The Persecuted Church What did the Early Church

The Persecuted Church What did the Early Church face? What do we face today?

What is persecution? Put under legal discrimination Unjust suffering Physical cruelty

Where did it begin for Christians? The stoning of Stephen Why? A clash of authority and lordship

Where did it go from there? Stoning Prison Beheadings Sold into slavery Gladiators Burned at the stake

How did they respond? Fled to the catacombs Didn’t avoid death: Their concern was the advancement of the gospel.

“Their witness was still public…if it was a choice between sharing the gospel and getting off the hook, the honorable thing to do was share the gospel. ” - Timothy King

2, 000 years later Persecution is still endured.

North Korea No room for religion Fear to tell family Labor camps, disappearance, torture, arrest and execution

ISIS in Iraq: Renounce your Christianity or die Fleeing to refugee camps Beatings, imprisonment, torture, murder

So many places: Nigeria Eritrea Somalia Saudi Arabia

“As far as you accepted Jesus, you are going to suffer. ” - Anonymous Nigerian Christian

How do we respond? 1. Know what you believe and be willing to stand up for it 2. Pray: our family is dying

“This one thing you do to me that I would highly appreciate, and I’ll never forget it to the end of time, is pray for me. ” -Anonymous Nigerian Christian