July 20, 2018 – August 17, 2018
Job and the Problem of Suffering
Throughout the course of our lives, suffering deeply and intimately touches each of us both as individuals and as communities. “When will it end?” “Why me?” “Why do bad things happen to good people?” There are so many ways that we wonder, plead, ask for explanations, and seek to understand why we suffer and, further, why God allows suffering to continue in our world. In this Groundwork series, we’ll study Job, a story that exemplifies the struggle to understand the problem of suffering. In it, we’ll recognize our own questions about suffering, observe best practices for comforting those who are experiencing suffering, be uplifted by Job’s testimony of faith in spite of suffering, and receive God’s unprecedented response to our questions about suffering.
Episodes in this Series
July 20 , 2018
Why, God, Why?
The story of Job gives us a place to wrestle with one of life’s most difficult questions: the problem of suffering. It also reassures us that it’s possible to maintain a strong faith, even as we express these questions and lament our circumstances to God.
July 27 , 2018
Is God Punishing Me?
As Job’s friends enter into his suffering, they too try to explain why bad things happen to good people. In their explanations, we recognize many of the same rationalizations and questions we have as we try to make sense of undeserved suffering.
August 3 , 2018
Consoling the Suffering
Studying the efforts of Job’s friends as they endeavor to comfort him helps us be aware of where we might run into trouble in similar circumstances. It also shows us how we can more faithfully represent God and more lovingly comfort the suffering.
August 10 , 2018
Choosing Hope in Suffering
When we have every right to lament and despair, what is the source for our continued hope? Listen to Job’s laments, and find out what he declares is the source of his continued hope at a time when all hope seems lost.
August 17 , 2018
God Answers Job
See how God answers Job's lament, and discover what God’s response teaches us about why bad things happen to good people.