Origin Story: The Magic & Mess of the Early Church

Sometimes, it’s easy to idealize the life of the early Church. People sharing their possessions, thousands upon thousands of people coming to know Jesus, lights out preaching…there was plenty to be impressed by.

But the early Church wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Things were disorganized. People pretended they were generous, and weren’t. Some of the earliest leaders in the Church sometimes couldn’t agree on key issues, and even fought over their disagreement. The early Church was as messy as it was magical. 

But when read correctly, all of that should give us tremendous hope: if God could use their imperfections, he can use ours too.

This week takes seven weeks to explore the life of the early Church–the good, the bad, and everything in between. 

Resources

Below you’ll find helpful/inspirational resources to use throughout the series:

The Challenge of Acts book by N.T. Wright

Acts Commentary by Craig Keener

Teachings

Below you’ll find each teaching from this series, beginning with the most recent.