How do we cope when we’re going through hard times? This Psalm helps us know how to relate to God at these times.
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Sermons are also available on the podcast.
Tag: suffering
The blessing of suffering – Revelation 2:8-11 Sermon
When we think about blessing, we often think about getting nice things – but we rarely, if ever, think of suffering as a blessing. And yet Jesus’ letter shows that suffering and persecution can be a rich blessing.
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Sermons are also available on the podcast.
Every tragedy is a warning – Luke 13:1-9 Sermon
Why do tragic things happen? Is it because some people are particularly sinful or bad? In this sermon we look at what Jesus has to say in Luke 13:1-9.
Enjoyed this sermon? See more on the sermons page.
Sermons are also available on the podcast.
#4 – Enduring Suffering and Persecution (2 Thess 1) | The Return of Christ
In the final part of the ‘Return of Christ’ series we look at 2 Thessalonians 1, which shows us how to endure suffering and persecution while we await Christ’s return.
Last week’s session was A life fit for the new creation (2 Peter 3).
Mental Health Support: Cast your anxiety on him
1 Peter 5v7 says: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” But what does that mean, and how do we do it? Let’s spend a little while thinking about these wonderful words.
Last week’s session was on Proverbs 3:-12 – “Wisdom & Well-Being”. All previous sessions are available on this playlist.
Jesus transforms our suffering – John 9:1-12 Sermon
When we’re going through times of suffering or hardship we often ask “Why?” In this sermon we look at how Jesus transforms our suffering into something for God’s glory.
This is part three of the ‘Seven Signs in John’ series. See the previous sermon ‘You are not strong enough (and that’s OK)’ on John 6:16-24 here.
Enjoyed this sermon? See more on the sermons page.
How to cope with suffering – Romans 8:18-30 Sermon
When we go through hard times and suffering, we often ask the question “Why?” Finding a reason can be so helpful in going through hard times. In this passage we think about what Paul says about hard times.
You might like to have the passage open – you can read it online here: Romans 8:18-30.
This sermon was preached for my church’s livestream on Sunday 7th Feb. We are currently working through Romans 8, so I make reference to the previous sermon (but it’s not essential to watch first!). The ‘Wednesday Worshippers’ sermon I refer to is also available here on Understand the Bible.
Enjoyed this sermon? See more on the sermons page.
God is… impassible (without passions)
In this fifth part of the Get to know God series, we’re looking at something called God’s impassibility. This is a really important aspect of God, and yet out of all of them this is probably the least popular. Part of the problem is that people don’t understand what ‘passions’ means! But this is important for understanding who God is: do we want a God who is actually able to help us in our suffering? For that, we need a God who is impassible.
What does impassible even mean?
A few years ago, a friend of mine wrote an article defending God’s impassibility. He started out with a brief definition of impassibility:
Divine impassibility refers to the belief that God can neither be acted on from without, nor experience ‘emotional’ change within, and that, more specifically, God can thus neither be caused to suffer, nor choose to suffer, in his divine nature.
This is a good definition to be going on with. Impassibility, or being ‘without passions’, means that God doesn’t have emotions in the same way that we do. (This is especially true about suffering – God does not suffer). Emotions, as it says, are about change: we human beings generally can’t go through a day without experiencing a number of emotional changes. An emotion is a change. But – as we have already thought about – God does not change. God is constant. That’s good news for us!
It’s good news because it means that God is not changeable like us, but is above our ways. Let’s take a look at the Bible to see what it says.
Continue reading “God is… impassible (without passions)”What does Christ’s suffering mean? (Heidelberg 15)
In this session of the Heidelberg, we look into the suffering of Christ. There are three questions:
- What does it mean that Christ suffered?
- Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate as a judge?
- Does it have a special meaning that Christ died by crucifixion and not in some other way?
The point of the session is to say that Christ’s suffering was not random or pointless, but there was a particular meaning for it. It’s important for Christians to spend some time thinking about.
If you enjoy this, you can do the whole series right here on the website, or on the app (see links on the right hand side of the page). Alternatively, I am uploading them regularly to YouTube and Facebook. All sessions on YouTube are available on this playlist.