Surprised by Hope

Has suffering ever caught you off-guard? What has suffering revealed about you? Can your suffering reveal Jesus?

‘What we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. God made His light shine in our hearts…’ 2 Corinthians 4:5

Peter identifies an experience we’ve all had, but rarely talk about; being surprised by suffering, by pain, by heartache and hardship. It’s not that I think I should be immune, or that someone else should suffer instead of me. I’m just never ready. It always catches me off guard, then I’m trying to catch up and maybe get ahead of hurting.

We’re looking at the counter-intuitive advice to rejoice rather than be shocked by suffering. Maybe Jesus intends to show his Glory through our weakness.

Read 1 Peter 4:12-19, and 2 Corinthians 4 along with this message.

I LOVE Being Your Pastor!

Rusty