by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\tI. Justice Scalia made headlines a short while ago by attending a “prayer breakfast” and\nspeaking about being a Christian\n A. I doubt Justice Scalia and I would agree about some aspects of what constitutes\nliving a Christian life, but he did make some interesting comments.\n
II. As Christians, we have had too easy of a life in this country.<\/p>\n
A. Deut. 32.15-20 – Fulfillment turns us from God<\/p>\n B. We complain about the evil in our government, the evil in our entertainment\nindustry, the evil in our schools.\n
1. So who is standing up for Christian’s rights?<\/p>\n 2. But no where in the Scriptures does it teach Christians to demand their\nrights\n
III. The Scriptures teaches Christians how to endure persecution<\/p>\n
A. This is not something only reserved for missionaries going to into foreign fields.<\/p>\n B. This is not something that only leading Christians must face, but each and everyone\nof us.\n C. What many consider persecution is simply a result of Christians no longer standing\nup for what is right and wrong. We look for the simple way out. We try to avoid\nconfrontation.\n 1. What would you do if were hauled into court and told to either stop\nbothering people with your beliefs or face time in prison?\n
2. Bemoan the unfairness of it all? Or Acts 5:28-33<\/p>\n
IV. So a few self-proclaimed intellectuals don’t like Christianity<\/p>\n
A. This is not heavy persecution.<\/p>\n
B. We can do something about it, by living a noticeable Christian life<\/p>\n
C. Matthew 5:10-16<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I. Justice Scalia made headlines a short while ago by attending a “prayer breakfast” and speaking about being a Christian A. I doubt Justice Scalia and I would agree about some aspects of what constitutes living a Christian life, but he did make some interesting comments. II. As Christians, we have had too easy…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[572],"class_list":["post-63255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-persecution"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32454,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/persecution\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":0},"title":"Persecution (Carter)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Jeff Carter Sentry Magazine, September 2001 In the United States, the church has enjoyed a peaceful existence. Our Federal and State governments allow us to worship freely. However, God does not promise us a carefree, painless life. Very early in his preaching, Jesus promises \"Blessed ore those who have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51909,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ultimate-deliverance\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":1},"title":"Ultimate Deliverance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer What if... we actually were put to death because we are Christians? What is our attitude about this? Consider Paul's attitude: \"For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52380,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-difference-between-trials-temptations-and-persecution\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":2},"title":"Is there any difference between trials, temptations, and persecution?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, Is there any difference between trials, temptations, and persecution? Thanks. Answer: In English, a trial is any difficult situation, including temptations and persecution. Temptation is when you desire something but realize that to get what you want, you would have to break a law of God. Persecution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91643,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-god-immoral-for-killing-the-canaanites\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":3},"title":"Is God Immoral for Killing the Canaanites?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Judge of All the Earth God is the Judge of all the earth. He does not kill anyone arbitrarily, and when He does take a life out of this world (Genesis 15:16), it is always just and right. If God commanded the killing of the Canaanites,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53976,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-get-teased-for-being-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":4},"title":"I get teased for being a Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there, I have many questions, and I need your help badly. I am the only Christian in my family and in my high school. Others tease me once I mention that I am a Christian in my country. Answer: You've come to the right place because I tend\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60995,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-we-are-provoked\/","url_meta":{"origin":63255,"position":5},"title":"When We Are Provoked","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sam Stinson \"But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.\" (Matthew 5:39). The following was posted online some time ago: \"An atheist group has unveiled a sign in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63255\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}