The Center of Hope
Jul 30 2023 • Greg Boyd
We all face varying degrees of suffering in life, no matter how much we try to avoid it. But the Bible describes suffering as something that we can learn from, and that can be spiritually beneficial. So what are we supposed to do when life gets crappy and feels hopeless? How can we not only get through hard times, but thrive and grow in spite of them? Drawing on his own experience with chronic back pain, Greg takes an unflinching look at what it means to suffer, and how to remain centered on hope.
Sermons in this series:
While we are to invest in our individual Christian formation, we are also responsible for our formation corporately. We do not live out our faith merely as individuals. We live out our love for Christ together and work out our salvation as a group.
Topics: Community,
Discipleship,
Individualism
The struggles we face offer us a choice: avoid them or use them as an opportunity to develop antifragile faith. Pain avoidance will keep us fragile, but when we press on with Christ as the goal, we can develop perseverance or what Dan calls, antifragile faith.
Topics: Gratitude,
Pain & Suffering,
Transformation
In this sermon, Greg shares how God uses afflictions to form our character, if we have a vision for God’s ultimate goal of life and set aside the common goal of the pursuit of happiness. A vision to know God and live in his love will motivate us to enter into training that will shape us to love God and others. This training moves us beyond the never-ending chase of happy so that we might find joy in all things.
Topics: Discipleship,
Faith,
Pain & Suffering
In this sermon, Greg paints a picture of what God is doing now and what God will do at the end of history. He does this by providing three snapshots found in three passages that describe what the end will look like and how God will redeem all things by the power of his love. This gives us a reason for hope in the midst of any current suffering and pain.
Topics: Creation Care,
Pain & Suffering,
Transformation
This sermon addresses how God uses the suffering we face in this world to form us so that we might know Christ and his glory. While the sufferings we face are not orchestrated by God, God meets us in these situations and provides us with the opportunity to meet Christ in the midst so that we might be transformed into his likeness.
Topics: Hope,
Pain & Suffering,
Transformation
Greg shares physical challenges he's experienced lately and how during a visit to the emergency room, he began to understand the meaning of sharing in Christ’s suffering. He uses this experience to show how God meets us in our sufferings and uses them to bring about the transformation of knowing Christ.
Topics: Pain & Suffering,
Transformation
