At the end of his first letter, Peter reassures the church that, though suffering is inevitable and spiritual attack is probable, submission is vital and salvation is eternal. This was true for the early church and it is true for us today. It is the true grace of God and we should stand firm in it. Join us Sunday as Executive Pastor Arik Stewart brings us a message titled Stand Firm from 1 Peter 5:6-4.
"suffering" Tagged Sermons
How shall we endure suffering? Suffering is not a space that anyone is very comfortable with, however, the Apostle Peter shares how to exist in suffering while following the beautiful way of Jesus. As Peter writes to those he has concern for, he unveils a simple path of truths that we must make decisions to follow. When we do, we will continue to be blessed by our Father who is in Heaven.
Life is full of ups and downs, with moments of great pleasure and deep suffering and pain. Our world often tries to ignore this suffering with excess, or buries itself in despair – but how does God call us to respond to suffering? What ways does Peter instruct us to walk through suffering with Christ? Join us this Sunday as Ministry Coordinator Tara Farrell brings us a message from 1 Peter in our series on Gentleness: A Beautiful Way in a Chaotic World.
Is it true that “everything happens for a reason”? It is true that God integrates both our good experiences and our bad experiences into his plans to bless us? It’s easy to believe that God uses our “highs” to bless us, but does he also use our “lows”? Joseph had extremely high “highs” and low “lows” and the ways God used them to bless him and those around him long ago help us understand how he blesses us today. Join us this Sunday, January 8 at 9am as we ask these important questions and seek the answers God has revealed through a fascinating narrative of betrayal, redemption, and forgiveness.
We don’t suffer without reason. Because, when we suffer, people see our hope amidst it and are intrigued. When they ask about the reason for our hope, we have an opportunity to share our faith in Jesus. Are you prepared to share?
We were designed to experience God while living in His presence daily. Yet suffering can cause us to turn from God. On this 2nd day of Lent we meditate on David’s response to suffering. He felt forsaken by God and he questioned God, yet he continued to cry out and come to God. A thousand years later the Gospels report that one of David’s descendants fulfilled the suffering and joy originally penned by David. As He hung on a Roman cross atoning for the sins of the world, Jesus expressed words from Psalm 22 to the Father identifying with David and all of us when we are afflicted with suffering.
God is looking for true soldiers not chocolate soldiers. Which one does your life look like? Hear about what it looks like to join God’s mission and obey Jesus as a true soldier would!
We all have a way we interpret and react to the suffering of ourselves and others. We must recognize and resist any temptations to resolve it for others. The truth is, only God knows why He allows the suffering of the innocent; our role as listeners is to point those who are suffering to God, Who is with the broken-hearted. Through us mourning with them and encouraging them to be emotionally authentic with God, our friends are most likely to meet the challenge, be refined, and develop a greater love of God for who He is, and not merely what He does for us. In so doing they become more like Jesus Himself, who is God’s ultimate answer for suffering.
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s arrive with many reminders that things are not as they should be. Relational tension, loss of a loved one, loneliness, inner struggles and conflict in the world around us are all causes for grief. The title and focus of this message comes from the truth declared in verse 1 of Joy to the World by Isaac Watts, who knew his share of pain. 300 years ago, Watts discovered the truths in Psalm 98 and wrote Joy to the World intending to direct his generation to the glorious and triumphant coming of our Lord. This message will encourage you to prepare Him room and avail yourself to His joy this Advent season and beyond.
Often we begin our careers with high aspirations and hopes, but “reality” often collides with our dreams. The early disciples – who witnessed their Master die on a cross – must have felt the same: a crushing disappointment. Yet, as the early church remembered Jesus’s death and resurrection with wine and bread, the eucharist, their suffering was transformed into words and deeds that gave life to their neighbors. In this message, Jeff Haanen shows how our daily work can be transformed in light of Jesus’s gift of His body “for the life of the world.”