Whenever you find a promising article in an unfamiliar journal, before reading ask two questions. First, is this journal peer reviewed? Peer review ensures that a recognized member of the field has verified that the article in question (in its methods, conclusions, and ethics ) conforms to the expectations of a larger scholarly community. Second, who is the intended audience of this journal? A German philology journal, for example, might not offer articles that fit with a homiletic research profile. 

Here are important peer-reviewed journals for the study of early Christianity. Most are available online.