A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
Week 9: The Underground Church — Faith in the Shadows
Read the chapters in which Hadassah encounters fellow Christians in Rome and begins to connect with the early church community. Background Scripture: Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25.
Previewing Week 9 of A Voice in the Wind
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
When Hadassah discovers she is not alone in her faith, Rivers gives us a window into the early church that is both inspiring and sobering — a community of people who know they may die for their beliefs and choose to gather anyway.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.What is Hadassah's reaction when she first connects with other believers in Rome? What has her isolation cost her spiritually, and what does community begin to restore?
2.The early Christian community Rivers portrays in Rome meets in secret, at great personal risk. How does the reality of persecution change the nature of Christian community? What does it clarify about who and what the church actually is?
3.Acts 2:42-47 describes the earliest Jerusalem church — devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer, with members selling possessions to meet each other's needs. How does the Roman church community in the novel reflect or fall short of this picture? What pressures distort it?
a.What features of that Acts 2 community are most countercultural in a Roman context?
b.What features of that community are most countercultural in your context today?