Early Church

A rip roaring, hair raising, edge-of-your-chair saga of the first-century believers. From the day of Pentecost, on through the first seventeen years, every historical figure of that age is there: alive, vivid, believable.

Every generation has an uncanny tendency to view themselves as more enlightened than those that have gone before. The Church certainly has made mistakes all through history - and yet, no insights which we possess would be possible without the efforts, and even some of the mistakes, of our ancestors. The first volume of 2,000 Years of Christ's Power covers the period from the 1st Century AD to the start of the Middle Ages.

Dr. James Papandrea introduces you to all the major theologians, philosophers, and martyrs of the early Christian church and explains the theological principles that guided the Church from the New Testament era through the apologists, and, ultimately, to the development of the major doctrines. He uniquely situates the teachings of the early Church Fathers against the social and cultural context of the Roman Empire and its relationship to the Church.

What was the early Church like? Contrary to popular belief, Rod Bennett shows there is a reliable way to know. Four ancient Christian writers - four witnesses to early Christianity - left us an extensive body of documentation on this vital subject, and this book brings their fascinating testimony to life for modern believers. With all the power and drama of a gripping novel, this book is a journey of discovery of ancient and beautiful truths through the lives of four great saints of the early Church Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus of Lyons.

Long before modern prophecy systems, rapture theories, or theological shortcuts existed, the early Church read the Scriptures plainly. They believed the saints would face the Antichrist, endure persecution, remain faithful unto death, and be delivered at the appearing of Jesus Christ. This book documents that forgotten consensus.

Introduce your middle and high school students to the bold believers who helped shape the foundation of the Christian faith. Early Church Fathers, part of the inspiring Legends of Faith series by homeschool author Marilyn Boyer, brings Christian history to life through captivating stories of real men who stood firm for Christ in the face of persecution, heresy, and cultural opposition.

Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples—his Apostles and their associates—and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives.

The early Church faced persecution. Some endured. Others denied Christ. What happened next—and what does it mean for us today? Early Church Witness — Book 9: The Lapsed is a Scripture-first, historically grounded examination of how early Christians dealt with believers who denied Christ under threat of imprisonment, torture, or death.

From the bestselling author of The Lamb's Supper and Signs of Life comes an illuminating work that unlocks the many mysteries of the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist. Long before the New Testament was a document, it was a sacrament. Jesus called the Eucharist by the name Christians...

For many Christians, our understanding of the history of the church universal jumps straight from what we read in the New Testament to a basic understanding of the Reformation. We're missing more than a millennium! And it was a busy, fascinating, tumultuous thousand-or-so years during which Christianity spread across three continents. In places as distant and different from each other as China, Sudan, and Britain, the gospel was spreading, the church was growing, and believers were expressing their faith in myriad ways.

This classic text gives a broad overview of the early Christian church, how it was formed, and how it dealt with the Roman empire, which was at first hostile to Christianity, and then under Constantine the Great how it came to embrace the new faith. The author, George Hodges, also examines the many heresies that beset the church from within, and the various figures that would defend the correct definition of the faith.

Women were there. For centuries, discussions of early Christianity have focused on male leaders in the church. But there is ample evidence right in the New Testament that women were actively involved in ministry, at the frontier of the gospel mission, and as respected leaders. Nijay Gupta calls us to bring these women out of the shadows by shining light on their many inspiring contributions to the planting, growth, and health of the first Christian churches.

Athanasius rightly knew that upon one’s view of Christ hung one’s eternal destiny. As he wrote to the bishops of Egypt in 356: “as therefore the struggle that is now set before us concerns all that we are, either to reject or to keep the faith, let us be zealous and resolve to guard what we have received, bearing in mind the confession that was written down at Nicaea.” And, by God’s grace, his victory in that struggle has been of enormous blessing to the church ever since.

In this brief yet penetrating book, Dr. James Papandrea reveals what the early Church Fathers actually taught and believed about the Holy Scriptures as well as how they read, understood, and interpreted the Word of God. He explains the process by which the books of the Bible were selected and demonstrates the harmoniousness and complementarity of the Gospels. With Dr. Papandrea’s guidance, you will see how Scripture attests to the truth of the sacraments, Catholic doctrines, and the hierarchy of the Church founded by Christ.

Ever wondered if there were more writings from the first few centuries by Christians? Well the answer is - yes! There is much that the early Christians left us and they are available in this day and time. The New Testament is our rock to stand upon, but there are other works that we can glean from that are filled with godly wisdom and virtue. The 1st Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians is just that kind of work that can further your walk with Christ in this present day.

While many histories of Christian worship exist, this project undertakes a task both more focused and more urgent. Rather than survey the whole history of the Christian church, it focuses on the formative period between the first and fifth centuries CE, when so many of the understandings and patterns of Christian worship came to be. And rather than include such developments as the monastic hours of prayer and the history of ordination, the authors deal primarily with those aspects of worship that recur on a weekly or regular basis: preaching, Eucharist, and baptism. 

Early Church Witness—Volume 3: Endurance, Apostasy, and the Crown of Life confronts false assurance by returning to the direct words of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and the earliest Christian witnesses. Drawing from the King James Scriptures and early Church testimony, this volume shows that endurance is required, apostasy is real, and the promised reward belongs to those who overcome.

Satan's transformation from opaque functionary to chief antagonist is one of the most striking features of the development of Jewish theology in the Second Temple Period and beyond. Once no more than an "accuser" testing members of the human community, Satan, along with his demons, is presented by Jewish apocalyptic texts and the New Testament as a main source of evil in the world. In Satan and the Problem of Evil, noted scholar Archie Wright explores this dynamic in both its historical and theological trajectories.

In The Early Church on the Antichrist, Glenn Langohr brings together Scripture—especially the prophecies of Daniel—with direct quotations from early Christian writers to show that the historic Church did not expect an escape before tribulation, but endurance through it.

JESUS WARNED US FIRST is a Scripture-centered Christian book for ages 9-13 that introduces young listeners to Bible prophecy, spiritual discernment, and faithful endurance through the actual words of Jesus, the prophets, and the early Church.