suffering - From One Degree to Another

My 2/23/25 sermon at Crestview, God Builds Confidence through Suffering (Haggai 2:1-23), wrapped up a short series on our experience of suffering. Now, I would venture to guess that universally, it is true that confidence usually isn’t our experience in suffering. Whether an athlete wonders if she’ll be able to return to form after a recent setback or simply a challenging sickness that has thrown us off our game, suffering brings unsettledness.

But God. God steps into people’s lives (like He did in Haggai 2) to reassure us. Specifically, in Haggai, God worked to deal with many things that throw us off our game, and at the center of His confidence-building activity is Jesus, the Messiah.

I hope this sermon helps you move forward in confidence.

My 2/16/25 sermon at Crestview, “Cutting Through the Fog of Suffering” (Haggai 1), is now live. This sermon continues a series I’ve given to start the year and to encourage those in our congregation who are facing suffering. The context of Haggai proved important in showing what these people were going through. You can imagine what it would be like to lose everything you held dear and be conquered by enemies, to see all the essential things to your practice of religion not only destroyed but defiled, only to watch God restore you to this land years later. No wonder they were shell-shocked. But God. Our God is ever gracious and faithful and comes near to draw sufferers back to Himself. I hope the sermon encourages you while suffering.