History
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor and theologian in Germany during World War 2. He was imprisoned in 1943 because of his extreme…
Joy · Suffering · Perseverance
Bonhoeffer · Luke 1
History
The Early Christians Who Sang in Prison
Early church history (various accounts)
Again and again in the first centuries, Roman officials were bewildered by Christians who sang hymns while chained in prison or while waiting for execution. Their joy was not denial of suffering. It was the overflow of a hope that death could not touch. The watching world saw a people who had already died to the fear that controlled everyone else. Tertullian famously observed that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” The singing was part of that seed.
How you’d preach it
Useful for sermons on joy in suffering, the witness of the church under pressure, or the difference the resurrection makes.
- Joy
- Mission
- Suffering