Living Faith, Part 1: A Biblical Theology of Suffering
If you are a follower of Jesus, you have God’s guarantee that He is in the process of transforming you into the image of Jesus Christ. Because His primary tool for this transformation is suffering, any and all pain you experience in this life He can and He will redeem for this purpose.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEPHERD GROUPS
- What stood out to you in this message?
- What is your first response to the notion of joy in trials?
- How do you respond to the comment that other people in other places and times in history have responded more receptively to trials than we do in our current cultural context?
- How have you seen God use trials to develop greater maturing in you and in others around you?
- Discuss the truth that we are not our own, that we are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
- Discuss how well your group does at bearing one another’s burdens (see Galatians 6:2). Are there ways you could improve at this?
- Do you agree that we as a culture tend to ask “why” as our first response to life’s difficulties? Explain your experience.