I started a new series recently. More accurately, I watched a movie that will hopefully lead to a series down the road.

The movie is a modern retelling of some of Jesus’ parables in the context of the early church. The series will be more focused on the events from the book of Acts and is currently raising funds via the same kind of crowdfunding that has made The Chosen series possible.

So far, so great. The acting has been on point and the movie looked like it had a much bigger budget than it did. The parables are recognizable, even in their contemporary settings (and the parable of the talents has a clever twist that caught me off guard in a good way).

The early Church had it way tougher than the typical American church. They dealt with nonstop persecution from both the Roman government and from the Jewish religious leaders. They were a small minority with a radical message that turned the first century world upside down, and Satan threw everything he could at them to stop them in their efforts.

They were faithful regardless of the costs. Just about all of them made significant sacrifices, some up to the point of laying down their lives for the sake of the gospel. Yet to each and every one of them, anything they had to give up was more than worth it and they were able to rejoice even in the midst of their sufferings to see what God was doing in and through them.

Testament brings those struggles and sacrifices vividly to life in a way that makes me want to be more bold for my own faith. It will certainly challenge and embolden anyone who watches it.

You can watch the movie through the Angel Studios app, as well as catching up on The Chosen if you so desire. Both are more than worth your time.