Sermons on Suffering
Martin, Luther, Grace and OCD
Martin, Luther, Grace and OCD, Romans chapter 1, verse 17 Sub-title – How Martin Luther’s mental illness drove him to rediscover the heart of the Gospel and rescue Christianity from its deadly sleep. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’ Romans 1:!7 I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates ……
Death and the Lord’s Power
Death and the Lord’s Power – John’s Gospel chapter 11 verses 36-45 The God of surprises Over and over God does things in ways that surprise us. “I wouldn’t have done it that way!” “This sickness will not end in death … but that the glory is God may be displayed.” The main subject is the glory is God. The Lord’s reminder We need to see that the main thing is the glory of God Jesus, once more deeply moved,…
Light in the Darkness
Light in the Darkness: The Excellencies of God’s Love – Psalm 63 The true Christian is driven by adversity TO God and not away from Him. You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you;I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,in a dry and parched land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1 Christians feel they have a right to turn to God at such times On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the…
When God Delays
When God Delays – John’s Gospel chapter 11, verses 1 to 16 “Why isn’t God showing up?” Pain of a particular kind Now a man named Lazarus was ill. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay ill, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is ill.’…
Are You Trusting in the Lord?
Are You Trusting in the Lord? – Proverbs chapter 3 verses 1 to 8 Some seek a prosperity gospel in verses 1 and 2 My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3:1-2 How do we reconcile this with the Apostle Paul’s words, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I…
God’s Suffering Servant
God’s Suffering Servant – Isaiah chapter 52:13 to 53:10 The sanitisation of Easter? What is it from a Christian perspective? There would be no Easter without Jesus. God’s Servant. See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Isaiah 52:13 “See, my servant” – look here for the answer. God’s Servant suffers He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.Like one from whom people hide their faces he was…
Life as a Living Sacrifice
Life as a Living Sacrifice – Romans chapter 12 verses 12 to 16 Life as a living sacrifice. Hard, yet rewarding. Living sacrifices live a life of hope and prayer in trials Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 Patience endurance is the call, not naturally but in dependence on Him, in prayer. This is the answer. Living sacrifices live a life marked by generosity Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practise…
The Problem of Pain
The Problem of Pain The Problem of Pain Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures;yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psalm 90:10 The Objection All suffer, so God is either not Good, not Strong or not There! Pain is not always evil An attacker and a surgeon both use a sharp knife, one for evil, one for good. Pain is the result of human…
Suffering and the Works of God
Suffering and the Works of God – John’s Gospel, chapter 9 verses 1 to 12 Suffering is always with us. 3 ways people think about it: The reality of suffering. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. John 9:1 An even more hopeless case (than the lame man at the pool in chapter 5). He saw a man blind from birth. Jesus knows, feels, understands. Heb 4:14-16He “gets” our suffering. God sends his son, fitted to…
A Surprising Solution to Suffering
A Surprising Solution to Suffering – John’s Gospel chapter 5, verses 1 to 15 A surprising solution to suffering. The problem of suffering is ever with us. What could be worse than being sick? A miraculous poolside healing 5 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3 Here a great…
The Omnipotence of God
The Omnipotence of God – Job chapters 38 to 42 Omnipotence defined God can for all things according to his nature and will. So he cannot lie, but he can do everything he wills. Nothing can thwart his plans. The book of Job is about suffering, but much more. It shows us the omnipotence, the sovereignty of God. Again and again He is called the “Almighty”. Job’s early acceptance of his suffering turns later to complaint. God’s unsearchable knowledge. 38 Then…
The Sovereignty of God
The Sovereignty of God – Psalm 115 verse 3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Psalm 115:3 In a world of change we must look to the Sovereignty of God. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. His authority is not constrained by time and space. No space in which He is not sovereign. I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.6 The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens…