Sunday 19 October 2014

Encouragement in Persecution: Write a (one page, double spaced) letter of encouragement to an imaginary Roman friend of about your age. Choose a...

I'm not allowed to write your letter; however, I can give you some direction on the letter. I can help summarize each passage and recommend which two to three passages I think would fit well with a letter. I am also assuming that the letter being written is a letter of encouragement to a newly converted Christian that is living in Rome. He or she might be persecuted and discriminated against for believing in Christ, and the letter is meant to help bolster their faith.  

The passage from Mark has Jesus stating that anybody who leaves their life to follow him and the gospel will be richly rewarded. 


In John 16:33, Jesus flat out states that following the Christian life will be hard. He finishes by saying to "take heart" because he has already "overcome the world."  


In Acts 14: 21-22, Paul and Barnabas are preaching the gospel and creating new disciples. Part of their message echoes the John passage. Paul says that Christians will go through many hardships in order to "enter the kingdom of God."


Romans 8:35–39 states that nothing can separate believers from the love of Christ. 


2 Corinthians 4:7–12 says that believers will experience hardship, but those hardships will better reveal Christ.  


2 Corinthians 12:9–10 states that a believer's weaknesses are made strong through Christ. The narrator says that he delights in his persecution because that is when Christ's power rests on him.  


2 Thessalonians 1:3–4 is about persevering through persecution.  The way to do that is by always growing in faith. 


Revelation 2:10 is a very straightforward encouragement. It says to stay strong in the faith through hardships. If you do that, you will be rewarded. 


Revelation 7:13–17 is an example of what the reward in heaven will be. Readers are specifically told that the faithful will never again thirst or hunger. 


As for your letter, it doesn't really matter which Roman name that you pick. Based on the passages, your "friend" is being persecuted for his or her belief in Christ. Your letter first needs to express empathy at his or her situation. I would use either the verses from John or Acts because both of those passages specifically mention hardships and difficulties associated with following Christ. Your friend needs to know that he or she is not alone. Your friend also needs to know that Christ recognizes the difficulty of following the faith.  


After expressing empathy, the letter needs to move into encouragement. It should more or less say that the suffering may be hard, but it will be worth it in the end. The verses from Mark or either chapter of Revelation would be good to include here. Those verses focus on the end reward of the faithful.  


Finally, finish your letter by reminding your friend that Christ will be with him or her no matter what. This would be a good place for the Romans verses.  

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