“The Onion” A New Series Starting April 26th
April 25th, 2009 eric
Join us this Sunday as we unpack, or in this case as we peel back the layers of “The Onion”… were embracing, wresteling and discussing some “stinky” questions we get in life. Some that feel like they assult the very core of who we are in christ and our belief that indeed we have a soverign yet just God.
We agonize over the harsh realities in life… we ask where is justice, mercy, goodness…. Where is GOD in all of this?
* Why do “good people” become victims of a disease or a natural disaster?
* Why do “good people” get caught in the crossfire of acts of “random” violence?
* Why do otherwise innocent children get abused - mentally, emotionally and physically.
* Why does the young, Christian teenager with a promising future get killed in a car accident?
* Why did my marriage fail after I, a “good Christian”, tried so hard to make it work?
* Why did an “innocent” driver (a “good person”) get killed by a drunk driver?
In other words, why do good people have to suffer? While we cannot possibly know all of the details associated with any individual circumstance, we can know and understand some critical truths from Scripture that provide stability, comfort and strength in the midst of our own times of suffering and that help us understand the reason why bad things happen to good people.
While peeling back the layers of our series “The Onion” we will call your attention to one of the central passages in the New Testament on the issue of the believer and his suffering. The New Testament contains a number of helpful passages on this subject, but this one is one of the most important. We find in our text a liberating perspective. It will lift you up if you are in the throes of despair. All of us need to learn what God is saying in this passage of Scripture–Romans 8:18-27. The theme of the passage is given to us in verse 18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
See you this Sunday as we kick this off together and get to the heart of the matter as a deciple/follower of Christ. Love and Prayers!