Sermons About Suffering
We Study to Assist the Working of God - Part 2
Please note this is a two part sermon... Paul brought a great deal of comfort to the Christians in Thessalonica with this letter. Yet one way in which comfort was brought to the Thessalonians (their lives proved it, as did their suffering) should startle us in America. We don't suffer for being Christians here (outside of extremely isolated instances). What has the church throughout the history of the world endured? What do many endure today? We ignore the plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ to the detriment of the Kingdom.
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Our Never Answered Questions
1) Our never answered questions 2) Mysteries and the Greatness of God 3) Trusting God not answers
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Let Go and Let God (I Peter 5 5-7) 9-20-09
The humility to which Peter calls his overwhelmed readers is a humility motivated by faith that God is mighty, and mighty in His concern for our absolute good.
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We Study to Remember
What goes through the mind of an apostle? We can never know for certain - aside aside from what is written in the Bible that is. Yet what we have in the Bible is only "half" of the conversation. In other words, we think so much more than we speak or write. Yet by looking at the text of 1 Thessalonians, taking insights from the historical background of the first century, and considering information contained in the book of Acts, we can deduce some concerns Paul may have had about the young "church" in Thessalonica.
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Suffering for the Sake of the Gospel
Acts 14:1-28 A powerful example of what it means to suffer for the sake of the gospel was lived out during WWII by a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who participated in the German Resistance movement against Nazism and was a founding member of the Confessing Church. His involvement in plans by members of the German Military Intelligence Office to assassinate Adolf Hitler resulted in his arrest in April 1943 and his subsequent execution by hanging in April 1945, shortly before the war's end. Bonhoeffer's willingness to die in the service of the Lord was exhibited by the peacefulness he extolled during his suffering in the concentration camps and his fervent and expectant prayer to God as he was taken to be executed. He died as a bold and brave servant to the Lord. This is a powerful example of discipleship, which is to joyfully suffer for the gospel of Christ. Like the story of Bonhoeffer, the passage in Acts 14:1-28 should encourage and motivate us to courageously share the gospel everywhere we go no matter what opposition, rejection, or persecution we may face. From the verses in this passage, we learn about four stopping points for Paul and Barnabas as they finished up their first missionary journey. They 1. Relied and Retreated from Iconium (vv. 1-7) 2. Were Revered and Rejected in Lystra (vv. 8-20) 3. Revisited and Refreshed the Churches (vv. 21-23) 4. Reported and Recuperated in Antioch (vv. 24-28) We have been called to suffer for Christ and to suffer for the gospel. If we are being faithful to share the gospel, it is not a question of "if", but "when" persecution will come. We may never be stoned for the gospel's sake as the apostle Paul was, but no matter what form our persecution comes in, the suffering will be worth it because we know that our lives are in the hands of a loving God, who promises His protection. We should take joy in the privilege and honor of serving our Lord. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said about his suffering: "It is a badge of discipleship".
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Missy's Questions
Like Missy in Wm. Paul Young's novel, The Shack, most of us have a few nagging questions that we'd like to ask God when it comes to the problem of suffering. These are questions that Scripture also deeply cares about: Is God good? And finally, does God really care about me and my deepest pain?
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Praying in the Plural - Part 2
In James 1:1-5, God tells us to consider it pure joy when we face trials of any kind. What’s the joy in suffering? Whether you are facing trials in your personal life or if your church home is suffering you will benefit from the Bible’s wisdom on the subject of suffering. Pastor Robert unpacks some of what the immeasurable God has to say on this topic. Following the sermon stay tuned in to hear the song Pastor Robert refers to at the beginning of his message.
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Suffering and Glory
In Romans 8:13-27 Paul talks about being heirs of God, suffering and glory and the groaning of Creation, Christians and the Holy Spirit.
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The Serpent in the Sanctuary
Genesis 3 has been called by many to be the most important chapter in all of the Bible. In the first week of our 8 week series, entitled, "The Garden & The Gospel," Jeremy looks at the sequence from Chapter 2 to 3, the Serpent, and his Strategy.
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