Round the Sphere Again: Church History

Eleven Reasons
Don Sweeting lists some of the blessings of studying church history:

1. It reaffirms a Biblical value of looking to the past.
2. It  tells us the rest of the story.
3. It frees us from faddishness.
4. It is an antidote to arrogance.
5. It exposes us to some of the issues faced by the church in every age.
6. It helps us see further than we naturally can on our own.
7. It gives us insight into our own culture.
8. It provides warnings about what to look out for and what not to do.
9. It can be used to spark a longing for awakening and revival.
10. It Implants hope in dark times.
11. It offers company and help in difficult seasons of ministry.

Read the whole post for more explanation of these points.

Two Lectures
Last week I listened to these talks by Michael Haykin (Sermon Audio) and recommend them to you. If you don’t know much about church history, Haykin’s lectures are a good place to start.:

• Introduction to Church History
• What the Bible Says About History

Next up on my audio list is a biographical sketch of Thomas Cramner.

Update: In the comments, Juanita pointed me to a few messages on revival in 18th century England that Michael Haykin gave recently at a conference at her church.

One Book
Peter Leithart recommends Robert Louis Wilken’s The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. He calls it “a substantial historical study,” but also one that “assumes little prior knowledge.” I’m thinking of buying it for my church library.

Comments

[Juanita]

Hi Rebecca,

Dr. Haykin just spoke at our church conference recently on Revival in 18th century England. It was very good. The messages can be found here: http://www.calvarygrace.ca/resources/sermons/category/conference/?series=cgc-conference-2013-the-dungeon-flamed-with-light

[rebecca]

Thanks, Juanita. I updated this post with a link.