Viewing entries tagged
pain

Why is it important to forgive people?

What I want to start off with is just a show of hands: Has anyone ever hurt you? Okay, we've got a few. Has anyone ever hurt you? Some people here have way better lives than mine. Okay, this is not going the way that I thought; I think that some people are distracted.

I think that it's fairly safe to say that in most of our lives' we've been hurt by someone. Maybe emotionally, or perhaps physically, but there's been something that's been done to us, and we didn't like it very much. Now we can react in many different ways to people hurting us. For some things, we might just shrug it off. We might just say, "Hey, it's all good," and we never think of it again. This is the kind of stuff where someone steps on your toe in the line at Disneyland—actually, I've been to the lines at Disneyland, and that's not usually how you respond to someone stepping on your toe, it often goes a bit beyond that.

But okay, when you brush past someone on the street in Canada, right, “Oh, I’m so sorry, it’s all good!” You never think of it again.

For others of us though, and for other types of pain, types of hurt that we’ve experienced from people, we might wallow in it.

Secret #2 for finding joy in your life.

Secret #2 for finding joy in your life.

How can I find joy?

Suffering, pain, challenges, trials, difficulties: these are present in all our lives at one time or another. Most of us also spend a lot of time worrying about how to prevent these things from happening...even though they will no matter what we do.

But what if I told you that there is a way to find joy and see good things happen as a result of these situations?

Text to Read: Philippians 1:12-30 NLT

Some key points from this message:

Paul's situation isn't great, but he is allowing it to be used for Jesus Christ, thus bringing purpose and joy into it.

When your focus is on yourself, happiness is dictated by your situation. When your focus is on Christ, joy is found in every situation.

Your attitude in the situation will impact the effect it has on you and those around you.

Paul's joyful attitude positively impacted the palace guard and other believers (vv. 12-14), but what would have happened if he had a downcast or bitter attitude instead?

The key for Paul was his understanding that it is the spread of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus' sacrifice for humanity, that truly matters (vv. 15-18).

Give your situation to Jesus and trust that he will use it to make a difference.

Paul doesn't talk about how he's going to deliver himself or how he's doing great things. He talks about how the Church's prayers and the Spirit of Jesus will lead to his deliverance. Paul understands that where he is powerless, God is powerful, thus he talks about his deliverance in passive rather than active terms (vv. 19-21). God will use the situation to do something for his glory and the spread of the Gospel.

When Jesus is where your significance is found, you can stand strong and rejoice no matter what comes (vv. 22-30).

A note on joy:

Joy is a fruit made up of faith, hope, love, contentment, and gratitude.

We can find meaning and joy in our situation when we allow it to be used to glorify Jesus.

Action Step:

  • Ask your closest friend what motivates you the most. If their answer is not “Jesus does,” ask the Holy Spirit of God to change your motives.

Prefer to watch or listen to the whole thing? You can do so below:

Hope...In a World Divided

Hope...In a World Divided

Never miss a message: subscribe on iTunes!
Follow along with sermon notes in
Youversion.

In this chaotic world filled with vastly differing opinions and so much pain, what is a Christ-follower to do? Is there any hope in a world like this? Guest speaker Paul Koenderman shares.

We want to hear from you...yes, you! Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments!

A Prayer for Every Situation: Prayers of Lament

A Prayer for Every Situation: Prayers of Lament

Never miss a message: subscribe on iTunes!
Follow along with sermon notes in Youversion.

Pastor Stephen shares openly about his struggle with depression and the importance of learning to pray prayers of lament in this week's Sunday morning message.

We want to hear from you...yes, you! Leave your thoughts and questions in the comments!