March (1 of 2): Small Group Discussion Guide
Tears That Water Joy – How suffering prepares the soil for deep, lasting purpose and happiness.
Sermon Series Overview
Life guarantees suffering, but how we endure it determines whether we emerge bitter or transformed. This series explores how suffering shapes our perspective, deepens our faith, and ultimately leads us to a joy that suffering cannot steal. We’ll challenge the myths we tell ourselves about suffering, examine how Jesus' own suffering was connected to His purpose and joy, and discover how faith empowers us to move forward without losing heart. We all long for purpose and happiness, yet we often encounter only more suffering along the way—suffering, joy, and purpose or intricately linked. We don’t experience one without being touched by the other two. But hope and unshakable faith can be found in knowing all three come together in Jesus.
Announcements
We are asking all who participate in Restore’s community to give if they are able! Thanks to your generosity, we have begun to close our budget gap! However, we still currently have a monthly budget deficit of $1,600. You can give safely and securely HERE!
God has been incredibly kind to Restore. The kindness God gifts us is designed to be passed on. We are gifted with grace in order to give grace. Everything that happens on Sunday mornings happens because of the dedication of our servants in creating a space that is welcoming to all! During February and March, we are starting our “Gifted to Give” initiative where we invite you to join one of our vital Sunday teams - Restore Kids or Production. You can sign up to serve your church HERE!
Resources
Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality by David Brenner. We all find ourselves resistant to grace. The hardest part is our surrender. This short but powerful book explores the life-changing journey of surrendering to God’s unconditional embrace of us.
The Healing Path by Dan B. Allander. This book walks us through the path to healing after our world has been shattered and our hearts discouraged.
Sermon Video
Sermon Text
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of winesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Jeremiah 20:7
You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me.
Job 38:4
Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Sermon Quotes
“You don't get through life without suffering in some way. I want to mute the sadness or I want to mute the pain. But you can't mute the pain and then also feel joy. If you mute one aspect of your emotional experience, you're going to mute all of that. There's one mute button. So if you mute the pain, you mute the joy. Our feelings are like a compass. They tell us what direction to go in. And if you don't access your feelings, you're kind of walking around with a faulty GPS. You don't know what direction to go in.” - Lori Gottlieb
“The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like'”. -C.S. Lewis
“Why should God’s reasons for suffering by like german shepherds and not like ‘no-see-ums’?” - Alvin Plantiga
Discussion Questions
C.S. Lewis said after his wife died of cancer, “The conclusion I dread is not 'So there's no God after all,' but 'So this is what God's really like'”. Suffering impacts how we understand God. How has your suffering impacted (for better or worse) the way you see God?
Lori Gottlieb states that if we mute pain, we also mute joy (see quote above). And with both our pain and and or joy muted, we lose our way. How have you seen this play out in your own life?
Hebrews 11:15 speaks about resisting the urge to return to what is familiar. What are some ways you retreat in suffering to what is familiar rather than move forward?
True evil is often experienced by us as incomprehensible. Why do you think that is? Would a sufficient reason for the evil and suffering you have experienced be enough to heal you of the wounds it has left you?
Jeremiah 20:7 expresses deep disillusionment with God. Have you ever felt this way in your suffering? How did you process it? Could you be as honest with God as Jeremiah is?
