Lesson Four First Century Church Points to Ponder

A Jew living in the first century CE necessarily struggled with the idea of Jesus being divine. For many, accepting Jesus as the Son of God implied a shift towards a more complex understanding of divinity, one that challenged centuries-old beliefs. In a similar situation today, how would you respond?

Christian cults continue to proliferate. What is their attraction? What draws those seeking a spiritual relationship with God to fringe leaders and false teaching? Do such views continue to haunt Christianity today?

The Church of Latter-Day Saints is the fastest growing religious group in the world, rivaling Christianity’s growth in its early years. Is Mormonism a Chrisitan denomination or a new religion? Is diversity and division a part of God’s plan for the Church?

A 2023 study from Lifeway Research finds more than half (52 percent) of American Protestant churchgoers say their church teaches that God will bless them if they give more money to their church and charities. Today, three in four churchgoers (76 percent) believe God wants them to prosper financially and almost half (45 percent) believe they have to do something for him in order to receive the material benefits. Is Christianity transaction-based?