1.  The Life of Jesus of Nazareth  Christianity was founded on his life and teachings  Jesus’ birth and early life  Born of a virgin, Mary and a carpenter from Bethlehem named Joseph (Mt 1:18; Lk 1:26-38)

2.  The Message of Jesus  Begins ministry around age 30  Baptized by his cousin, John the Baptist, a charismatic and ascetic figure (Mt 3:13-17;Mk 1:9-11; Lk 3:21-23; Jn 1:29-39)  The Message of Jesus  Jesus selected a group of 12 men who became disciples to travel with him as he taught  Jesus then spent from one to three years teaching and working miracles among his disciples and before large crowds.

3.  The Message of Jesus  Jesus’ teachings focused primarily on the "the kingdom of God" and were usually relayed through parables (stories).  rebuked the hypocrisy of some Jewish leaders  taught the importance of humility, charity, love and kindness, even to one's enemies  Jesus' popularity grew quickly, but so did opposition from local leaders.  Roman rulers were uncomfortable with the common perception that he was the Messiah who would liberate the Jews from Roman rule.  Jewish leaders were disturbed by Jesus' shocking interpretations of Jewish law, his power with the people, and the rumor that he had been alluding to his own divinity.

4.  Betrayal and Execution  Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples and possibly the group's treasurer, led Roman soldiers to Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.  Jesus was turned over to procurator Pontius Pilate, who sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.

5.  The Resurrection  Jesus’ followers proclaimed that He had risen from death and had appeared to them. (Mt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-8; Lk 24:1-12; Jn 20:1-10)  This belief is central to the Christian church as well as a major source of courage shown by early Christian martyrs

7.  Apostles  Apostle – Greek; “one who is sent out”  Formed churches for worship, fellowship, and instruction  Simon Peter  Previously a Jewish fisherman  Leader of the apostles  Saul/Paul of Tarsus  Highly educated Roman citizen  Once known as Saul and persecuted Christians  Converted to Christianity  Spread the gospel (“good news”) to Gentiles and Jews  Founded Christian communities throughout Asia Minor and along the shores of the Aegean Sea

8.  Between AD 40 and 100, written accounts and personal memoirs giving a record of Jesus’ life and teachings became the basis of the written Gospels and form the core of the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible.  Many Romans viewed Christians as harmful to the Roman state:  Christians refused to worship state gods and emperors  Romans saw this as treason, punishable by death  Official persecution (harassing to cause suffering) began during the reign of Nero.

9.  Roman persecution forced Christians to become more organized.  Only the most committed individuals would choose to follow  Why was Christianity able to attract so many followers?  Christianity was personal and offered salvation and eternal life to individuals.  Christianity seemed familiar.  Christianity filled the human need to belong  Christianity developed from a persecuted religion to the state religion of Rome.  The last great persecution of Christians took place under emperor Diocletian  Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which proclaimed official tolerance of Christianity.  Under Theodosius the Great, the Romans adopted Christianity as their official religion.