1. The Early Church April 13, 2012

2. The Early Church The first apostle to die from persecution was James Soon after that Stephen was stoned Saul started a massive persecution of the church The apostles went to different areas After Saul was converted, official persecution led by the Sanhedrin and Jewish leadership was stopped

3. The Early Church The Apostles went- East to India South to Ethiopia West to Spain (Unproven: Peter went North to the England and then back to Rome) This would have spread the Gospel to the outer reaches of Jewish settlement Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles in Greece, Rome, and Asia Minor

4. The Early Church

5. Difficulties the Early Christians Faced Persecution Resistance to the Gospel False Accusations Doctrine Cults Gnosticism Breakdown of Local Church Division Hurts and Misunderstandings

6. Difficulties the Early Christians Faced Persecution Resistance to the Gospel People who love sin more than God Evil intent or hard heart: nothing we can do False Accusations People who are basically seeking good but making decisions based on false assumptions Try to avoid conflict on side issues: show the truth in love

7. Difficulties the Early Church Faced Doctrine Cults -could sin and be “spiritual” Combat through being saturated in the Word Abstain from sinful behavior Gnosticism -could be a believer on own, inner truth Combat through being aligned with the Cornerstone Stay under Godly authority

8. Difficulties the Early Church Faced Breakdown of Local Church Division Some were people who wanted others to follow them- deceitful and divisive Don’t follow these leaders Hurts and Misunderstandings Forgive each other Examine our motives and pray for each other

9. I Peter 2:1-10 Who rejected the “living stone”? What are believers now a part of? According to verse 10, what are we now parts of?

10. 1 Peter 2:1-10 people priesthood nation God’s possession What do each of these imply?

11. 1 Peter 2:11-25 What type of lives should we live? How are we supposed to deal with authority? What kind of leadership was in power at this time?

12. 1 Peter 2:11-25 Does Peter approve of slavery? Why does he encourage slaves who are believers to submit to their masters? The goal is eternal salvation for as many as possible Slavery was a major fact at that time Both Peter and Paul wrote that owners who were believers should treat others as brothers and sisters and not wrongly God will judge those who oppress others

13. 1 Peter 2:11-25 How are we supposed to respond when falsely accused? How will this help the church to grow? Whose example should we always be following?

14. Today Persecution- Resistance to the Gospel Other religions Muslim Hindu False Accusations Media Accounts of “Christians” Christian groups being manipulated by political advocacy groups

15. Today Doctrine Jesus + “Health + Wealth” gospel- materialists Legalism- ultra conservatives Jesus - Mormons (need to work for salvation) Gnosticism (individualism, can sin and still be spiritual)

16. Today Breakdown of the local church Division Leaders who want to make their own “kingdom” Dividing over doctrinal issues Hurts and Misunderstandings Misunderstandings Wounds

17. Take Away What can I do to- Be strong in the face of persecution? Be strong in the face of false doctrine? Be strong in the face of division? Be strong in the face of temptation?

18. I Peter 2: 9, 10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

19. jesuswalk.com http://mattstone.blogs.com/photos/celtic_icons/early-christian-art.html http://www.third-millennium-library.com/MedievalHistory/Cambridge/I/XXI.html http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/early-christian-art-before-constantine http://persecution.in/content/persecution-minorities-silence-and-inaction-are-certainly-no-options http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100122945/the-arab-spring-has-brought-misery-to-middle-eastern-christians/ http://www.amazon.com/The-Health-Wealth-Gospel-Movement/dp/0877843279 whymormonism.org donners5.info

20. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/early- christian-art-before-constantine