Song: shine Jesus shine
—
Prayer; Christina may do it. If not, pray that the sermon will be fruitful.
Daniel will do it
John 9 1-7
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
-suffering means different things to different people: Christopher finishing his dinner.
-we often wonder; why should Christians suffer?
We follow God’s laws.
We give ourselves to Jesus
Christianity is about suffering.
We are better suited to suffering than an atheist; we know there is purpose in suffering.
Peter crucified upside down.
Andrew crucified on an x shaped cross.
James beheaded
Thomas speared
Interesting: John, beloved disciple only one to die of old age.
Christ suffered for us;
If we are to become closer to Christ and better respect his sacrifice for us, we should welcome suffering.
Isaiah
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
God is not ignoring our suffering.
It would be naive to think God predicted Jesus suffering 700 years before his torture, but not that God is aware of ours.
God knows of what we’ve suffered, the the tribulations still to come.
God is aware of both our best day in life and worst.
Psalm:
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
Parable of the talents teaches that we each are made with different gifts and abilities.
Some of us are built to withstand more pressure than others.
God will never let us suffer more than we can handle.
Paul says In Corinthians
“No testing has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
Paul was suffered greatly in life despite arguably being the most important Christian to ever live.
-spent lost his life in jail.
-widely believed to have had disability, specifically with sight/blindness.
Romans:
we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Jesus’ reason:
-sinning had nothing to do with it
-it had all to Do with God’s work in the man’s life.
Suffering is essential in the Christian life.
The only way we can realise The necessity of of Jesus’ sacrifice is through repentance and enduring suffering.
we will never be tested beyond our means.
Prayer; reflect on suffering.
Song: tell out my soul
Collect the offering; Timothy and Robbie.
Prayer; the offering
Song: 10,000 reasons
End with the Lord’s Prayer.
