Cornerstone West Los Angeles » Sermons

Jesus invites his followers on an adventure. It's unlike anything they ever expected, and unlike anything they could have imagined. But, at times, the journey will be confusing. In encountering Jesus, Peter shows us how to respond when the invitation of Jesus is confusing and why, following him anyway leads to greater joy than we ever thought possible.Application Questions: 1. What is something God has called or instructed you to do that didn't seem to make any sense?2. How do you tend to respond when God's instructions don't make sense to you? How often do you walk by faith and not by sight?3. Can you recount a time when you have been completely overwhelmed by the reality and presence of God?4. What is your life about? Why does God have you here in LA? And do your answers to those questions reflect God's kingdom-oriented call on your life?

Luke shows us what Jesus' ministry was like in several snapshots. He teaches with an astonishing authority, he heals with a compassionate authority, and he raises up the needy to a kind of life serving him. When we understand Jesus this way, we'll find the same things happening to us.Application Questions: 1. How have you been astonished by Jesus authority as the Author of all things? 2. Where do you see a need for compassionate authority in the lives of people around you, or in your own life? 3. How have you seen Jesus' authority transform your life?

Prayer is hard and it's easy for us to get distracted. But, there are two things that can fuel our prayer life and draw us into a deeper intimacy with God. One is remembering who it is we're talking to: the one who hears and acts. The other is who we're praying about. When our hearts are captivated by a love for others we're able to take our eyes off ourselves and pray, not just for our own needs, but even more fervently for the needs of those around us.Application Questions: 1. When you pray, are you confident the Lord hears you? How can you be reminded of this as you enter into prayer?2.When you pray, are you expectant that the Lord will answer you? How can you be reminded of this as you enter into prayer?3. Who do you generally spend more time praying for, yourself or others?4. Who around you is struggling and in need of your prayer?

Jesus begins His ministry in and around His hometown- and immediately He challenges the people. He challenges their authority. He challenges their mission. And He challenges their allegiance. This same Jesus challenges us the same way today.Application Questions: 1. How is Jesus different than the people expected the Messiah to be?2. What are the initial reasons the people begin to question Jesus?3. How does Jesus go from being "glorified by all" to being almost murdered?4. How does Jesus challenge your authority in your life? How does He challenge your mission? How does He challenge your allegiance?

The temptation of Jesus is a shock to our system as modern people, but we need it to face the realities of our world and the struggles in our own hearts. When we look at the setting in the wilderness, the Devil's temptations, and Jesus' response, we learn about fighting our own temptations through Christ.Application Questions: 1. Have you experienced "the wilderness" in your own life? 2. Do you struggle believing in supernatural evil? Do you struggle believing that Jesus really underwent temptation?3. Where can you identify temptation in your own life?4. How can you fight temptation using Scripture and the gospel this week?

Certain sections of scripture cause our modern eyes to glaze over, but ancient eyes cherished the genealogies of Jesus Christ. Looking back over the ancestors of Jesus, we find some names we recognize and many others we don't. These generations teach us about how God fulfills his promises, how Jesus comes to bring good news to all people, and how in Christ our deepest hopes make contact with the real world.Application Questions: 1. How can this list of names help you trust God's promises more in your own life?2. What are ways God's grace in Jesus can meet you when you feel insignificant or undesirable?3. Jesus is divine perfection breaking into our human world. How can that give you hope in the midst of your daily life?

John's ministry is to prepare the way for the Lord. That means the true King, God himself, is stepping into human history. What will the King do? In this short passage, we see that the King has a baptism he brings, and a baptism he receives. In these two baptisms, we get a picture of the whole of the Christian life. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire, meaning he brings you into contact with God himself. If you submit to him, he will transform you into something more glorious than you can imagine. If you reject him, it will leave you eternally empty. But Jesus also is baptized for you, identifying with us not just in the water with John but on the cross in our place. He goes into the fire of God's judgment so you might be redeemed and refined. Application Questions: 1. Do you ever engage in Christian activities without looking to connect with God? How can you look to interact with God through regular Christian practices like Bible reading, prayer, community, and corporate worship?2. Can you describe a time when the fires of life refined you into someone more holy? What in your life right now might be having the same effect? 3. How does Jesus' own baptism show you he is trustworthy? How might that lead you to trust and obey him more?

John the Baptist is sent in preparation for the Messiah's arrival. God's Word comes to Him in the wilderness and He preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Baptism shows us that every inch of our souls needs transformation, immersed in the waters from head to toe. Repentance shows us that we need a decisive change of mind, acknowledging our sin and rejecting it. And forgiveness shows us that the goal of this change is a relationship with the God of the universe.Application Questions: 1. Why is baptism so significant? Why is immersion important?2. How have you seen repentance as a regular pattern in your life?3. What are the ways you can grow in repentance – acknowledging and rejecting sin in your heart and life?4. How does the gospel speak hope to you in the midst of sin? 5. Why must we preach the gospel to ourselves every day?

In a rare look at Jesus' early life, we find him in the temple at twelve years old. Even though his parents have left Jerusalem without him, Jesus is right at home in his Father's house, because he is the Son of God. In this passage, Luke shows us the kind of Son Jesus is: authoritative, surprising, and obedient. Each one gives us a lesson on following Jesus in our own lives today.Application Questions: 1. As the Son of God, Jesus claims total authority over our lives. How have you embraced Jesus' authority in your life? What areas of your life might need to be brought under his authority? 2. Can you think of a time that Jesus was different than you expected him to be? How did you handle that surprise? 3. Jesus is the obedient Son, obeying his Father even when it led to judgment and death. How might Jesus' obedience move you to embrace his authority in your life, even when he violates your expectations?

We all spend most of our lives waiting. But what are we waiting for? When we wait for the things of this world, we're left anxious, stressed, and fearful. But when we wait on God we can experience true peace.Application Questions: 1. What "unknown future" are you tempted to wait for?2. How would your days be different if you were consciously to wait (live expectantly) for God's good purposes for you and your eternal future?3. How could you practically help yourself wait not for an outcome but for the person of Christ?

Merry Christmas! Jesus is born – the promise of God is fulfilled. And the contrasts are innumerable. A multitude of angels come to announce the birth of the Messiah – and they come to lowly shepherds watching sheep. Why? Because the story of Christmas is not about the glory of God in the highest but about God's glory coming to the lowest of low, because He loves us.Application Questions: 1. How does the story of Christmas impact life in March?2. What is glory?3. What is God's glory?4. How does God's glory in the lowest speak hope to your life?5. How can you "go and see", and "ponder in your heart" and "glorify and praise God" this week?

As we prepare to see Jesus appear on the scene, Luke prepares his readers for this ultimate entrance by highlighting the profound mercy of God. In order to prepare ourselves to encounter the one true God, we need to understand that though he is a God of holiness, love, justice, and kindness, he is also a God of mercy.Application Questions: 1. What does it mean that God is merciful?2. Have you often thought of God's mercy?  3. What are some ways that you have seen God's mercy in your life?4. What are some ways you are longing to see God's mercy in your life?5. Why can the gospel give you confidence as you wait and hope for God's mercy?

In this passage, we find the magnificat, the song Mary sang about the coming of Christ. For two thousand years people have been compelled by this song, and this morning we'll see why. Luke first gives us a prelude: Mary's meeting with Elizabeth, when the truth she heard from the angel landed on her heart. But then we find the song itself, full of truths that can make your heart sing too. Application Questions: 1. What are ways you have experienced "the truth landing on your heart"? How often were other people involved? 2. Is it ever a struggle to think of the gospel as personal—for you? How have you seen that affect your life? 3. Why does Mary's song focus so much on who God is and what he's done? Do you find a similar focus in your own perspective? 4. Christ turns the world upside-down: the proud and wealthy are in a dangerous position, while the humble and poor are in a promising position. How should that adjust the way you view the world, and your own life?

In this section of Luke, we find an angelic message and a human response. Gabriel announces that Mary will conceive and bear a son, and that this son will bring a new hope into the world. This message points to a wealth of grace and love for all kinds of people through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And Mary's response points us to the nature of true faith: sincere questions coupled with a surrendered life.Application Questions: 1. How do we see the love of God in the incarnation? 2. Are there ways your faith could use more sincerity? 3. How does the gospel encourage you toward deeper surrender? What would that look like in your life?

God's plan and purpose for salvation begin to unfold through a forerunner – someone coming before Jesus to prepare the way. The life and ministry of John the Baptist is promised to his father Zechariah, who doesn't believe the angel Gabriel's promise. Regardless of Zechariah's faith, God is going to accomplish His promise for His people.Application Questions: 1. Do you feel stuck? In what ways?2. How do you respond to God's promises in your life?3. How is it grace that God accomplishes His will with or without you?4. What newness does God want to bring into your life through Jesus this year?

The book of Luke begins with a proper introduction, detailing his research methods and what he intends for his readers to learn. This teaches us important lessons about what the gospels are: true accounts about the person of Jesus who can change your life.Application Questions: 1. Why is it important that we see Luke's gospel as the result of an investigation into the truth, not hearsay or legends? 2. Luke puts forth a person, not an argument, as the answer to our questions, longings, and desires. In what ways is the person of Jesus Christ more satisfying than an argument? 3. Do you come to Christianity, and the Bible particularly, looking for what you should do or what God has done for you in Jesus Christ? How does that shape your daily life? 

Jude is a short letter that packs a punch. He demonstrates that the Christian faith is something worth fighting for, and then shows us how to do it in a way that matches the grace and love of the gospel. The Christian faith, Jude says, is true, beautiful, and life changing. When some claim that faith but avoid its implications, we have to contend! But Jude counsels us to do so by keeping ourselves in the love of God and remembering that, in the gospel, God keeps us as well. Application Questions: 1. How have you found the Christian faith both true and beautiful? 2. "Grace leads you toward Christ as Lord, not away from him." How have you seen this true in your own life? How is denying this truth destructive?3. How can you practically "keep yourself in the love of God," and keep others there as well? 4. How does the way God "keeps you" in the gospel encourage you?

In this letter Paul takes the values of the Kingdom of God and lovingly but firmly presses Philemon (and us) to reject the kingdom of this world and embrace the Kingdom of God.Application Questions: 1. Take some time to think deeply about yourself. What are some blind spots you may have in your life? Do you pray and ask God to reveal blind spots to you?2. How can you daily remind yourself of your identity in Christ? 3. What are the ways you get caught in the trap of comparison? How does the gospel free you from that trap?4. How does the world around you fixate on the value you bring? How does Christ see you differently?5. What would "usefulness" look like for you in your life?

In response to this week's tragic fires, we take time to hear God speak words of gentle comfort and love to each of us in this frightening and disorienting moment.Application Questions: 1. How does God's goodness bring you comfort in this moment?2. How does God's power bring you comfort in this moment?3. What "big questions" does this moment cause you to ask? Take time to ask them to God.4. What does patient trust look like for you this week?

The Apostle John wants to see the gospel grow and multiply throughout the world. And there are a few key ways the local church can facilitate that growth. By thinking of ourselves less and sacrificing for others more, we can all participate in the supernatural growth of the gospel.Application Questions: 1. Who are the brothers and sisters serving the kingdom who need your hospitality and support?2. Where do you see the spirit of Diotrephes at work in the church or in your own heart?3. Who is a "Demetrius" in your life? Who, specifically, should you be imitating?

2 John is a small letter with a big message: the nature of truth and love. What we believe to be true shapes the way we live. The central truth of Christianity—that Jesus Christ came in the flesh—is what shapes us into loving people. For that reason Christians are careful to guard the truths of the faith, in the world and also in their own hearts.Application Questions: 1. Where in your own life can you see the connection between what you believe and how you live? 2. What is unique about the Christian belief that "Jesus Christ came in the flesh"? 3. How might God be leading you to guard the truth in your own life?

As we reflect back on the book of Daniel, we discover one of the secrets of Christmas that frees us to enjoy the celebration like never before. The secret of Christmas is that Christmas is supposed to make you homesick. It's a story of exile promised to exiles in order to give hope in exile. And when we see it through the lens of exile, we find the true joy of what Christmas is truly all about.Application Questions: 1. Is Christmas particularly joyful or difficult for you this year?2. If it's joyful, are there still some difficulties? If it's difficult, are there still some joys?3. How do the joys and difficulties of Christmas help you long for your eternal home even more this year?4. What is a specific part of Christmas that can point you to your eternal home every time you hear or see it?

The book of Daniel ends by talking about the end: what happens at the end of human history. We find that death isn't the end, for us or our world. There is a resurrection and a future for every human being, all based on what you do with Jesus Christ. This changes how we live today, as we orient our lives around a future much longer than the lives we live on earth.Application Questions: 1. How often do you think about what happens after you die? What are those thoughts like?2. How does the future described in Daniel 12 compare to the way you think about eternity? 3. What might it look like for you to "go your way" knowing that you have an eternal place with God?

Daniel's final vision describes a chaotic future. Kingdoms rise and fall, with God's people caught in the middle. Today most of Daniel's vision is history, but it gives us stabilizers for life in today's chaotic world. Daniel 11 shows us how wisdom, hope, and the knowledge of God can give you firm footing in the whirlwind of modern life. Application Questions: 1. How can you pursue wisdom by putting the circumstances of your daily life in conversation with eternity? 2. How can God's power and goodness give you hope in the midst of real difficulty? 3. How might knowing God help you stand firm through the chaos of life in the city?

The book of Daniel ends with a final vision detailing events in human history and God's rule over them all. Before it begins, Chapter 10 turns our eyes to the spiritual world behind such events. This is challenging for modern people, but the spiritual world is more plausible than many expect. That spiritual world is also different than we often think, expanding our horizons and growing our sense of wonder. In light of an overwhelming unseen world, Daniel is told to fear not. Because of God's love for us in Christ, we can navigate the world without fear and find peace.Application Questions: 1. Do you tend to think about the spiritual world too much or too little? How might that be affecting your life? 2. How does the Bible's understanding of angels and demons differ from common ideas in secular or Christian culture? 3. In light of an overwhelming spiritual world, Daniel is told to “fear not." How does Jesus give you the ability to do so in ways you couldn't without him?

Daniel 9 is one of the most difficult passages in the Old Testament, and yet its central message is clear: God wants to bring his people home, and he will do it through Jesus Christ. The road home begins with God's love for us, not our efforts or morality. And it leads to a home far better than we hoped: an existence free from sin, injustice, and pain, where all God's promises are fulfilled. The way there is through God himself in human flesh, Jesus Christ, dying in our place. Application Questions: 1. After confessing his sin, Daniel is told that he is greatly loved by God. What are some ways that challenges you and/or comforts you?2. Read the six phrases in verse 24. Which ones do you find most compelling as a description of the future? 3. "All roads run through Jesus." How might you put Christ at the center of your view of the world and your own life choices?

In the midst of visions, Daniel stops and reflects on the past seventy years of God's people in exile. Daniel's response is one of confession and petition – pouring out his heart in honesty, and pleading with God for mercy. Daniel's prayer shows us what it looks like to have a heart that seeks God.Application Questions: 1. What are your initial feelings about confession? Is this something you practice? Why or why not?2. How can you encounter God in His Word?3. What would it look like to truly search your own heart and be honest and vulnerable before God?4. What holds you back from genuine vulnerability?5. How can you begin practicing confession in your life?

Daniel 8 records a vision of world empires clashing and God's people suffering. This prophecy, written hundreds of years before the events took place, gave Daniel and his readers clarity for the chaos that was ahead of them—and it can do the same for us. God is at work even when things seem like they are falling apart. This makes you clear-eyed, firm footed, and warm-hearted as you walk through the chaos of life, looking forward to God's eternal kingdom at the end.Application Questions: 1. Do you tend toward being cynical or idealistic? How does Daniel 8 help you see things more clearly? 2. God is at work even when things are falling apart. How can that encourage you toward faithfulness and endurance in your own life? 3. Despite what's going on around you, the love of God in Christ never changes. How can that keep your heart warm and joyful in the difficulties you face this week?

Daniel transitions from stories to visions in chapter 7, using startling imagery that often leaves us confused and bewildered. The goal of these visions is to leave us comforted and hopeful, and as we look closer we see why: we find God's kingdom juxtaposed against the kingdoms of earth, leading to a final clash that brings the kingdom of heaven to earth forever. When we have this grasp of human history, it lets us walk through the world a different kind of person: joyful, secure, and wise. Application Questions: 1. What's your experience with apocalyptic literature, like Daniel's vision in this chapter? 2. How have you experienced the chaos of life in the world? 3. What is appealing to you about the description of God's kingdom in Daniel 3:9-14? 4. How can you look at the world differently with the “key to history” this week?

Today we celebrate the 100-year anniversary of Cornerstone's sanctuary. Built in 1924, this building is filled with stories of God's provision, transformation, and the spread of his kingdom. As we commemorate this moment, we find that the reason this church has thrived throughout the generations is not a testament to our leadership, our character, or our vision - it is a testament to the mercy, power, and kindness of our God.Application Questions: 1. What strikes you as you imagine all that God has done over the course of the last century in this place?2. How have you seen God's mercy on display in our church and in your own life?3.How have you seen God's power on display in our church and in your own life?4. How have you seen God's kindness on display in our church and in your own life?5. How is God calling us to respond to his mercy, power, and kindness in our own generation?

The famous story of Daniel and the lions' den concludes the narrative portion of the book of Daniel, and shows us how to navigate life in the midst of exile. In exile we must be wary of the world's agendas, we must seek faithfulness in our spiritual disciplines, and we must fix our hearts and eyes on God's glory.Application Questions: 1. Why should we be cautious when we encounter the world's rejection or celebration?2. How can you see people as people?3. What spiritual disciplines are necessary in your life to fight the current of the world around you?4. How is the story of Daniel a story about resurrection?5. What hope does this story give you in the midst of the lions in your life?

What happens when a young son is left in charge of the empire while his father is away for years and years? Predictably, nothing good. But, while Babylon begins to crumble from the inside out, God remains faithful to his people in exile, even when it seems like they've been forgotten. Application Questions: 1. In what ways are you tempted to put your hope in the kingdoms of this world, even though their days are numbered?2. In what ways are you tempted to put your hope in the things you treasure in this life, even though they are fleeting?3. If your life is weighed before God, do you think you have more in common with King Belshezzar or King Jesus?4. How does the gospel of Jesus give you hope and a future in spite of your sin and weakness?

Life in exile always means dealing with pride—both the pride around you and the pride inside of you. In Daniel 4 we see a proud king humbled, showing us the nature and effects of pride in our city and our own lives. We also see God's grace providing a cure for pride, pointing ultimately to Jesus Christ. When we look up to receive his grace, humility and joy are released into our lives during our time in exile. Application Questions: 1. Where are you tempted to say “my kingdom come, my will be done” in your life? 2. What stands out to you about the nature of pride? 3. How do you see the effects of pride in Los Angeles, and in your own life? 4. What are ways you can “look up” during your daily life to find the freedom of humility in Christ?

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a moment of truth. While we may never be asked to bow down to a 90-foot statue, it was not unlike many moments of truth we will each face. And the same God who granted them peace and hope in the midst of that moment is the same God who has given us peace and hope as well.Application Questions: 1. Have you ever faced your own moment of truth?2. How might you face a moment of truth like this in the future?3. Why can you have peace even when you face a moment of truth?4. How does it change the way you anticipate potential moments of truth in the future knowing that God is with you in the fire and, in Christ, promises to resurrect you through the fire?

Nebuchadnezzar is at the top of the world, but he's restless and troubled by questions he can't answer. His experts can't help, but Daniel can. Through Daniel, God reveals a mystery about where all of history is going. In the process, we see that the answers to the biggest questions are found in Christ and his eternal kingdom. Only when we build our lives on those answers will we have true peace.Application Questions: 1. Do the “big questions” of life ever leave you restless? 2. What are some different places people turn to find answers to the big questions of life? 3. "Every kingdom that's not God's kingdom will come down one day." Does that make you restless or give you peace? 4. How is Jesus the ultimate answer to the questions of life? How might that bring you peace this week?

Upon arriving in a new place, having been forced from their homes and compelled to learn the ways of Babylon, Daniel and his friends resolve to be different. But their resolution shows that they're a different kind of different. They are different not because they're out to prove anything. They're different because of what God has done for them and what he has promised to continue to do.Application Questions: 1. In what ways might the spirit of Babylon in our city be shaping you more than you realize?2. In what ways could you resolve to be different?3. When you feel different in our city, does it produce anger and frustration in you, or humility, kindness, and gentleness?4. How do God's promises for your hope and future give you confidence to live different in our city?5. What specific way will you choose to live different as a means of resisting the shaping impact of the spirit of the city?

Daniel is a story about four friends who are far from home, in a foreign place with different values and priorities. The Bible shows us that this is our story too: all of us are exiles, navigating life in a place different than our true home. Daniel teaches us to live lives of steady confidence in God, looking to serve the city around us without losing our identity as God's people. We can do that because our true citizenship is in God's own kingdom, which will outlast every other city. One day we will find our true home there. Application Questions: 1. How have you experienced life as an exile in Los Angeles (or anywhere else)? 2. How has the culture of the city exerted pressure on you, and how have you dealt with it? 3. What might a steady confidence in God and his kingdom look like in your life in LA?

It's safe to say that all Christians should be motivated to grow. We want to grow and be able to obey God for the rest of our lives, but sometimes we get stuck in our walk with Him. We've tried so many things and we're still stuck. If you find yourself struggling in your Christian life, my hope is that you'll realize that there's a better way to grow and obey God.Application Questions:1. If Christ came to empower you to obey through His Spirit, why do you keep trying to obey in your own strength?2. Why will obedience out of obligation or fear eventually shut you down?3. If Christ obeyed the law for us, why do we still have to obey it?4. What is Spirit-empowered obedience?5. Explain how obedience through the Spirit motivates you to obey more?6. Why is love the best reason to motivate our obedience?

Last week we looked at Jesus' call to lose our life that we might save it. This week we look at his call to lose our life to save others. The mission of the church is to be Christ's ambassadors on earth. And as it did for our Savior, that will inevitably involve suffering.Application Questions: 1. Why did Jesus come to earth?2. What is the mission of the church?3. Why do we have to suffer as we strive to fulfill his mission?4. What fears hold you back from living your life for the sake of the gospel?5. How might God be calling you to step toward suffering (big or small) for the sake of the spread of the gospel?

There are times that Christians embrace suffering that they could have tried to avoid. What explains that impulse? Jesus' conversation with Peter and his disciples in Mark 8 shows us why Jesus moves toward suffering, and why following him means we do the same. Application Questions: 1. Why does Jesus insist so strongly that he “must” suffer on the cross? How does this contrast with the way people normally think about the good life? 2. Do you have any experience moving toward suffering and not away from it? What were your motivations and what was the result? 3. What scares you the most about moving toward suffering and not away from it? How does the gospel encourage you in those fears?

God is the ultimate source of consolation and comfort. But how do we experience that comfort when he is invisible and intangible? Scripture teaches us how to truly bring God's comfort into one another's lives by being a means of his comfort, and a reminder that God alone is the only true source of the comfort we need.Application Questions: 1. Where, other than God, are you tempted to look for comfort?  2. How have you experience God's comfort over the past few weeks?3. How might God want to use the comfort you have received in providing comfort to those around you?4. Who around you might need God's comfort delivered through you?5. What is one practical way you can provide that comfort this week?

The world is chasing after the ability to be resilient in the face of suffering. But, what does true resilience entail? And how does the eternal hope we have in Christ both produce resilience and give us something even greater?Application Questions: 1. How does remembering your inheritance change your view of the future?2. How does your view of the future shape how you are experiencing suffering now?3. How might your view of suffering change if you were looking for God's glory in the midst of it?4. How might your view of God change if you were remembering his love, promises, and goodness both in and through your seasons of suffering?

Typically in the midst of suffering, we can't stop thinking about what has been taken from us. But God shows us in James 1 what He can produce in us in the midst of trials.Application Questions: 1. How are trials in your life always a "loss"?2. What is counterintuitive about God producing something in us in the midst of trials?3. How does wisdom guide you in the midst of suffering?4. How does an eternal perspective bring hope in the midst of suffering?

How do we make sense of our suffering? Pain and difficulty can be completely disorienting and seemingly pointless. But God pulls back the curtain just enough to give us a glimpse of the glorious work he is doing through our suffering. And when we catch that glimpse, it changes everything.Application Questions: 1. In what ways do you try to make sense of your suffering with observational truth instead of insightful truth? 2. How comfortable are you with the idea of rejoicing in the midst of suffering?3. Can you think of a time you've seen God use suffering to produce endurance in your life? Describe it.4. Can you think of a time you've seen God produce an enduring character in you? Describe it.5. How does the work God is doing in your life through suffering give you hope?

Having established the theological pillars we need to understand suffering in our world, we now turn to explore what it looks like to walk through suffering on the ground. Scripture gives us a vocabulary for our suffering we can't find anywhere else in the world. And that vocabulary begins with understanding the sweet gift of lament.Application Questions: 1. What is the difference between complaining and lament? Which is the more common way you respond to suffering?2. Is lament a regular discipline in your prayer life? If not, why not?3. How does God's love for you in Christ invite you into lament?4. What do you have to lament to God about right now?

How do we make sense of a God who allows suffering despite being good and in control of all things? Far from being a problem, God's sovereignty gives us deep resources to face suffering. Only a sovereign God can take all things and work them for good, even when we don't yet see how. What's more, God uses his sovereignty to take on more suffering than we will ever experience in Christ. This shows us the depth of his love and how trustworthy he is even in the midst of deep suffering in our own lives.Application Questions: 1. How have you struggled with God's sovereignty over suffering? 2. How can looking up, looking back, and looking forward anchor you in times of suffering? 3. God used his sovereignty to willingly suffer on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ. How might that give you comfort in the trials of life?

The Bible gives us more than pat answers when it comes to suffering in our lives. According to Scripture, suffering comes in different shapes and sizes, and comes into our lives as a result of many different factors. Often, suffering is a mystery without a full explanation. It's into this complicated middle that Jesus was born, suffered, and died for our sins to show us God's own love for us in the midst of any situation.Application Questions:1. Why is it important to see that suffering comes in all different shapes and sizes? 2. When you see suffering in your own life or someone else's, how do you typically explain it? How does that compare to the ways Scripture talks about the causes of suffering?3. How does the book of Job confront our desire for an explanation for our suffering?4. How does Jesus' life, death, and resurrection “in the middle” give us comfort for our suffering?

Every culture has a story of suffering that people use to make sense of the suffering they experience. Christianity provides a story of suffering that allows Christians to experience incredible hardship with endurance and even joy. It starts in the beginning with a good God creating a good world, which has been ruined by sin. This allows Christians to be honest about the struggle of suffering without ignoring the grace of God in their lives. The story ends with an eternity free of suffering and pain. This means Christians can put their current struggles in eternal perspective, giving them realistic hope in suffering now.Application Questions: 1. What is your “story of suffering”? How do you see it shape the way you understand suffering in your life?2. How honest are you about suffering and grace in your own life? 3. How does eternity play a role in the way you understand suffering?

The Psalms are incredibly honest about the reality and pervasiveness of suffering. In fact, they're often far more honest than we're willing to be. But it's only in being honest about the pervasiveness of suffering that we can experience the pervasiveness of hope.Application Questions: 1. In what ways are you currently suffering?2. What types of suffering do you tend to overlook or not consider "real suffering"?3. Are you surprised when you experience seasons of intense suffering? What do you think this says about your view of suffering?4. Of the four reasons for hope seen in our passage, which did you need to hear the most?- God is completely sovereign.- God is infinite in wisdom.- God is perfect in love.- God is always present.

Jesus tells his followers that they are salt and light in the world. Salt is a preservative put into things that otherwise would fall apart. This teaches us that Christians are in the city to help it hold together. Light is what allows us to see the reality around us. This teaches us that Christians are in the city to show God's truth and love to those who wouldn't see it otherwise. Being salt and light is not based on our moral achievement but on Christ's grace and presence in our own lives. Application Questions: 1. How might God be calling you to be salt for the city?2. How might God be calling you to be light for the city?

As we navigate life in a city filled with both unique blessings and unique challenges we need a supernatural endurance. Endurance is the strength to fulfill our God-given purpose even when things get hard. And, in Christ, we have all the strength we need.Application Questions: 1. What do you look to in order to escape the difficulties of the city when you are tempted to not endure?2. What stories (witnesses) from the Old Testament bring you particular encouragement as you strive to fulfill 3. God's purpose for your time in our city?4. Who are other people in our church family whose lives spur you on to faithfulness in our city?5. How does the love and sacrifice of Christ shape how you view your own love and sacrifice in our city?