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.

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.