Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr. MASIMBA Mavaza

Persecuted but Not Forsaken

This is our summary to mark the end of 2026.

As we start the new year, shall we all be guided by God’s glory.

It has been a year full of all things good and bad.

Through His blood, we have made it.

It was a pleasant end to the year when I met Mordorcai Masuka in one of our groups, along with many brethren I had last spoken to decades ago.

This year, let’s look for each other and reconnect.Memory Text: “Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4, NKJV).

Introduction

An Adventist pastor, imprisoned on false charges, spent nearly two years behind bars. Though at first greatly perplexed, he realized the prison was his God-given mission field.

When his fellow prisoners learned that he was a pastor, they asked him to preach. He did, and he gave out literature too.

He even baptized prisoners and conducted Communion services.

“At times,” he admitted, “it was difficult ministering in the prison, but there was also joy, especially when you saw prayers answered and lives changed.”

Paul wrote Philippians and Colossians from prison (see Phil. 1:7, Col. 4:3).

In fact, in Philippi itself, after Paul and Silas were unjustly accused, the jailer put “their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:24, NKJV).

At midnight, they were “praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25, NKJV; emphasis supplied).

Truly, they knew how to “rejoice always.”

This week, we’ll look at the circumstances that Paul faced. He saw a larger purpose for what happened to him, and perhaps we can learn from him when we, as we inevitably do, face our own trials.

SABBATH:

God would at times call us to paths we do not know, to witness Him to others. Our response should be, “I’ll go where You want me to go,” “I’ll be what You want me to be,” dear Lord.

This was the ordeal of an Adventist preacher who spent nearly two years in prison on false charges but saw it as a mission field.

He preached, baptized, and held Communion services.

He found joy in ministering amid challenges. We’ll explore how Paul faced similar trials in prison and how he found a greater purpose in his suffering.

Paul, the Prisoner of Jesus Christ

SUNDAY: Paul, an ambassador in chains (Eph. 6:20), wrote at least five books of the NT while in prison: the “Prison Epistles” (Philippians, Colossians), Ephesians, Philemon, and 2 Timothy.

Although many writers think the prison epistles were written while in Rome, about A.D. 60–62 (Acts 28:16), and Ephesus or Caesarea, he didn’t specify it (Eph. 3:1, Philem. 1).

He gives clues: there was a praetorium (see Matt. 27:27, John 18:33, Acts 23:35), and he sent greetings from believers in “Caesar’s household” to show he was a prisoner in Rome (Phil. 1:20, 2:17, 1:13, 4:22).

Paul in Chains

MONDAY: Paul was ever ready to preach Christ despite prison doors and locks. He knew God was with him always. While in Macedonia, Paul speaks of multiple imprisonments: the first in Philippi, briefly in Jerusalem, and a transfer to prison in Caesarea (2 Cor. 6:5, 11:23, 7:5, Acts 16:16–24).

He was in chains (Philem. 10:13), under house arrest in Rome, and chained to an elite Roman soldier.

Yet, he knew God makes provision for every mission; He gives us His Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 6:3–7, DA, p. 671).

Paul in Philippi

TUESDAY: For Paul’s second mission, he got a vision to go to Macedonia to help out, so he and his team sailed from Troas to Neapolis.

Instead of preaching in Neapolis, they traveled to Philippi.

The Holy Spirit forbade them to preach across Asia Minor (Acts 16:9).

He chose Philippi because it could help spread the gospel to nearby cities.

While there, he converted Lydia, a rich businesswoman, and later, a jailer and his family after Paul and Silas were imprisoned (Acts 16:12, 17:1, 10, 16:13–15). Persecution couldn’t win.

Paul and Colossae

WEDNESDAY: Paul didn’t visit Colossae, but the gospel reached the city through Epaphras, a local resident who likely heard Paul preach in nearby Ephesus in the mid-50s (Col. 4:2, Acts 19:10; 20:31, Rev. 1:4).

In Ephesus, Paul’s teachings spread widely.

Converts like Epaphras took the message to Colossae (Col. 1:7).

Colossae had a great Jewish population and faced challenges from paganism.

One Christian in Colossae was Philemon, whom Paul urged to take Onesimus back as a brother (Philem. 15, 16, Col. 4:9).

The Churches of Philippi and Colossae

THURSDAY: Paul greets Christians in his letters as “saints”; they’re set apart by baptism, as was Israel by circumcision (Phil. 1:1–3, Col. 1:1, 2, Exod. 19:5, 6; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10).

He addresses “overseers and deacons” in Philippi and “faithful brothers” (Eph. 6:21, Col. 4:7, 1 Pet. 5:12, 1 Tim. 3:1–12) in Colossae, showing a planned church structure from the early days.

He trained Timothy and Epaphras to support his work and ensure church organization (Acts 6:1–6, 11:30). He used assistants often in writing his letters (2 Cor. 1:1, Philem. 1), with his name behind them.

Further Thought

FRIDAY: God has divinely chosen you for salvation through the Holy Spirit and belief in the truth, so stay strong in your faith.

If you serve God faithfully, you may face prejudice and opposition, but don’t retaliate when treated unfairly.

Keep your integrity in Christ and focus on your work with a pure heart, relying on God’s strength.

Remember that even during struggles, God promises to be with you always, guiding you through tough times.

He’ll never forsake you!—Ellen G. White, in The Youth’s Instructor, Nov. 9, 1899

Keywords

-Praetorium – This can refer to a provincial governor’s official residence, like the one in Jerusalem, where Jesus was examined by Pilate (Matt. 27:27, John 18:33), and in Caesarea, where Paul was imprisoned (Acts 23:35).

– NT – New Testament – DA – The Desire of Ages

– Ignatius – A Christian of the early second century who was chained like Paul to an elite Roman soldier.

He described the soldiers as behaving like “wild beasts… who only get worse when they are well treated.”

—Michael W. Holmes, ed., The Apostolic Fathers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), p. 231.

– Philippi – “The chief city of that part of Macedonia” (Acts 16:12). It was one of the most honored cities of the Roman Empire, granted the status of Ius Italicum—the highest possible designation a city could receive.

Its citizens had the same privileges as if the city were located in Italy, including exemption from land and poll taxes.

Anyone born there automatically became a Roman citizen.

It was also an important stop along the Via Egnatia, the main overland road connecting Rome with the East.

Establishing a Christian presence there enabled the gospel to reach nearby cities like Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, and Berea (see Acts 17:1, 10).

– The Language at Philippi – The official language in first-century Philippi was Latin, evidenced by the predominance of Latin inscriptions.

In Philippians 4:15, Paul even addresses them with a Latin-sounding name, Philippēsioi, apparently in recognition of their special Roman status.

Nevertheless, Greek was the language of the marketplace and surrounding towns and was the means by which the gospel was spread.

– Church Organization – Adventist pioneers followed the New Testament model of church organization, as shown in many Advent Review and Sabbath Herald articles from the 1850s.

James White said, “The divine order of the New Testament is sufficient to organize the church of Christ.

If more were needed, it would have been given inspiration.”—“Gospel Order,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Dec. 6, 1853, p. 173.

Long before Paul wrote to these churches, the apostles had already begun installing officers for the church in Jerusalem (see Acts 6:1–6, Acts 11:30), which “was to serve as a model for the organization of churches in every other place where messengers of truth should win converts to the gospel.”

—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 91.

Discussion Questions

📌 Paul was imprisoned several times, always unjustly. How do you respond when you are unfairly treated? What Bible promises can you suggest for such times?

📌 Of the persecution of Christians, Tertullian, an early church leader, said, “The oftener we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed.”

—Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, eds., Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1999), p. 55.

At the same time, persecution in some places and times has greatly hindered the work of the church.

What are ways that we can support those who suffer persecution for their faith?

📌 Think about the memory text for this week in light of the hardships Paul suffered. “Rejoice always.”

What does that mean?

How are we supposed to do that?

Someone you love is sick or dies.

You lose your job.

You are in great physical pain.

Perhaps the key to understanding this is to ask, “Rejoice always in what?”

That is, no matter our situation, what can we always rejoice in?

For December 27–January 2.

Happy Sabbath & Happy New Year.

May 2026 be kind to you!