201 - ITALY
HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH
In the Italy Series, we focus on the biblical and historical story of the Early Church. Jesus never traveled outside a 100-mile radius of where he was born, yet His name is spoken in every corner of the earth. This is the story of how it happened, and is still happening. We study from the New Testament book of Acts, along with The Didache, the ancient manual of the Early Church.
This 7-part audio series includes a Welcome Letter from Kristi, Course Syllabus, Recommended Resources, Discovery Notes, and access to the PowerPoint slides.
***To take 201 - Italy as part of a local small group, through a Zoom/online cohort, with a church, or in any other communal format, each participant needs to purchase the series. Thank you!
***Want to gift 201 - Italy? Scroll down to our FAQs for step-by-step instructions!
Course Curriculum
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StartWelcome, Syllabus, & Recommended Resources
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StartWeek 1 - Rabbis, Synagogues, and the Jewish Roots of the Early Church
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StartWeek 2 - The Kingdom of God is like a whaaaat?
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StartWeek 3 - Celebration Invading Entertainment
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StartWeek 4 - Abundance Invading Scarcity
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StartWeek 5 - Togetherness Invading Separation
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StartWeek 6 - Rhythms of the Early Church
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StartWeek 7 - Actively Participating in the Kingdom of God
Your Instructor
Kristi McLelland is a professor at Williamson College and serves as a biblical culturalist. She has a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and has dedicated her life to teaching people how to study the Bible.
After studying in Israel and Egypt in 2007 and discovering that God is better than she ever knew, Kristi has been teaching the Bible through a Middle Eastern lens, in its historical, geographical, cultural, and linguistic context. Kristi encourages believers to be postured to receive what God is saying, which is best done through communally experiencing Scripture. Kristi teaches about the goodness of God, experienced through table fellowship, practicing hospitality and collaborative wisdom.
During her years as a professor at Williamson College and Director of Christian Education and Women’s Ministry at local churches, Kristi has taught and shepherded thousands. Since 2008 she has led biblical studies trips to Israel and studied and trained under Dr. Jim Martin, Rabbi Ken Alpren and world-renowned Israeli archaeologist Dr. Gabi Barkay.
Kristi’s trips to Israel, Turkey, Greece and Italy, along with her Middle Eastern Lens classes, help Westerners study and appreciate the Bible as it was written by Middle Easterners in a Middle Eastern context. This lens offers a deeper look into what the biblical characters meant in what they did, said and wrote. This enhanced understanding of the biblical framework positions us to better open our eyes, ears and hearts to the Living God who is constantly pursuing us.
Kristi is available to assist churches, colleges, organizations and other groups in discovering the Bible through a Middle Eastern Lens.