And the Lord added to their number daily
Reflections on the first days in the life of the Church
In seven short verses at the end of Acts chapter 2, Luke outlines the birth, shape and character of the church in the days that followed the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost.
As a summary, it captures a great deal, but it skims over the chaos and the organisational challenges this must have presented. How did the disciples in the upper room lead this new movement? What was it like to have been in the street below the upper room? How did they baptise so many on that first day? How did they adapt the pattern they’d learned from Jesus, which involved moving on to the next village/town, to being rooted in one place and establishing the church in Jerusalem?
The chapters below are an imaginative retelling of the story of Pentecost through the eyes of several individuals who were part of the birth of the church.
Chapter 1 - Peter - Doing the impossible
Chapter 2 - Priscilla - New beginnings
Chapter 3 - Aquila - Hungry to learn
Chapter 4 - Priscilla - Becoming family
Chapter 5 - Junia - Finding new hope
Chapter 6 - Mary Mags - Finding the way
Chapter 7 - Mordechai - Needing to escape
Chapter 8 - Mordechai - Simon’s story
Chapter 9 - Mordechai - Wrestling with God
Chapter 10 - Junia - Growing in fellowship
Chapter 11 - Priscilla - Letting go
Chapter 12 - Junia - The breaking of bread
Chapter 13 - Aquila - The temple
Chapter 14 - Gamaliel - And the Lord added to their number daily
Epilogue - Priscilla -