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    Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church: Book Four
    Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church: Book Four
    Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church: Book Four
    Ebook127 pages1 hour

    Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church: Book Four

    By Del Mueller

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    About this ebook

    Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have been present during the period following Pentecost? Imagine being one of those who believed and was baptized on that Festive Day. Then join Peter and John as they face the wrath of the Sanhedrin. Be part of the first communion service. Witness the selection of the seven deacons. Describe the terror the hypocrites in the congregation felt after observing a pronouncement of death to Ananias and Sapphira. Ride with Philip as he interprets Isaiah for an Ethiopian official. Become, with Paul, awestruck when Jesus appears as a blinding light and challenges: Paul! Paul! Why are you persecuting me? Follow Peters instructive ministry to Cornelius and his Gentile friends. Witness Peters imprisonment and miraculous escape. Observe the events that led to the spread of the Christian Church, reaching to and beyond Antioch in Syria.
    Del Mueller takes readers into the thoughts and hearts of the key witnesses to the beginning of the Christian Church. He writes a first-person account that provides readers with a unique historical perspective of the stories as they really could have happened. Narratives of the Beginning of the Christian Church will personalize the events that altered the world and show readers the humanness of those who were changed because of Jesus.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateNov 21, 2012
    ISBN9781477262986
    Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church: Book Four
    Author

    Del Mueller

    Author Delbert “Del” Mueller is a retired university professor, Concordia University Chicago, who previously served as a Lutheran school teacher and principal. Prior to writing this five book Narrative series, Dr. Mueller authored four college level textbooks. Del remains active in his local church, serving as a lay minister. He and his wife Dorleen currently reside in Maywood, Illinois. They are world travelers who have led numerous overseas tours including trips to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy, all regions associated with the early Christian Church. Frequent visits with their children and grandchildren are a special joy. Dr. Del’s narrative series: Narratives of the Nativity of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Earthly Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus of Nazareth Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church Narratives of Paul’s Missionary Journeys and Rome

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      Book preview

      Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church - Del Mueller

      © 2013 Del Mueller. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 1/7/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-6219-1 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-6298-6 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916414

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

      The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Table of Contents

      Then Matthias Said

      Then Jude Said

      Then Andrew Said

      Then Abner Said

      Then Caiaphas Said

      Then Prochorus Said

      Then Nicanor Said

      Then Gamaliel Said

      Then Saul Said

      Then Philip Said

      Then Berihun Said

      Then Ananias Said

      Then Judas Said

      Then Tabitha Said

      Then Oedipus Said

      Then Barnabas Said

      Then Peter Said

      Addendum

      Then John Said

      Appendix A – Map of Israel during Earthly Ministry of Jesus

      Appendix B – Map of Jerusalem during the Earthly Ministry of Jesus

      Appendix C – Herod’s Temple Mount

      Appendix D – Herod’s Temple

      Discussion Questions

      Dr. Del’s Narrative Series:

      Narratives of the Nativity of Jesus of Nazareth

      Narratives of the Earthly Ministry of Jesus of Nazareth

      Narratives of the Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus of Nazareth

      Narratives of the Beginning of the Early Christian Church

      Narratives of St. Paul’s Missionary Journeys and Rome

      Dedicated to

      Our extended family at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Melrose Park, Illinois.

      Charles and Jewel Laabs, Bob and Marilyn Dorn, Henry and Laura Latzke,

      Len and Carla Schoepp, Al and Carol Zimmer,

      and our dear friends: Jan Muller and Pat McGinty

      42277.jpg

      Acknowledgements

      A project of this magnitude requires the care and attention beyond that of the author. To help bring this book to fruition I owe a special thanks to Dr. R. Allan Zimmer Professor emeritus, Concordia University Chicago for his detailed editing of the manuscript. I am also blessed to have the participation of my wife, Dorleen, Laura Latzke, and Jewel Laabs. Their careful examination of what I had written was invaluable.

      Special thanks to Jeffery W. Hamilton, pastor of La Vista Church of Christ, La Vista, Nebraska, for his invaluable help securing many of the intext graphics used in this series.

      Permission granted by the La Vista Church of Christ, La Vista, Nebraska for inclusion of the following graphics:

      Apostles baptized with the Holy Spirit

      Stoning of Stephen

      Saul visited by Jesus

      Peter sees a vision of a sheet with unclean animals

      Peter released from prison

      Notes to the Reader

      The story you are about to read is an historical novel based on the first twelve chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, a letter written by St. Luke to his friend, Theophilus, and part of the New Testament Bible. The Acts is a continuation of St. Luke’s first letter in which he detailed the earthly ministry of Christ.

      Since it is generally agreed that Luke was not present during the early beginnings of the Christian Church as it grew outward from Jerusalem [his first reference as a participant in The Acts is found in chapter 16:19], it can be assumed the content on which this book is based was the consequence of conversations Luke had with those who had personally witnessed these events.

      42140.jpg

      The narratives in this book begin with Matthias describing how he was chosen as the twelfth disciple, replacing Judas Iscariot, and end with Peter’s miraculous escape from Herod’s prison and Saul and Barnabas’ return from Jerusalem to Antioch.

      Each narrative is written as I envisioned the eye-witness would have told it. There is no certainty that my imaginations are correct; thus – a novel. The narratives are presented as first-person accounts of the events that took place during the birth of the Christian Church; told by the various persons who witnessed them.

      I have attempted to posture the reader as the one who is listening to the teller; the person who lived the event. Therefore I entitled each narrative as: Then The Teller Said, and provided a graphic of that person.

      I tried to tell the Biblical stories accurately, attempting to assure that nothing in the narratives conflicted directly with what is recorded in Holy Scriptures. However, to make a story line flow, it became necessary to provide anecdotal information when no detail was offered in the Scriptures. Where this happened, I invented actions, relationships, and dialogue that to me seemed possible and reasonable.

      42142.jpg

      I added an addendum to the last narrative, Then Peter Said, and entitled it, Then John Said. Its purpose is to provide some additional understanding of the breath and intensity of the evangelizing effort by the leaders of the New Covenant. Writings attributed to the Church Fathers suggest that within a span of one life-time following Christ’s resurrection, the Gospel had reached all the way from India to Britannia. It was becoming the single dominant monotheistic religion. Followers of The Way could be found throughout and beyond the stretches of the Roman Empire.

      42144.jpg

      Christians tend to think that it was because of St. Paul that the Church grew and flourished. While Paul’s contributions are significant and may not be minimized, it should be recognized that countless other believers added to the Church’s definition of the faith; chiefly among them, the twelve disciples. I therefore chose to write a short description of their evangelistic highlights, beginning with John and Mary’s story as it could have happened. I then briefly outlined possible missionary successes of the eleven disciples, based on the variety of witnesses who speculated on their life’s work. There is no certainty that these presumptions are correct.

      42146.jpg

      It may be presumed that some anecdotal narrative is poorly chosen and some imagined actions are not sufficiently supported by known facts. What is certain and faith building is not the peripheral information I have incorporated, but rather the teaching of Scripture alone.

      My purpose for this book is to help the reader gain a comprehensive overview of the activities related to development of the early Christian Church, providing a probable story line that flows from event to event.

      My hope is that

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