God's Hard Providence

Message 1: God's Hard Providence

Text: An overview of Job

While Scripture calls us to a certain confidence in Christ and His written Word, an alarming number of professing believers in Christ in our day are embracing agnosticism as a way of faith and life. Today and tomorrow's messages will explore this re-casting of the Christian faith and explain why it is so attractive to so many Christians. Today's message will focus on how to handle the hard and hurtful times of life, times in which we may be tempted to pursue the same kind of agnosticism increasingly popular among Christians.

• Uncovering our true thoughts toward God
• What broke Job's heart
• Job vs. the unbeliever
• The three vital prerequisites to knowing God
• Our compassionate Father
• The Binder of Broken Hearts

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Many Christians believe that God does not ordain all events, but merely allows them. Why is this view not only untrue according to Scripture, but ultimately unsatisfying to the soul?
• What prevents us from seeing God's goodness in the hard and hurtful circumstances of life?
• What other examples do we have in Scripture of people enduring hard providence? What can we learn from those examples?
• Discuss the deception and dangers of a Christianity focused on material prosperity and personal happiness.
• What prevents us from seeing God's goodness in the hard and hurtful circumstances of life?