Pastor Bianca Olthoff of The Father’s House church shared some history to encourage everyone during the coronavirus pandemic. Olthoff says Christians confused the Roman emperor and others when they served many people in love, rather than fearing and panicking, during the Cyprian Plague in Rome. In the same way, Christians have a big opportunity to help others during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“In the third century, there was something called the Cyprian plague, which ravaged the Empire of Rome,” Olthoff says. “The Christians stayed and helped those in need, and the gospel went forward and the church exploded. There’s an ancient historian who said Emperor Julian was so frustrated with the Christians; he couldn’t figure out the Christians. The Christians were not just helping the other Christians in the community—the Christians were actually helping those who persecuted them. …
“As Christians, we’re going to follow in the faith of our forefathers. We are not going to back down from problems. We are going to remain unshakable through them. And even modern pestilence and issues that have faced us, from Ebola to SARS, to now [COVID-19], guess what? Our church is going to be known not for fear; our church is going to be known for our faith.”
To watch the entire sermon, click here.
