Worship Center
John 11:1-6 NLT
1. The ultimate purpose of our lives is communion with God not comfort in life.
“Where there is the possibility of love, there has to be the reality of freedom. Where there is the reality of freedom, there has to be the possibility of pain. Where there is the reality of pain, there is the need for a savior. Where there is a savior, there is the possibility of redemption.”
- Dr. Ravi Zacharias
2. God may not remove it, but he promises to be present through it.
John 11:17-22 NLT
John 11:23-26 NLT
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. (Some manuscripts do not include and the life.) Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”
John 11:35 NLT
John 11:43-44 NLT
“The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me.”
- Viktor Frankl
3. Look for the redemptive perspective of pain and suffering.
John 12:9-11 NLT
John 16:33 NLT
God's redemptive promise is that pain and suffering may last for a moment, but it won't last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT
Celebrate and Care:
Have each person share a high and low from this past week.
Big Idea:
In this world, pain and suffering are real. While Jesus doesn’t always remove it, he promises to be present as we go through it and we can discover the redemptive purpose of pain found on the other side.
Open Up:
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- If God is good, all loving, and all powerful, why does he allow pain and suffering?
- What did I do to deserve this?
Discuss:
Choose one or two questions for your group to discuss as time allows.
- What are some promises every follower of Christ can believe in the midst of suffering?
- Read John 16:33. What were some reasons Jesus would share that?
- How can we keep our wondering from turning into wandering?
- How does it change things if we truly believe that “the ultimate purpose of our lives is communion with God not just comfort in life”?
Engage:
Spend 1-2 minutes in silence with these questions then share your thoughts.
Consider an area of suffering you are dealing with in your life.
What is the reason for your hope in the midst of pain and suffering?
What is a possible, redemptive perspective in it?
How can you respond to his offer of presence in the midst of whatever you are going through?
Close together in prayer.