Discussion Questions

David Bercot insists he has “no agenda” and says neither Jesus nor the apostles specified a required worship format; how should that shape the way a church decides what to keep, change, or recover from early Christian practice without turning “early church patterns” into a new law? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Jesus and the apostles didn’t command one set worship style, how should a church decide what to keep or change while learning from the early church without turning their habits into new rules?

Justin Martyr explains Christians gathered on Sunday because it was both the first day of creation and the day of Christ’s resurrection; what does that twofold reasoning reveal about how early Christians understood God’s purposes in creation and redemption as belonging together? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Christians met on Sunday because it was the first day of creation and the day Jesus rose, what does that say about how they saw creation and salvation as connected?

The Didache links Sunday gathering, breaking bread, thanksgiving, and “having confessed your transgressions, so that your sacrifice may be pure”; how does connecting confession to the purity of the Eucharist challenge modern assumptions about what makes worship “acceptable” to God? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the Didache ties confessing sins to having a “pure” Eucharist, how does that challenge what we think makes worship acceptable to God today?

Bercot argues persecution, work schedules (including slavery), and resurrection symbolism likely drove meetings “before dawn” and “after dark”; what does that early-Christian normality of inconvenience and risk expose about our expectations of comfort, safety, and “reasonable” church life? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If early Christians often met before dawn or after dark because of danger and work (even slavery), what does that say about our expectations for comfort, safety, and what counts as “reasonable” church life?

Justin Martyr says the president “exhorts us to imitate these good things” rather than mainly explaining them; what would change in a church if preaching aimed less at information and more at obedience—and what resistance would that expose in us? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If preaching focused more on obeying Jesus than just learning facts, what would change in your church—and what pushback in us might it reveal?

In Justin Martyr’s description, the Eucharist is restricted to those who (1) believe the teaching, (2) have been baptized, and (3) are “living as Christ has commanded”; how does that three-part boundary confront common evangelical instincts about open communion, assurance, and the relationship between grace and obedience? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Justin Martyr says only believers who are baptized and living as Jesus taught should take the Eucharist, how does that challenge common ideas about open communion, assurance, and grace versus obedience?

The early church carried the Eucharist to the absent (the sick or imprisoned); what view of the church, of communion, and of responsibility to suffering members is implied here, and how does it critique a modern tendency to treat Sunday worship as optional or individual? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If the church brought the Eucharist to people who were sick or in prison, what does that show about caring for suffering members—and how does it challenge the idea that Sunday worship is optional or just personal?

Tertullian describes the love feast as modest, disciplined, and oriented toward aiding the needy, directly contradicting pagan rumors of excess; what practices in your congregation visibly communicate holiness and generosity to outsiders—and what practices might unintentionally reinforce outsider suspicions? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If Tertullian says the love feast was modest and helped the poor, what does your church do that clearly shows holiness and generosity to outsiders, and what might accidentally raise their suspicions?

Bercot connects 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 to the love feast and argues abuses (the hungry shamed, the drunk) likely contributed to separating Eucharist from the meal by about AD 100; what does this suggest about how the early Christians balanced freedom in gatherings with the need for order, and where do modern churches face parallel temptations? JumpstartAnother way to ask: If abuses at the meal may have led the early church to separate the Eucharist from the full meal, what does that teach about balancing freedom with order—and where do churches today face similar problems?

The lesson mentions standing (not kneeling) on Sunday as a resurrection symbol, praying toward the East as watchfulness for Christ’s return, and even segregated seating with deacons enforcing attentiveness (“no one whispers or falls asleep or laughs”); which of these customs feels most alien or uncomfortable today, and what might that discomfort reveal about our view of God’s holiness, our bodily posture in worship, and our expectations for reverence? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Which early church custom (standing on Sunday, praying toward the East, strict seating and quiet) feels strangest to you, and what might your discomfort show about God’s holiness, body posture in worship, and reverence?