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SYNOPSIS OF THE SERMON
The experience of suffering is a reality of life. And in our desperate attempt to understand suffering, we are confronted with a myriad of difficult questions. The book of Job, and the person whose life it depicts, gives us a glimpse into how we should understand suffering. Instead of becoming fatalistic, despairing, or even blaming God for suffering, Job teaches us that we must be honest in our engagement with God, we must engage with those who are suffering in our midst, and we must hold firmly to the hope of Christ’s ultimate victory.
GETTING THE CONVERSATION STARTEDThese questions can be used as ice-breakers in the beginning OR interwoven between the questions below to draw the group into the discussion.
1. Which would you say is more difficult for you to experience: physical pain or emotional pain? Why? Briefly explain?
2. Andy stated in his sermon that virtually all suffering and evil in this world is a result of sickness, accident, natural disaster, sin, or a combination of these. Do you agree with his statement? Why or why not?
3. Did you ever have a Job experience in your life? How did you respond? What did you learn? Briefly explain.
INTERACTING WITH THE SERMON
1. Briefly give a synopsis of this week’s sermon. What insight, principle, or observation from this weekend’s message did you find to be most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling? Explain.
2. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-11:
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. 8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.• What words does Paul use to describe God the Father in verse 3?
• According to verse 4, why does God comfort us?
• How did Paul “share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ?” (v. 5, 8-9) Have you ever personally shared in the sufferings of Christ? Briefly explain.
• What do you think Paul meant when he wrote that our comfort “abounds through Christ”? (v. 5) Is this comfort different than what we can experience without Christ? How so? Have you ever personally experienced this comfort that “abounds through Christ”? Briefly explain.
• Reread verses 6-7. In your own words, briefly explain the interchange between Paul and those he is writing to in these verses. How do you think their distress brought “comfort and salvation”? How do you think their comfort produced “patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer”?
• According to verses 8-9, what is Paul’s explanation for why they endured such hardships? Can you say that this was true of your personal experience of enduring hardships in your life?
• In reading verses 10-11, what is the hope with which we can face future hardships?
• As you reflect on these words of Paul, how do they impact the way you think about, and engage with, suffering in this world? Do any people or situations immediate come to mind? How would you respond differently to these people or situations in light of this passage?
3. During the sermon, Mark Batcheck gave an update on what we are doing as a church in Haiti.
• How did hearing the stories of suffering in Haiti make you feel?
• How did hearing about what our teams are doing in Haiti make you feel?
• What are you doing as a small group to engage with suffering in this world? In Haiti? In your neighborhood? In this small group?
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