First Church

Brian Roy is a ghost-hunter extraordinaire. His latest adventure involves headless Japanese soldiers wreaking havoc in a New Hampshire church. The stats are grisly. Two boys blinded. Another boy shot. Cops killed. The bodies keep piling up, and the ghosts’ thirst for vengeance is as insatiable as their thirst for sake!

A 2026 Audie Award Finalist for Narration by the Author and Nonfiction NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In the spirit of George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens, the son of a former Catholic nun and a Franciscan brother delivers a deeply irreverent and biblically correct takedown of far-right...

The Apostolic Fathers in Modern English Experience the earliest Christian writings, clearly translated for today. This edition presents the complete collection traditionally known as the Apostolic Fathers in fresh, readable modern English, paired with concise, thematic essays at the end of the book that frame the world, worship, and witness of the early church. If you’ve tried public-domain or Victorian renderings and bounced off the archaic phrasing, this volume is built to be faithful, direct, and readable, without dumbing anything down. What’s Included (Complete Texts) 1 & 2 Clement ...

The First Church Model: A Growth Strategy for Pastors and Church Leadership on How To See Increase Read on your PC, Mac, smart phone, tablet or Kindle device. Are you a pastor, youth minister or worship leader and you wish your ministry was growing? You have tried all of the church growth strategies only to be disappointed. What if I told you the manual for growth of your church is found in the book of Acts? Would $2.99 be worth finding out if it's possible for your ministry to see increase from the book of Acts?>p> You’re about to discover how to grow your ministry simply by referring ...

Chained but unyielding, the Apostle Paul arrives in Rome after a harrowing journey marked by a catastrophic shipwreck, a venomous viper, and the miraculous power of God. Confined to a hired house, his prison becomes the unexpected epicenter of a spiritual war. While the apostle preaches with bold confidence to a stream of soldiers, senators, and slaves, the battle for the soul of the Empire has just begun. From within his chains, Paul pens his most profound letters—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and the masterpiece to the Hebrews—forging a doctrinal arsenal for the ...

The Temple is a smoldering ruin. The holy city runs with blood. In the tumultuous aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall in AD 70, the Old Covenant world has vanished in fire and smoke, leaving the fledgling church in a world remade by Roman steel. But the end of the war with Rome is only the beginning of a new, more insidious conflict—a battle for the very soul of the faith. From the ashes of the old world, two distinct churches rise in the heart of the empire: In the catacombs and hidden workshops of Rome, Rufus, son of the man who carried the cross, shepherds a fugitive remnant. They are the ...

n the smoldering heart of a fallen city, a dark apostle's vengeance sets the stage for the ultimate test of faith. Rome, 64 AD. The Great Fire has ravaged the capital, and a paranoid Emperor Nero needs a scapegoat. At the venomous whisper of Simon Magus—a sorcerer nursing a decades-old grudge against the apostles—Nero finds his victims: the city’s small but steadfast community of Christians. Accused of "hatred of the human race," the followers of the Way are marked for annihilation. As the first generation of leaders—including the apostles Peter and Paul—are dragged to the ...

In a city ruled by a goddess of silver, one man’s message ignites a fire that threatens to consume the Roman world. The Apostle Paul’s ministry in Ephesus has reached its zenith. In the school of Tyrannus, the Word of God grows mightily and prevails, culminating in a great bonfire of magic books that shakes the city to its spiritual foundations. But this triumph of faith casts a long and dangerous shadow. Demetrius, a master silversmith whose fortune is forged in the worship of the goddess Diana, sees his livelihood collapsing. With his craft in peril and the city’s devotion ...

A spiritual famine is sweeping the newly formed churches of Galatia, and the very soul of the gospel is at stake. In Rome, the house churches led by Andronicus, Caius, and Rufus are still reeling from Herod's persecution, the martyrdom of James, and the miraculous escape of Peter. As they grapple with a new generation—sons like Marcus, Titus, and Alexander who are struggling with the social and political cost of the faith—they must also contend with a devastating famine in Judea. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit has called Barnabas and Paul from Antioch, launching a perilous mission to the ...

Carl Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of such fan favorites as So You Call Yourself a Man. The First Lady is the tale of a preacher's wife who learns she's dying and vows to find her husband another woman. There is no shortage of ladies who want her man, but will she be able to find a suitable replacement among the conniving church women?

They witnessed the fire of Pentecost. Now they must carry its ember into the heart of a pagan empire. In 33 AD, four families from Rome—led by Andronicus the statesman, Caius the scholar, Lucius the craftsman, and Rufus, the son of the man who carried Christ’s cross—travel to Jerusalem seeking truth. They arrive just in time to be swept up in the miraculous events of Pentecost. After hearing Peter's sermon and being born of water, their lives are irrevocably transformed. They return to Rome as new men, tasked with planting a new faith in a hostile land. Rejected by the synagogues and ...

From the philosophical battleground of Athens to the decadent heart of Corinth, the Apostle Paul faces his most challenging mission yet. After confronting the Stoics and Epicureans on Mars’ Hill, he arrives in Corinth, a city of immense wealth and vice. Working as a humble tentmaker, he preaches in the synagogue until, facing violent rejection, he makes a historic turn to the Gentiles, setting his sights on the pagan world. But as the church in Corinth is born, new threats emerge. The arrival of the eloquent Apollos ignites a dangerous rivalry, splintering the young fellowship into ...

The fledgling church faces a threat more insidious than the sword of Rome. In the year 39 AD, the house churches of the Empire are growing, anchored by the eyewitness testimonies of the apostles. But a shadow is brewing in Jerusalem—a new doctrine that threatens to destroy the very heart of the gospel. This teaching, carried by persuasive and zealous men, preaches "Jesus, plus..." It insists that Gentile believers must be circumcised and obey the Law of Moses to be truly saved. This is the doctrine of the Judaizers, a legalistic poison that divides Jew from Gentile, creates two classes of...

The early house churches of Rome are built on a dangerous foundation: human memory. It is 36 AD, five years after Pentecost, and the elders—Andronicus, Rufus, and the scholar Caius—discover their recollections of Christ's teachings are fading and conflicting. A simple dispute over church discipline spirals into a crisis of authority, leaving their flock vulnerable to a new, insidious threat. From the intellectual forge of Alexandria, an emissary of the sorcerer Simon Magus arrives in Rome. His name is Dositheus, and he preaches an eloquent, philosophical gospel of a spiritual-only ...

This two-part book was compiled and edited by Mary Baker Eddy, the church’s founder. Part I (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist”) describes the building of The Mother Church Extension in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1906. Writings by Mary Baker Eddy and newspaper articles from across North America detail this significant architectural achievement and the rapid growth of Christian Science as a movement.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From TLC’s Sister Wives star Christine Brown Woolley, a groundbreaking and heartfelt memoir about living in a family like no other and finding the strength to leave polygamy—and the only life she’s known—behind. Christine Brown Woolley had always dreamed of...

An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of the Scriptures. Explore this biblical text that serves as a bridge from the Gospels to the Epistles, and introduces the birth of the Christian church and the experiences of its leaders as they spread the good news of salvation by faith from the Jewish to the Gentile communities. The entire text of the Bible are presented with intermediate commentary that includes the background, context, and exposition of each passage. Organized as twenty-seven sequential and individual Bible studies that are each intended for about 30 minutes of personal Bible ...

In the twilight of the apostolic age, with Jerusalem in ruins and the last of the eyewitnesses passing from the world, a deep and dangerous schism fractures the heart of the Christian faith. The Two Churches (c. 71-96 AD), the thirteenth volume in the sweeping 1st Century House Churches series, plunges readers into the critical decades where two competing models of the church—one visible and powerful, the other hidden and persecuted—vie for the soul of the fledgling movement. In Rome, the trauma of Nero’s persecution has forged two divergent paths. The influential Clement, a man who ...

Discover the fascinating story behind the global headline! For the first time in history, an American ascends to the throne of St. Peter. But who is Robert Prevost and what unlikely journey took him from Chicago to the Vatican? Uncover the secrets of a man’s life breaking barriers and shaping the future of the Catholic Church. Have you ever wondered how an American missionary in Peru became the leader of over a billion Catholics? This exclusive e-book delves deep into the life of Robert Prevost, revealing the pivotal moments, impactful decisions and unwavering faith that led him to the ...

Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.