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Back to Basics – Following Christ is hard… and worth it (Luke 6:27-36)

LIGHTHOUSE SERMONS

Suffering: anything that hurts.

Big question for tonight:

Three kinds of suffering that I can experience in life.

1. Physical Brokenness

Genesis 3:16-19

I suffer because… I live in a world broken by sin

2. Suffering we experience while we sin

  1. Proverbs 29:6 – An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.

I suffer when I sin because… I’m living in a trap.

  1. Isaiah 42:17 – They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to metal images, “You are our gods.”

I suffer when I sin because… I’m living for something that lets me down.

  1. Isaiah 59:2 – Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.

I suffer when I sin because… I’m making myself far from God.

3. Suffering we experience when we love God in a world that hates him.

Habakkuk 1:4 – Justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous.

Psalm 73:3 – I was envious when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Psalm 73:13 – All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

Malachi 3:14-15 – It is vain to serve God. What is the profit? Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.

I suffer when I follow Jesus because… the world hates him.

What’s causing my suffering?

Suffering for Jesus is worth it.

James 4:4 – Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Revelation 21:4,27

Discussion Questions

  1. When have you suffered because of the physical brokenness of our bodies and the world?
  2. When have you suffered while you’re sinning? (Being trapped, living for something that lets you down, being far from God?)
  3. When have you suffered because you’re following Christ? What have you given up or not gotten because of your commitment to him?
  4. If you don’t feel like you’ve suffered for Christ, is it possible you’re not following him closely? What should you be giving up that you’re not?
  5. Are there times that suffering for Christ doesn’t feel worth it?
  6. What are truths that can help us remember that it’s better to follow Christ than to be far from him?
  7. What is something very specific and practical that you can do to find out what makes Christ so worth it? In other words, what can you do to grow in your knowledge of and trust in him?