WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Who do you know who needs a touch from God today? Lift them up in prayer. Persecuted church The persecution and silencing of Christians is nothing new. However, it is claimed that more Christians were martyred in the twentieth century than in all previous centuries combined, and so recent news filtering out of China is an amazing testament of enduring faith. Figures claim that the unauthorised house church numbers 50–70 million Chinese Christians and one of Beijing’s largest congregations, which started in a home, has now grown to over 1,000 members, many of them well-educated and affluent. Warning The familiar conflict between a living faith and a ruling authority is clearly seen in this passage. Faced with two courageous followers of Christ, a visible miracle and a contagious message of salvation, the ruling council was afraid and perplexed (v 16). Their only course of action was to warn Peter and John against speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus (v 18). If the Sanhedrin was as wise as it was scared, it would have realised the futility of its threats. All the warnings in the world could not tame the fire that was already burning bright and, rather than extinguishing the blaze, they fanned the flames. Respond: Do you ever get persecuted for your Christian faith? Maybe it comes in the form of insults or mockery, or perhaps you have suffered from a friend’s rejection. How do you respond? How should you respond? http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-06-07