# Sermon: How Did the Early Church Grow?

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Podcast: [Mt Olive Lincoln: Lutheran Sermons and Teaching in the Christian Faith](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mt-olive-lincoln-lutheran-sermons-and-teaching-in-the-christian-faith-7461465)
Published: 2026-05-04T14:50:46+00:00
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Duration seconds: 1360

## Resource

How did the early church grow? Sermon preached by Pastor Julius Buelow at Mt Olive in Lincoln, NE for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 3, 2026. Sermon text: Acts 16:11-34 11After we put out to sea from Troas, we sailed straight to Samothrace, and the next day to Neapolis. 12From there we went to Philippi, which is a leading city in that part of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for a number of days. 13On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate alongside the river, where we thought there was a place of prayer. We sat down and began to talk to the women who had gathered there. 14A woman named Lydia, who worshipped God, was listening. She was a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira. The Lord opened her heart to pay close attention to what Paul was saying. 15When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us. Paul and Silas Put in Prison 16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us. She had a spirit that foretold the future, and she made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17As she followed Paul and us, she kept crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way to be saved.” 18When she kept doing this for many days, Paul became so annoyed that he turned to the spirit and said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. 19When her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 20They had brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are throwing our city into a state of confusion. They are Jews, 21and they…

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