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I came across an article called, “Fast Growing Christian Church Crushed in China” that I was both encouraged and bummed by. The article is about the 50k member church called, Golden Lamp. It describes how 400 police officers and “hired thugs” went into a dozen different locations terrorizing, stealing computers and church funds, abusing and beating members, and imprisoning the pastors. The article says that this is all based on the communist governments desire to control what’s going there. You should read the article.
I was bummed for obvious reasons, but mainly for the hearts of those in government. I was encouraged because I know that trial like this is for the testing and proving of the believers faith (1 Peter 1:6-7).
I thought this could be a great discussion for a small group. Here’s a bit of background:
Read the article, and then talk through 1 Peter 1:6-7. Make sure your students understand the people Peter is writing to were also under persecution like this. Nero, then the emperor of Rome, was known for this. He would put a pole in the ground, strap a Christian to the top of it, and light it on fire – burning the person alive. He would do this in public. Also, another possible interesting element to discuss, is that both the apostle Paul as well as Peter are said to be victims of Nero’s persecution. In fact, some have accounted that Peter was crucified upside down. Needless to say, the people originally reading this were in a similar situation.
It could be interesting to ask a couple of questions:
If trial is for the testing and proving of our faith, why then do you think we try to avoid it – and do so at all costs?
Circumstances don’t always have to be this bad for it to be deemed a “trial,” so what might trials look like in our lives?
Read 1 Peter 2:13-15. What do you think submission looks like to the China government? The church isn’t operating under their control…does this passage mean they ought to be? Or are we given freedoms in Christ to operate outside of their control of religious activity? (note: if you read the article this question will make sense.)
What do you think submission to our government looks like? We might not be under persecution like this, but don’t you think this principle still applies?
Anyway, this could be fun to talk through with college students, for sure.
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