Call to worship:
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.Psalm 116:1-7
Gathering Video
Questions for reflection:
How does Paul explain our human lives? What imagery and metaphors and why does it matter?
In difficulty, do you tend to exaggerate or shrink your circumstances? How can we “right size” our suffering?
In what ways does the truth of Jesus inform tough seasons of life?
Corporate Prayer:
Our Father in Heaven,
We thank you for this advent season that reminds us of who You are and what You've done. We ask that by the power of Your Spirt, we'd be enabled to behold the beauty of your Son and apply His work to our lives. Please give us patience as we wait for His glorious return, and use us for the good of those around us.
In the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen
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Notes//Quotes//Slides:
2 Cor 4:7-18
Just as wine cannot keep well in silver or gold vessels, but only in the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones—so words of Torah do not keep well in one who considers himself to be the same as silver or gold vessels, but only in one who considers himself the same as the lowliest of vessels—earthen ones. - Rabbinical Commentary on Torah
The Stoic philosopher—and still more the Cynic—prided himself on his indifference to physical and mental suffering, and would often give a recital of what he had been through in order to demonstrate the power of the philosophy to make one able to rise above such purely external and short-term vicissitudes. - David Garland
“Epictetus believed that difficulties (peristaseis) “show what men are.” What they endured exhibited their true grit and moral constancy. For Paul hardships do not disclose what humans are made of but what God’s power is like” - David Garland
“While other worldviews lead us to sit in the midst of life’s joys, foreseeing the coming sorrows, Christianity empowers its people to sit in the midst of this world’s sorrows, tasting the coming joy. Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God himself walks with us in the fire.” - Tim Keller