The Apostles and the early church

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Welcome to Class !!

We are eager to have you join us !!

In today’s Christain Religious Studies class, We will be discussing The Apostles and the Early Churches. We hope you enjoy the class!

 

CONTENT

• The Church in Samaria (Acts 8: 4-25)
• Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8: 26-32)
• The Church in Lydda and Joppa (Acts 9: 36-43)

THE CHURCH IN SAMARIA

Philip was the founder of the church in Samaria. His going to Samaria was as a result of the great persecution of the church in Jerusalem. After the death of Stephen, the members of the early church were persecuted severely and the church became disorganised. As a result, the members were scattered to different nations around Jerusalem. Some went to Judea, some to Samaria but the apostles remained in Jerusalem.

Philip went to Samaria and preached the gospel there, he also worked wonders among the people. He healed the sick and cast out demons. As a result, many of the people of Samaria accepted the gospel and were converted. He baptised them in the name of Christ when the apostles in Jerusalem heard this, they were happy and sent Peter and John to join Philip in establishing the church. When Peter and John arrived, they laid hands on the believers and they all received the Holy Spirit.

 

EVALUATION

1. Discuss the relevance of Peter and John in Samaria.
2. Why did Philip go to Samaria?

 

 

PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH

An angel of the Lord appeared unto Philip and instructed him to go south on the road of Jerusalem that led to Gaza and he did so. On his way, he met an Ethiopian Eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, Queen of Ethiopians. The man was just coming from Jerusalem where he had gone to for worship. He sat in his chariot and was reading the book of Isaiah. The Spirit of the Lord told Philip to go to that chariot and stay near it. When he got to him, he asked if he understood the book he was reading. The man answered that he didn’t and that he needed someone to explain to him. Philip filled this gap and later baptised him. After this the Spirit of the Lord took Philip and he appeared in Azotus, he travelled about preaching the gospel in all the towns until he got to Caesarea.

 

 

EVALUATION

1. How did Philip get to know about the Ethiopian Eunuch?
2. Explain the problem of this Eunuch.

 

THE CHURCH IN LYDDA AND JOPPA

Peter the head of the apostles was the founder of the church in Lydda as well as in Joppa. As the churches in Judea, Galilee and Samaria continued to grow, Peter also continued to move to the neighbouring towns and villages preaching the good news, converting and healing people. At Lydda, Peter healed a man called Aeneas who had been paralysed for eight years. As a result of this miracle, people of Lydda accepted the gospel and were baptised.

Peter again moved forward to the neighbouring town, Joppa. The visit was an invitation of a disciple to raise a woman who was dead. The disciples believed that if Peter could come the woman would be raised from dead. Peter came, prayed before the dead body of the woman and said to her “Tabitha rise” and immediately, Dorcas opened her eyes.

 

EVALUATION

1. Why did Peter move to Lydda?
2. Why did the disciples call for Peter?

 

GENERAL EVALUATION

1. Explain the connection between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.
2. Discuss the problem of the disciples in Joppa that prompted to call for Peter.
3. State two reasons why the Samaritans accepted the gospel.
4. Discuss the miracle that happened in Lydda

 

READING ASSIGNMENT

Christian Religious Knowledge for JSS. BK 3, by Adeyinka. et al Chapter 4, page 30.

 

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. What led to the dissipation of the disciples in Jerusalem? (a) riot (b)  persecution  (c)  aggression  (d)  desire
2. Which apostle moved to Samaria (a) Peter  (b)  Paul  (c)  Philip  (d)  John
3. …………… and …………… later joined the disciples in Samaria (a) Paul and Peter  (b)  Peter and John  (c)  Paul and Silas  (d)  Peter and James
4. What was the name of the woman that was raised from dead in Joppa (a) Mary  (b) Tabitha  (c)  Demas  (d)  Martha
5. The man that was healed in Lydda was (a) Aeneas  (b) Ananias  (c) Andrew  (d) Peter

 

THEORY

1. Highlight two lessons from the story of Dorcas.
2. Discuss the power that was working for Peter.

 

 

We have come to the end of this class. We do hope you enjoyed the class?

Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.

In our next class, we will be talking about Peter in Caesarea. We are very much eager to meet you there.

 

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