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Survey of Church History

  1. Lesson One
    The Birth of the Christian Church
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Growth of the Christian Church
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    The Spreading Flame
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Early Christian Life and Faith
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  5. Lesson Five
    The Young Church in Action
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  6. Lesson Six
    The Martyr Faith
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  7. Lesson Seven
    The Age of Constantine
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  8. Lesson Eight
    St. Augustine of Hippo
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  9. Lesson Nine
    The Iconoclastic Controversy
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  10. Lesson Ten
    The Crusades
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  11. Lesson Eleven
    Mystics and Scholastics
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  12. Lesson Twelve
    Heretics and Inquisitors
    4 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  13. Lesson Thirteen
    Reformation Patterns
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  14. Lesson Fourteen
    The Lutheran Tradition
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  15. Lesson Fifteen
    The Reformed Tradition
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  16. Lesson Sixteen
    The Anglican Tradition
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  17. Lesson Seventeen
    18th Century Renewal Movements
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  18. Lesson Eighteen
    The Missionary Explosion of the 19th Century
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  19. Lesson Nineteen
    The Rise of Modern Pentecostalism
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  20. Lesson Twenty
    The Rise of Fundamentalism
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  21. Lesson Twenty-One
    Fundamentalism and Modernism in Transition
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  22. Lesson Twenty-Two
    Fundamentalist/Modernist Controversies
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  23. Lesson Twenty-Three
    Modern Catholicism
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  24. Lesson Twenty-Four
    The Future of Evangelicalism
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  25. Lesson Twenty-Five
    The Challenge of Ministry in a New Millennium
    4 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  26. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Lesson Overview

Jerusalem, as the center of Jewish religion and culture, was probably one of the least likely places for a new religion to find focus and gain momentum. Yet, it was exactly here that the church was formed by a sovereign act of the Spirit of God who gave energy and direction to that first generation of believers. This lesson explores the distinctively Jewish context of the church’s first days and years and the sequence of events that brought the church into being.

Lesson Objectives

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to:

  • Described the political and economic character of the religious establishment of Jerusalem.
  • Explained two reasons why Jesus was perceived as a threat to the religious establishment.
  • Explored ways in which the Pentecost festival provided a positive occasion for the birth of the church.
  • Identified ways that the temple and Jewish religious worship served as the foundation for the faith and life of the Early Church.
  • Identified the four types of Jews and Jewish proselytes who became Christians.
  • Explained the significance of having Galilean Christians in the leadership of a church full of Judeans.

Personal Reflection

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
What was the significance for Judaism of the festival of Pentecost? What was the significance for Christianity of the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus?