{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Episode 150 ::Dr. Bryan Litfin :: Stories of Wisdom from the Early Church, the Spreading of the Gospel, and What We Can Learn from Them Today","description":" As we walk into the days that follow Easter, we have such a unique opportunity to engage the truly incredible work Jesus not only did on the cross and walking out of the empty tomb, and how the world was literally turned upside down in the remaining days He was on Earth and after His ascension to Heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit and the call to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth.   This is Dr. Bryan Litfin\u2019s area of expertise. We\u2019ve had a chance to talk about Dr. Litfin\u2019s works of fiction on the podcast before, where he shares a story of an early Christian woman and a young warrior in Constantine\u2019s army and how the trials of the time and their faiths are tested and proved, but today, we\u2019re going to put all his various degrees to work as he shares with us about his newest non-fiction book Wisdom of the Ancients: 30 Timeless Lessons from the Early Church. Dr. Litfin is a Professor at Liberty University teaching theology and New Testament classes, and a former professor at Moody Bible Institute, and as we walk into this season that celebrates the birth of the early church, this conversation with Dr. Litfin is the perfect place to spend time. Dr. Litfin walks us through the context of what he means by \u201cthe ancient period,\u201d which his latest book focuses on and he defines it as within the time of Christ on earth in the 1st century through the 500 years or so that would follow leading up to the Middle Ages. For a lot of western Christians in particular, we sometimes grapple with the context of the early church and get confused about what happened when, how decisions were made, and we tend to skip from the end of Revelation to the Reformation or something like that. Dr. Litfin gives us a picture of what the world looked like as the Gospel spread. Then, he shares from his latest book some specific and perhaps surprising lessons we can consider and adapt to our modern faith walks and churches, and it is truly fascinating.    Jesus is alive, He came that we would have life to the full, not always easy, but full and never alone. His passion for His family has not changed, and I pray that ministers to you today.    Connecting with Dr. Litfin: Books Facebook Website   Sponsor for this Episode: Hopefuel Use the code 'SIMPLY15' for 15% off Instagram Website   References: -Episode 69 and Episode 116 The other episodes featuring Dr. Litfin on the podcast  -Dr. Litfin\u2019s fiction trilogy: Constantine\u2019s Empire -His latest work: Wisdom of the Ancients: 30 Timeless Lessons from the Early Church -Liberty University -(Just being honest) the yuck from the top, but isn\u2019t the heart of the university -A glimpse into Paul\u2019s missionary journeys -The Protestant Reformation -Constantine\u2019s rise  -Plato  -Middle Ages -Paul\u2019s missionary journeys (geographically and timeline) -Saint Patrick and the spreading of the Gospel to Ireland -Early church in Ethiopia  -Soteriology -Jupiter -\u201cDeath Was Arrested\u201d -The God of gods -Over the powers and principalities -Dr. Michael Heiser\u2019s documentary about spiritual dominion and a deep dive into this -Also see his book Supernatural, and Unseen Realm and he has since passed away, but our conversation on the podcast was mindblowing.  -witness means martyr in Greek -Catacombs -Necropolis \u2014> a cemetery (this was interesting, pardon the language) -Temple prostitutes of Rome - \u201cThe Chosen\u201d -Christocentric and Christotelic -Life of Moses study from BSF -Sally Lloyd Jones -Episode of \u201cThe Chosen\u201d showing the raised up snake on a pole (Season 1, episode 7) -Nicodemus\u2019 struggle on \u201cThe Chosen (Season 1, episode 7 also lol) -Gnostic gospels -Passover \/ Seder  -Getting to Know the Church Fathers -Early Christian Martyr Stories -After Acts   Scripture References: Mark 16:15- Go and share the Gospel with all the world Acts 1:6-11- Jesus\u2019 ascension  Book of Acts (a lot of Paul\u2019s missionary journeys) Acts 1:8-The outermost parts of the Earth Hebrews 13:8-Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever Deuteronomy 10:17, 1 Chronicles 16:26, Psalm 97:7, Psalm 96:5- God is the god of gods John 14:6-Jesus is the way the truth and the life Ephesians 3:1-6-Paul calls the Gospel a mystery 1 Peter 1:12-even the angels marveled at the mystery  John 12:24-Jesus said unless a seed falls and dies it cannot grow  1 Corinthians 15:52-a trumpet will sound Matthew 27:55-61,Mark 15:40,Mark 15:47,Mark 16:1,Luke 24:10,Luke 23:49-56, Luke 8:43-48, Luke 8:1-3, John 8:1-11-Jesus mingled with women (those who followed Him and provided for Him), touched them (Bleeding Woman), and gave love to them (Mary Magdelene, woman caught in adultery) Luke 1:39-45-Jesus revealed Himself first to Mary and Elizabeth John 20:11-18-Jesus revealed Himself as a risen Savior first to a woman 2 Corinthians 3:4\u20136-The letter kills, the Spirit gives life Luke 24:13-35-Jesus and His followers on the road to Emmaus Genesis 22-Isaac and Abraham Hebrews 11:17-19-the book of Hebrews points out Isaac is a type of Christ Numbers 21:4-9-Moses and Aaron put snake on a pole to save Israel  John 3-Nicodemus coming to Jesus by night Hebrews 4:12-The Bible is alive and active  Exodus 12-Passover Matthew 26:17-30,Mark 14:12-26,Luke 22:7-23,John 13:1-35-Jesus\u2019 last supper  Ecclesiastes 2:25-A time for fasting and a time feasting John 15:5-Apart from Jesus we can do nothing John 14:18-He will not leave us as orphans Hebrews 12:2-We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses   JOIN OUR PATREON COMMUNITY!!!! I would be honored to have your support to keep the Simply Stories Podcast going. You can sign up for as little as $3 a month and each tier offers gifts that I hope will bless you in return.    Connecting with Emily and Simply Stories Podcast: Instagram (Em life \/\/ Podcast Life) Facebook Twitter Blog  ","author_name":"Simply Stories Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/simplystories.libsyn.com\/website","html":"