Verity by Phylicia Masonheimer

In this last episode of the early church history series, we learn how the church in Rome rose to power during the fall of the Empire. Uniquely suited to governing roles, clergy quickly replaced the missing emperors and began a centuries' long role of raising kings. Listen for how they did it. *Church history series pauses here as we begin a new series for new believers*

As we get close to the end of the early church series, we learn how persecution played a role in the spread of the gospel and how today's American culture parallels Ancient Rome. For more on the history of missions in the first 500 years, see this article: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=cgm_hist

In this special Christmas episode Phylicia shares two pieces from her Advent series on the problem of evil and a special devotional piece on the personal nature of God's grace. For more writing like this, join Phylicia's email list at phyliciamasonheimer.com/newsletter.

Explore how the early church worshiped and gathered, influenced by the synagogue model. Discover the structure of Christian gatherings and their similarities to modern Christian traditions. Learn about the importance of connection to the church body and adherence to Christian liturgical observations. Uncover the liturgical precedent in the early church and its influence on modern communion.

Exploring the crucial role of women in the early church and the martyrdom of Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John. Discussing the life and work of Saint Jerome and the approachable nature of scripture. Highlighting the stories of Perpetua, a young martyr, and Marcella, a humble Roman matron. Exploring the choice faced by early Christians to follow Christ or conform to Rome, and the concept of social martyrdom.

The early church faced a lot of heresies in their first 500 years. Arianism, Gnosticism, and Docetism threatened the church's teaching and forced them to refine their teaching to match the gospel. In this episode, you'll journey through three major creeds and five major councils!

Dive into the history of the church as we look at the culture, governments, historical events and social shifts that shaped its first 500 years!   The parallels between the church of the second and third centuries and the global church today give us a glimpse of how we can live as Christians of conviction in a pagan world.

We are starting a new series this week! After a break to rest and study, Phylicia is back with a new church history series. In this introduction episode she discusses why we need history, specifically church history, and how studying it impacts our present day lives.

In this week's special edition episode, we have the Ask Anything LIVE panel from Verity Conference 2023 featuring Joel Muddamalle, Lisa Whittle, and Phylicia Masonheimer emceed by Johnny Whitcomb. Listen in as they answer questions like How do you establish appropriate boundaries? What is the best way to train up theologically sound leaders? And even find out Phylicia's take on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.  Stay up to date for the release of the entire Verity Conference session recordings and listen at your own pace by joining our email community at phyliciamasonheimer.com/newsletter Special thanks to our sponsors Logos, Compassion, Viable Options, Samaritan's Purse, Dwell Differently, Crossway, the Old Testament Handbook by CSB Bible, TAG Coffee, and Vilah Bloom.

In this episode Phylicia breaks down the Levitical laws about purification after childbirth and answers the hard question of whether boys and girls were equal to God.