ACTS TO REVELATION: THE WORLD OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS - PART 1
A VIDEO STUDY
WhAT EVENTS SPARKED THE DRAMATIC SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL IN THE FIRST CENTURY?
We’d like to explore an answer to that question with you! In this series of Drive Thru History®, video host Dave Stotts explores the amazing lives of the very first Christians. Beginning in Jerusalem and using the Book of Acts as a roadmap, Dave travels the Mediterranean region to share the people, places, and events that launched the Christian faith.
We'll investigate what happened after the Gospel accounts of Jesus Christ. Dave follows the lives of the disciples through Israel, and travels the missionary routes of Paul and his companions. We finish with John on the island of Patmos, and drive through the seven churches of Revelation in Asia Minor. Click the video to watch the trailer.
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You are welcome to download the weekly discussion questions that will be linked in the course overview below (when available). Click on the BOLD GREEN TEXT in the session outlines below to see the questions.
Course Overview (Part 1)(VIDEOS 1-9)
SESSION 1
THE GOSPEL SHARED AT PENTECOST (Click here for the handout)
Dave Stotts (video host) reintroduces us to the Apostles, who were living in Jerusalem after the remarkable events surrounding the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. On Pentecost, the Apostles experienced something truly special, when the Holy Spirit empowered them to start sharing the Gospel. After Peter’s first sermon, the church was launched in dramatic fashion when 3,000 Jews became followers of Jesus. These first followers were known as “The Way,” a movement that began spreading in homes throughout Jerusalem. Boldly, the Apostles went to the Temple grounds each day to preach the Good News of Jesus.
SESSION 2
THE CHURCH GROWS AT JERUSALEM
The church continued to grow in Jerusalem and the Apostles continued preaching at Solomon’s Colonnade on the Temple Mount. Peter and John healed a crippled man and were imprisoned by the authorities because they were perceived as a growing threat to the religious establishment. However, after Peter and John miraculously escaped, they continued to perform miracles in the name of Jesus, and crowds continued to come from nearby towns all around Jerusalem. As the movement grew, the religious leaders finally took a stand against a courageous deacon named Stephen. In the end, they killed Stephen for his adherence to the Gospel, and he became the first martyr for his faith in Jesus Christ.
SESSION 3
THE GOSPEL SPREADS TO THE GENTILES
Dave travels to a number of sites outside Jerusalem to share accounts of the Gospel being preached in Samaria, Judea, and beyond. We follow Philip to the Samaritan city of Sebaste, where he confronted a sorcerer, and the Roman Road to Gaza, where he baptized an Ethiopian court official. We then travel with Peter through the Judean town of Lydda, where he healed Aeneas, and the port city of Joppa, where he healed Tabitha and lived with a tanner named Simon. Dave ends in Caesarea, where Peter shared the Gospel with a Roman centurion named Cornelius, and his entire household became the first Gentile followers of Jesus Christ.
SESSION 4
SAUL OF TARSUS AND THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS
Dave introduces us to Saul and we visit his hometown of Tarsus in present-day Turkey. We travel a segment of the Road to Damascus and experience Saul’s supernatural encounter with Jesus. Dave climbs Mount Bental in the Golan Heights of Israel to get a glimpse of Syria, while examining the dramatic transformation of Saul the persecutor to Paul the Apostle. Dave ends in Caesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea to explore the life and legacy of Herod Agrippa and his persecution of the early church in Judea.
SESSION 5
PAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY: THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS
Followers of Jesus started congregating in Syrian Antioch, about 300 miles north of Jerusalem. There, the church grew quickly among the Jews and Gentiles. Dave travels to modern-day Antakya, Turkey, and the ancient church known as “St. Peter’s Cave,” to explore the Biblical accounts. Ultimately, the church at Antioch chose Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark to lead the first missionary journey deeper into the Roman Empire. Dave jets from Antioch to the incredible island of Cyprus – the first stop for Paul and his team. Leaving room for fun, Dave drives the entire island, from Salamis to Paphos, investigating the events described in the Book of Acts.
SESSION 6
THE JOURNEY CONTINUES: PAMPHYLIA, GALATIA, AND ASIA MINOR
In this episode, Dave continues traveling the route of Paul’s first missionary journey, sailing north from Cyprus to the coast of Asia Minor. Dave visits the Biblical sites of Perga, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, where Paul and Barnabas preached the Gospel, healed the sick, and faced dramatic challenges. While experiencing the food and fun of the Turkish culture, Dave journeys to other ancient sites in Turkey that help explain the early growth of Christianity in the region, despite severe persecution.
SESSION 7
THE JERUSALEM COUNCIL AND PAUL’S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY
Paul and Barnabas returned to Syrian Antioch, where they spent a considerable period of time strengthening the church there. After a number of months, they traveled to Jerusalem for a special meeting of church leaders. James and the Jerusalem Council ultimately decided that Gentile believers were not required to follow the Mosaic Law, but should abstain from immoral acts practiced throughout the Roman Empire. After returning to Antioch, Paul and Silas left on a second missionary journey. This three-year trek started in Galatia, where Paul revisited the churches he previously launched in Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch.
SESSION 8
THE SECOND JOURNEY CONTINUES: PHILIPPI AND THESSALONICA
Paul and his team continued their missionary journey through Macedonia in present-day Greece. After crossing the Aegean Sea, they landed at Neapolis and traveled to nearby Philippi. Dave visits the ancient ruins of Philippi and investigates the Biblical accounts that happened there. Dave then takes a road trip to ancient Thessalonica, where Paul and his team preached the Gospel, but were ultimately run out of town by a violent mob. Despite growing persecution, the church continued to grow throughout the Roman Empire.
SESSION 9
A ROAD TRIP TO ATHENS
Paul, Silas, and Timothy escaped Thessalonica and set-up shop in the remote city of Berea, where they preached the Gospel. Once again, the mobs got violent, and Paul was sent ahead to Athens for his safety. Dave takes a 300-mile road trip from Berea to Athens in present-day Greece, visiting ancient sites such as Mount Olympus and Thermopylae along the way. In the epic city of Athens, Dave investigates the accounts of Paul, including his work as a tentmaker in the Agora and his peaching of the Gospel at the Areopagus.