@FirstChurchofJerusalem
Today's Early Church Wisdom
“I shall not hesitate also to put into ordered form for you, along with the interpretations, everything I learned carefully in the past from the elders and noted down carefully, for the truth of which I vouch. For unlike most people, I took no pleasure in those who told many different stories, but only in those who taught the truth. Nor did I take pleasure in those who reported their memory of someone else’s commandments, but only in those who reported their memory of the commandments given by the Lord to the faith and proceeding from the Truth itself. And if by chance anyone who had been in attendance on the elders arrived, I made enquiries about the words of the elders—what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord’s disciples, and whatever Aristion and John the Elder, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not think that information from the books would profit me as much as information from a living and surviving voice.
~ Papias of Hierapolis (c. 60–130 AD) From the Preface to his lost ‘Expositions of the Sayings of the Lord’
This week's Psalm is Psalm 31 'My Rock, My Shield, My Song'

From The Home To The World

Organic outreach

In first-century Jerusalem the home represented a natural and organic locus for evangelism and outreach. What could be more natural than discussions held between friends and neighbours? In every human society neighbours talk. It’s a fundamental
expression of humanity, and one through which great influence may be exerted. In
some respects, the church systems we have developed over the last 20 centuries can
make it harder for Jesus’ followers to share in this way. Contemporary believers certainly do seek to reach out, but their impact may be diminished through a combination of factors including a lack of spiritual empowerment, a failure to exhibit cultural relevance, and the breakdown of traditional family and friendship systems. Members of the first church did not have to persuade others to enter a special building and experience a structured event they did not understand. Instead, they would simply share their experience, invite others into their homes, talk about Yeshua, and the Holy Spirit would do the rest! Believers would reach out to others in love, sharing the good news of Jesus' teachings and His sacrifice. This home-based mission was carried out with a sincere effort to witness to Christ in all aspects of their lives, seeking to bring others into the fold of the Christian family.