Early Netherlandish painters

Introduction Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. Both books are addressed to the same person Theophilus, whose name means “beloved by God”. Also Acts picks up right where Luke 24 ends, with the ascension. When Jesus ascended it marked the completion of his ministry on earth. Verse 1 Acts 1 and Luke 24 have much overlap between them. “Without the book of Acts the story of Jesus would be incomplete. Afterall, he didn’t come merely to save individuals to get them to heaven, but to…

The biblical reading that I selected is from the book of Acts, Chapter 5: 1-11, which is the story of Ananias and Sapphira. My reason for choosing this story is personal. While living in Italy, we were in Rome with some of our seminarian friends. We were waiting to go on the Scavi tour and had some free time. One of the seminarians asked if we had ever seen the sacristy in St. Peter’s. We had not, so he took us in for a tour. After the tour of the sacristy, we walked out into the Basilica.…

For example, persecution is not always a bad thing, and churches today should embrace this ideal. The early church faced a lot of persecution and thrived despite the constant attacks from Roman officials. The church can learn that God can work in all situations, and God in His infinite power can do all things. The church needs to understand that church liturgy…

Faith began with Jesus and his followers and was sustained and upheld – through a period of rapid growth and persecution – by faith in the living Spirit of Christ. Hope for a new era and a dedication to follow Jesus in his work marked this period. Early Christian communities were compelled by a faith that indicated a lifestyle, not strict adherence to set creeds or traditions (5). Shadows of the forthcoming Age of Belief could be seen even a few decades after the beginning of Christianity, but…

Red Rocks Church is only ten years old, and the Lakewood campus is brand new. It’s not even two years old and so many people flock to that campus every Sunday. It’s astonishing to see hundreds of people come through those doors and find a seat in the movie-esk pew area and praise the Lord. The church is nondenominational. They believe that God is the loving creator of the seen and unseen. According to their website, they also believe that Jesus is God in the flesh and that he lived a sinless…

orthodoxy” (p. 16,). In The Heresy of Orthodoxy, Kӧstenberger and Kruger (K2) provide a fair examination of the Bauer thesis which lays its foundation on the major urban centers of the first and early second centuries. The Bauer thesis, as popularized by Ehrman, argues that diversity – not unification - was present in early Christianity; “heresy preceded orthodoxy” (p. 17). K2 examines the Bauer-Ehrman thesis in three parts: pluralism…

36). Rea also noted that, "The early Christian believed that both the Scripture and the developing beliefs and practices of the apostolic church were given by the Holy Spirit, who as the source or guarantor of the truth, provided that truth through the apostles (p. 36). With these two…

but they do not have to worry about how early they have to get up just to have time to drive to class. When they say that the early bird gets the worm, they are not lying. Those who get the best parking spot are those who have early classes. I also interviewed my friend Braeden Hess, who commutes the University of Arkansas every day, I asked him how he manages to get a good parking spot and he said “easy, just take early classes. Nobody likes to wake up early so you have that one advantage.” He…

Tradition is woven into the very fabric of humanity. Every family, nation and society has traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. Even within the church, there are traditions that have been passed down through the centuries. However, the big question becomes: What role does tradition play within theology? The Catholic Church has equated tradition’s authority with Scripture; and great thinkers like John Meyendorff and Don Thorsen affirm tradition, yet lessen its authority…

During the early church there were many controversies on how to determine the canon of the New Testament. How did some books make the “cut” to be determined to be put in the infallible, inherent Word of God? Why did the church accept some books and rejected the others. There were key events and movements that were influential in the recognition of the canonical books of the New Testament. The foundation of the Canon should be understood in a believer’s life. It is sad to say, but, there are…