Omc: Family Chapel

We are wrapping up our short series on Suffering this Sunday. We'll be looking at how we are to walk with others in their suffering. We'll see that the way we walk with others is by showing up (Galatians 6:2), listening (Job 13:5), praying (Philippians 4:6-7), providing practical support (1 John 3:16-18), giving the gift of hope (Hebrews 6:19-20), and waiting (Isaiah 40:30-31). As a family, God calls upon us to walk well with one another in seasons of suffering.

As we continue our series on Suffering, we'll be looking at how we should respond when we are in times of suffering. Though we may understand the biblical framework for suffering and God's purposes in suffering, we often find ourselves not knowing how to respond when suffering hits. Naturally, we tend to deal with suffering by denying it, oversimplifying it, or despairing in it, which ultimately do not work. Rather, we'll see that the Bible gives us a healthier, more robust way to respond to suffering, rooted in the hope we have in Christ.

While suffering is not a good thing, certain good things can only come through suffering. The goal of this sermon is not necessarily so that you can look at the suffering you are going through right now or at suffering that you have gone through in the past and try to pinpoint exactly why God did what He did. (That’s a fool’s errand!) Rather, the goal of this sermon is to give us some general guidelines so that we can trust that God is working for our good and for His glory in the midst of our suffering.

Creation: Suffering was not a part of God's original design Fall: Suffering is a result of sin Redemption: Suffering is ultimately experienced and overcome by God at the cross Restoration: Suffering will be no more one day

We will be wrapping up our short series in Jonah this upcoming Sunday. We'll see the surprising reason why Jonah ran away when God first called him, and that's because He did not want the Ninevites to receive God's mercy! (Jonah was a nationalistic racist!!) While he rejoiced in receiving God's mercy, he could not bear to see others receive God's mercy. From our passage, we'll see that we ought to have God's heart of compassion towards those we see as "others". As we have received mercy, we ought to show others mercy.

As we continue in the book of Jonah, in chapter 3, we'll see God graciously call upon Nineveh to repent. And then we'll see how God graciously responds to Nineveh's repentance with mercy. Repentance, from beginning to end, is an act of grace - the call to repentance, the act of repentance, and the response to repentance are all truly God's gracious gifts to us!

We'll be kicking off a new series (4 weeks) through the book of Jonah. For this Sunday, we'll focus on the call of God. God calls us to obey Him. Oftentimes, it is difficult to obey, but we should obey the call of God placed on our lives because God is the sovereign Lord who is worthy of our obedience and His call will come to pass. Instead of running away, we should obey the call of God by living in the presence of God.