Tomorrow we’ll be engaging the most destabilizing service in our JCL term on the life and ministry of the Spirit: The Holy Spirit and Suffering. This is a surprising omission in many textbooks on the Holy Spirit, but not those on Persecution. As one Chinese Church Leader recently told a conference of pastors:

‘The mark of the Church is the cross … if you truly live the life of Christ you will be persecuted … but you will also have resurrection power. You will have the power to suffer’.

This will be the theme of Sunday’s service. It is hugely significant aspect of His work among us, albeit one we may not have thought much about. Why does the Spirit lead us into such suffering? How does He strengthen and sustain us in our faithfulness to Jesus? And what does it mean when we are not willing to suffer for the Name of Christ or the cause of His Gospel?

In preparation for, or perhaps in response to, that service, why not visit the website of one of our mission partners, Open Doors. The service will feature Open Doors, who work to support Christians suffering persecution.

In addition to the impact of enduring such struggle, the Church in such contexts is particularly vulnerable to the impact of further disasters, such as a global pandemic. For many persecuted Christians around the world, the Covid-19 crisis has caused economic crisis on top of the vulnerabilities they already face; and these Christians are often last in the line when it comes to distributing aid.

So, why not head over to https://www.opendoorsuk.org/ and find out more about our brothers and sisters in Christ, and what we can do to support them…