Present Perfect: An Applied Church History Podcast

At long last, we reach the end of the very early church's first decade. We'll conclude this complex and dense time period by looking at two of Peter's miracles, including a very rare one. Then, we'll answer the seven questions with which we sum up each decade's qualities.

As we wrap up the very early church's first decade, we continue to explore Saul of Tarsus' history. We'll attempt to disentangle the period after his conversion, which included a mysterious interlude in Arabia, several years in Damascus, and a memorable fifteen days in Jerusalem.

Saul of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul, is an amazingly complex figure who features prominently in the very early church's history. We'll explore his childhood in the city of Tarsus, his education in Jerusalem, and his abrupt encounter with Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road. We'll also examine the Roman world in which he grew up and see why he could move so effortlessly between the world of Greek philosophers and the world of conservative Judaism.

The martyrdom of Stephen brought about a beneficial change to the very early church by forcing it to begin fulfilling the Great Commission. In this podcast, we look at Philip's mission to Samaria and its consequences. We also explore a crucial difference in the Holy Spirit's actions during the Church's first decade and examine possible reasons behind them.

Want to study church history on your own but don't know where to start? This podcast will get you on the right track.

We all love our Christmas traditions, but how many of them are biblically and historically accurate? In this special podcast, we'll take a look at the history of Christmas. We'll see how the Church added many traditions that clouded and obscured the real truths about the First Advent. We'll then synthesize a complete biblical picture using the accounts found in Matthew and Luke. Merry Christmas!

Resuming our survey of AD 32 through AD 40, we see the very early church tackle an administrative problem by appointing the first deacons. Amongst these is Stephen, the Church's first martyr. We'll explore the circumstances that led to his death and meet the man who went from heartily approving it to becoming one of the Church's greatest apostles. We'll also examine the Samaritans and Philip's ministry to them.

In this podcast, we wrap up our detour survey of first-century Israel's core leadership. We examine the Pharisees and determine whether or not they were as bad as is commonly believed. Were they all hypocrites, or were there a few good ones? We'll answer this question by seeing what the entire New Testament has to say about this controversial group.

Israel's leadership of the first century was complicated, fragmented, and factional. Understanding it makes the world of the very early church much more intelligible. In this podcast, we'll sort it out by taking a look at the priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, scribes, lawyers, and rabbis. We'll explore each group's origins, their beliefs, and how they interacted with each other.

The narrative of Ananias and Sapphira seems a bit disturbing and out of place in the Church Age. But as this podcast demonstrates, that incident served to establish several important concepts that were highly necessary for the very early church to understand. Amongst these was the nature of God, as well as the principle of apostolic authority. We'll examine apostolic authority, catalog its qualities, and explore why it was necessary. We'll also discover why it was temporary and no longer exists today.

In this podcast, we begin to examine the Church's first decade--AD 32 to AD 40. We'll examine the very early church's practices, leadership, and the people who made it up. Since the Book of Acts is our sole source for this time period, we'll take a look at that book and its writer, Luke. Finally, after being curiously quiet for a while, Israel's leadership will react to a miracle encouraging the nation to reconsider its path.

As we begin our trek through the early church's history, with its parallel Jewish and Gentile paths, we'll lay out our methodology. We're going to work through the remainder of the first century decade by decade. In this podcast, I'll deal with a few practical issues, including our historical sources and philosophy of church history. I'll wrap up by explaining the reason that today's church cannot truly replicate the early church.

Traditionally, the Church began with the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. The reality is a bit more complex. In this podcast, we'll see that God was doing TWO things on Pentecost, inaugurating the Church, and giving Israel a second chance to embrace the Kingdom through its Messiah. And a brief examination of Israel's seven Feasts of the Lord reveals something even more significant.

With Jesus' resurrection, we reach a fork in the road. For nearly four decades, Israel and the Church will travel parallel paths through history, with God reaching out to Israel as He simultaneously reveals the Church to the world. We'll explore these concepts and then take a look at what the disciples did as they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit.

In this podcast we explore how Israel reached a crucial inflection point in its history. Although many ordinary people were willing to accept Jesus as Israel's Messiah, the religious leaders, the official voice of the nation, rejected Him. We'll examine the ramifications of their actions, as well as Israel's future relationship with God. We'll also look at the tantalizing possibility that the Millennial Kingdom could have started in the first century had Israel reacted differently.

Jesus' ministry on earth is far too large to cover in just a few podcasts. So we'll restrict ourselves to examining His main purpose for coming to earth: to offer the Kingdom to Israel. We'll see where His miracles and His redeeming mankind fit in this plan. We'll also see how a crucial part of Israel opposed the coming Kingdom.

John the Baptist is a puzzling figure who appears at the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry. Clearly, he was the prophesied Forerunner whose task it was to announce the coming of the Messiah. But was he also the Elijah, whose coming God promised as He closed the Old Testament? In this podcast, we'll see what the Scripture has to say.

While Israel at the beginning of the first century was spiritually pretty bleak, there were a number of faithful "watchful waiters" who eagerly desired the coming of the Messiah. In this podcast, we'll take a look at several of them, including a group of very unusual men.

The path to the Kingdom began right at the start of time. Through various historical events and prophecies, God orchestrated the coming of the Messiah, even going so far as to specify exactly when He would ride into Jerusalem and offer Himself as King. This podcast explores those prophecies and events as we get ready to study the history of this crucial century.

Today, we develop the idea that much of the first century was a time of transition between two dispensations (Israel and the Church). We also explore the parallel idea that Israel stood at an inflection point during this same time period. We then examine the advantages that this dual perspective gives us in developing a clear and harmonious New Testament interpretation.