Welcome to Sunday Fuel! This series of questions is designed to assist your personal reflection and fellowship with others about the sermon from this past Sunday.
- What is something you are suffering with today: something overwhelming, fearful, or hard? Our biggest dilemma, however, is not in the suffering we experience but the fact that we will one day need to face our creator. Unless we have been saved by Christ, our greatest problem is facing the just wrath of God for our sins.
- Where do you turn with it: helpless despair? determination to find a solution? Putting your hopes on someone or something to make it right? __________?
- Does my suffering lead me to dismiss God or lead me to deeper faith in Him?
- Meditate on this reality: his lovingkindness is better than life (see Psalm 63:3-4). Where do you resist or doubt this truth? Where do you lack faith in his love? Where do you continue to insist on fixing things by your own means? On what do you lean your faith? Confess these to the Lord.
- Take a moment to lean into His love for you, even though your pain persists or your suffering doesn’t go away. Take a moment to meditate and rest in the simple but deep truth that in the storms of life, you are in the hands of a good and loving Father. Thank God that your greatest problem of sin has been covered by Christ.
- How might the truth of His love and care put your sufferings in perspective? Was there a baptism testimony that particularly ministered to you? How did the Lord minister to our brothers and sisters during their trials? How did the gospel love of Jesus help them walk with Him through their suffering or trial? How might their testimony encourage you to do likewise?
- What would repentance look like for you? How might God use your “storm” to
- Change your worldly fear to a godly fear?
- Help you surrender control?
- Save your heart from hardening with unbelief?
- Grow in your faith?
- In this situation, how might you rest in the hope Christ offers, even in the midst of your struggles? How might remembering His presence and His loving purposes for you in this situation help you to worship Him in faith, trust, and surrender to His care instead of doubt? How would you demonstrate this in what you do or don’t do?
- Close your time of reflection by surrendering yourself and your cares to Christ, to rest in the Father’s love for you.
