First Century Church

Often our read alouds center around our chronological study of history.  This includes nonfiction, historical literature, biographies, and historical fiction.  So, it should come as not surprise that our first read aloud of the school year was a historical fiction selection.  We read through Going to Church in the First Century, written by Robert Banks.  This illustrated short story depicts an evening church meeting at Aquila and Priscilla's home in Rome.  Publius, the character narrating the story, is a nonbelieving Roman citizen.  His observations and cultural insights combine to reveal a personal portrayal of how the first century church functioned. 

     Overall, this short work enabled us to envision the ancient church's existence within the Roman culture.  Our children commented on some differences of the described church meeting compared to modern church services.  However, when we compared specific elements, such as prayer and teachings, we concluded that although initially there appeared to be staggering differences, in the end, these were really just different expressions of the same element.