Normal But Not Natural

In one paragraph

Brad Yates brought this message in the wake of his mother's passing three weeks before, and he framed it as the first of two Sundays on the problem of suffering. He argued that Christians are uniquely equipped to answer the world's hardest questions about evil and pain, and that understanding the Christian view in calm moments is the only way to be ready when suffering arrives. Brad opened by...

Read together

1. Luke 13:1-5 key text read aloud and expounded upon, Jesus addressing whether those who suffered deserved it more than others
2. Matthew 5:45 God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous
3. John 11:35 shortest verse in the Bible cited to show Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus
4. Job 1:8 God presents Job to Satan as blameless and upright, used to show suffering is not necessarily caused by personal sin
5. Hebrews 4:15 Jesus as high priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, having been tempted in all things
6. 1 Peter 2:23 Christ's example of not retaliating when insulted or threatened but entrusting himself to God
7. Matthew 28:20 Jesus promises to be with us always, cited as the basis for God not abandoning us in suffering
8. 1 John 4 John makes clear the answer to the problem of evil and suffering is love
9. John 3:16-17 Jesus came not to get rid of evil but to die for his bride the church
10. Revelation 19:15 Jesus returning as a lion to rule with an iron scepter and tread the winepress of God's wrath

Talk about it

1. Brad described three views of suffering: secular Western, stoic Eastern, and Christian. Which of these views have you caught yourself leaning on when hard times hit, and what drew you to it?
2. Brad said that stress can be a check engine light for our hearts, and that the safe answer is not to ignore it but to bring it to a trusted friend or to God in prayer. What makes that hard to actually do, and what has helped you do it?
3. Jesus pointed to the tower of Siloam and made clear that those who died were not worse offenders than anyone else. Brad said we sometimes have a little voice that asks whether our suffering is punishment for something we did wrong. Have you experienced that, and how do you talk yourself out of it or back into it?
4. Brad said that in the Bible, God rarely begins to use someone until they have suffered, and he listed nearly every major figure in scripture as an example. Do you find that comforting, challenging, or both, and why?
5. Brad closed by sharing that his mom was baptized on the exact date, two years before, that she passed away, and he said he plans to celebrate that day rather than only grieve it. How do you hold grief and gratitude together when you lose someone, and what has helped you do that?