This week, Kevin continues our ‘Conversations on the Journey’ to talk about suffering. There are all sorts of questions that spring to our minds if we are to believe in the God of the Bible. Perhaps one of the biggest questions asked by many is: “Why does God allow evil and suffering?” Yet, the question of suffering is also very real to us all. We have all encountered suffering one way or another.
Our Zoom Sunday Gathering will be livestreamed to YouTube at 10:30am on Sunday 16th August, then made available to watch on demand.
This week’s key scripture is 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
1
Elizabeth’s blog at “Made Sacred” a post written on 12 August 2016, “When You are Desperate to Understand”.
2
Daniel Mann, 2017, “Our Problem with God”.
3
Greg Stevenson, 2016, Some Thoughts on Why God Allows Disasters.
4
Christianity Explored with Sharon Dirckx, Zacharias Trust provide some answers to the questions ‘If God exists, why is there suffering?’ and ‘If God exists, does He care about my suffering?’
5
Bible Project on the Book of Job explores the difficult question of God’s relationship to human suffering and invites us to trust God’s wisdom and character.
6
‘That Dragon Death’ is based on an award winning computer game ‘That Dragon, Cancer’. It’s a different type of game which is impossible to win, because it mirrors real life. The creators constructed the game as a memorial to their young son to show that, in the real world, no matter how well we perform, no one can defeat the ultimate enemy: death. However, the game doesn’t end with the inevitable defeat. Players watch as they are carried through death to the joyful life beyond it – The Gospel message of Jesus Christ.
7
C.S. Lewis was deeply bothered by evil and suffering in the world that didn’t fit with whom he imagined God to be. In time, Lewis came to see evil and suffering as both an argument against atheism and an argument for God and Christianity; only within Christianity did Lewis find a satisfactory explanation.
Lewis, C. S., 2012, The Problem of Pain. Pp. 1-176, ISBN 978-0007461264, Collins, UK.
8
Stedman, R. C., 1999, Is This All There is to Life? – Answers from Ecclesiastes Pp 1-188, ISBN1-57293-058-6, Discovery House Publishers, Michigan, USA.
1. What is God’s ultimate purpose for us and how is it attained?
2. How should we respond when either we or someone we know goes through suffering?
3. Read the parable of Jesus the true vine (John 15: 1-6). Why and how does God prune us?
For more worship videos recorded by our musicians,
check out our Worship @ Home playlist on YouTube.
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Pete Dibdin
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Pete Dibdin2020-06-28 14:20:392020-07-10 17:25:15The God Who Sees
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Pete Dibdin2020-06-19 12:32:272020-07-10 17:25:02Injustice. Compassion. Growth.