Show Notes
How did a small group of ordinary people change the world?
In less than 300 years, the church grew from about 120 disciples to an estimated 5–6 million Christians—without armies, political power, or institutional wealth, and often under intense persecution.
In Week 1 of The Story of Jesus’ Church: From Acts to Today, Brad Sarian explores the birth and growth of the early church from AD 30–313. We’ll meet courageous believers such as Perpetua and Polycarp, examine the Jewish and Roman worlds in which Christianity emerged, and discover why the early Christian community was so compelling.
In this class: • Why studying church history matters • How the Roman Empire helped Christianity spread—and persecuted it • Why early Christians were considered dangerous • How believers lived as a countercultural community • How the apostolic faith was preserved and passed down • What today’s church can learn from its spiritual mothers and fathers
The early church changed the world through the risen Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the faithfulness of ordinary Christians. Their story is our story—and a reminder that Jesus still keeps His promise: “I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18).
More from Restored Church Los Angeles
Technology is changing almost everything about how we live, but some things about people haven’t changed at all. We still love money, and our relationship with sex is still broken. Hebrews 13 speaks directly to both. After twelve chapters on who Jesus is, this message takes up the first practical commands of Hebrews 13 about love, sexual purity, and contentment, and asks why God cares about these parts of our lives at all.
Following Jesus for a season is one thing. Following him for decades, through suffering and stretches when everything feels difficult, is another. Some of us are barely hanging on, and others are just starting out and haven't hit the wall yet.
Many of us find the idea that Jesus had to die as a sacrifice hard to accept, even barbaric. Why would forgiveness require blood? Hebrews 9–10 answers that question directly. This message looks at why the old sacrifices were never enough, what Jesus' death accomplished that they couldn't, and what it means for how we live now.
Nobody has a hard day and thinks, "What I really need right now is a high priest." To modern ears, needing a go-between with God can sound offensive. But Hebrews says Jesus is the great high priest we needed. He stands in the gap and brings us into a better covenant with complete access, renewed desires, and complete forgiveness.