condemned”.

5. The Basis of Membership
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38

6. The Basis of Membership
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4

7. Rapid Growth
praising God and having favor with all the people… Acts 2:47a

8. Rapid Growth
However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. Acts 4:4

9. Early Spread
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47

10. Early Spread Phillip went to Samaria
Barnabus found Paul and took him to Antioch of Syria.
History reveals one of the reasons these journeys took place was to establish congregations. Which is what happened many times.

11. Early Spread History tells us of others: Thaddaeus went to Eddessa
Mark to Alexandria and established the church and founded a school
Bartholomew went to India and left the new converts a copy of Matthew in the Hebrew language.
John after being exiled to Patmos was released following the death of Domitian, went to Ephesus where he labored until he was 90.

12. Early Spread Matthias preached in Ethiopia Thomas in Parthia and India
Andrew in the near east and James the less in Egypt.

13. Early Spread
A detailed account of the death of James, the brother of Christ, tells how the scribe and Pharisees stood him on the pinnacle of the temple and required him to denounce Christ. When he exalted Him instead, the throw him down. When he didn’t die they stoned him, when he still survived a laundryman finally ended his life.
The same account says that James spent so much time in prayer that his knees had grown hard like a camel’s.

14. The Worship of the Church
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, Ephesians 5:19

15. Conclusion
1. Bible History is in agreement with God’s Word. 2. If we do what they did in Bible times we can enjoy not only worship but salvation as well. 3. History doesn’t lie, what Christ & the Apostles taught, is what the members of the Lord’s church did and so should we.