Page 4 - Heros of the Faith - Textbook w videos short

Heroes of the Faith – a Survey of the Faithful
By Kris Bjorgen, Ed.D.

Welcome to a course on Christian Heroes. In this course we are going to take a journey through the annals of
time, as far back as the first century, and zoom through the years to the present day. We are going to be
primarily looking at the people who lived their lives for Christ and changed the course of history. We will
discover that if people had not stood up by faith during often difficult times, our lives today would be
significantly different. We owe what we enjoy as the church to many faithful men and women who were willing
to “give all” in service to Christ. Hopefully, these people will inspire you to become a hero faith!

Throughout our journey, we will see that Satan continually has attacked the church. He has sought to attack
pure doctrine with heresy. He has sought to discourage and defeat men and women of God by terrible
persecution and slaughter. Many of these heroes gave their lives for the cause of Christ. But through it all, God
has called out a remnant of people to stand in the gap. He had honored their faith.

While we are looking back in this course to study the lives of God’s saints, we need to be challenged by their
faith. God wants to change your life and make you a “significant” person in history! That will happen only
when you give God total control as He speaks to you.

Study Section 1: The 1st Century Church Age

1.1 Connect.

Did you know that in the future, every believer will stand before the judgment throne of Christ?
We won’t be judged for our sinful ways, because Christ paid the penalty for our sin on the cross
and declared us righteous. But the judgment will be based on our faithfulness and obedience to
His will. According to I Corinthians 3, some will receive wood, hay and stubble as their reward for
lack of faithfulness and some will receive gold, silver, and precious stones as their reward for
faithfulness. The rewards will be tested by fire, and only the gold, silver, and precious stones will
last throughout all eternity. So, as believers, we need to be faithful if we want lasting rewards to be able to
present to Jesus. Let’s take a look at how the early church demonstrated faithfulness….

1.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to describe the definition of faith and faithfulness.

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2. The student should be able to l preview church history from the 1 Century, so learn the setting and
culture of the early church.

3. You will review the great persecutions of the church throughout the 1 through 3 centuries, and learn why Christians
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had to endure such difficult times.

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