Key idea: We find a persevering and powerful joy when we see life in light of Christ and his gospel Four aspects of true joy to encourage our faith and increase our joy True joy recognizes the world’s counterfeits True joy is rooted in the Gospel True joy sees the bigger story Believe that suffering and joy can coexist Let your suffering lead you to Christ See your suffering with expectant hope True joy aligns our will with Christ through prayer To pray in Jesus’ name recognizes our poverty To pray in Jesus’......
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Key idea: We find joy in our sufferings when we embrace Christ’s loving purposes behind them. Four truths to inform and shape our theology of suffering: I. Suffering is not the whole story, but part of the greater story of redemption II. Suffering is not meaningless, but has greater purposes Applications: A. We embrace suffering by believing God’s purposes are greater than our own (James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Suffering is not the greatest danger; sin and stagnancy are. B. We embrace suffering by redirecting our focus to faith in Christ. III. Suffering does......
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Key Idea: To embrace our sufferings we must believe that God’s purpose is greater than the suffering itself. 1. To embrace suffering you must have faith in the greater story of God 2. To embrace suffering you must have faith in the purposes of God...
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Surprising Sovereignty in Every Circumstance (vv. 12-14) Surprising Joy Despite Affliction (vv. 15-18)...
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