Greg Laurie: A New Beginning

After a tragedy, lots of people are quick to question God—how could He allow such things? Yet we know from Scripture that He’s loving, merciful, and good… so how does that work? Pastor Greg Laurie responds to our question of why God allows suffering.

Notes:

Focus verse: Job 1

From the day we are born life is filled with troubles.
Job 5:7  

More people point to the problem of evil and suffering as their reason for not believing in God than any other.

God doesn't become "good" just because that's my opinion of Him.
God is good because He says He is!

God’s thoughts are above our thoughts.

Mankind was not created evil, but perfect. Man has the ability to choose right or wrong. Humanity, not God, is responsible for sin. If Adam had not sinned, we would never die or get sick.

God wants to be loved and obeyed by creatures who voluntarily choose to do so.

"Undeserved" suffering is what bothers us.

Christians will suffer also. 1 Peter 4:12

We need to prepare for suffering.

Job was a man of integrity.
He was blessed by God with wealth and a wonderful family.
Job was also a prayerful man.

Job 1:8

Job lost his children. Job 1:18—20

Faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.

Turn to Jesus.

God will also allow suffering and sickness to get our attention.

God is in control of all circumstances that surround the believer. The devil can do nothing in the life of the Christian without express permission on the part of God.

Suffering helps us grow spiritually and makes us stronger in our faith.
Job 42:5

Job 23:10

Trials are like God’s gym; they make where we are broken down to be built up.
James 1:2

Suffering can be used to prepare us for a special task.

Success builds walls, but failures build bridges.

2 Corinthians 1:3—5

How do you survive something like this?
You need to turn to Jesus.

“Why do bad things happen to good people?” That only happened once and He volunteered. Turn from your sin and turn to Christ.

---

Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org.

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the days of the pony express, riders would blaze across trails, up hills, down embankments, across grassy meadows and through blazing deserts. They had one job: deliver the mail. They may have had plenty of reasons to abort their mission: weather, hunger, sickness, attacks by Paiute Indians—but they persevered. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out we have a much more important message to deliver, and that message must get through.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We live in the information age. If we have a question, the answer should be just a mouse-click away. The trouble is, for every question, you’ll find a million answers on the Internet. And yet with all that information, depression and hopelessness are at an all-time high. Is there just no way to find hope . . . or have we just been looking in the wrong places? Today on A NEW BEGINNING, as Pastor Greg Laurie continues his study of Jonah, we’ll find hope in the same place Jonah found hope.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When a pilot’s in a bad mood, is he allowed to re-route all his Toronto-bound passengers to Hawaii, just for kicks? No. If a firefighter is feeling a little down, is he allowed to take his sweet time responding to a fire? No. We do the right thing no matter how we feel. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, from the story of Jonah, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us how to look beyond our feelings to the faithfulness of God. We’ll find hope in hopeless situations.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They’ll know we’re Christians by . . . our protests? By . . . our self-righteousness? By . . . all the things we’re against? Sometimes it might seem that way. Jesus actually said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us reevaluate how our faith is seen by others. Is it off-putting . . . or irresistible? As we consider the bad example of the prophet Jonah, we’ll ask ourselves if our witness is working.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes seatbelts are uncomfortable. They’re confining, they need constant adjustment, and they can rub a person the wrong way. But in a traffic accident, they can literally save your life. Sometimes we chafe under the corrective guidance of God, but in the end it’s for our own good, and may save our life. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us recognize and realign ourselves with God’s plan, as we study the wrong way to respond from the life of Jonah.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is the Bible trust worthy? It’s a question many struggle with and Pastor Greg Laurie’s addressing today. Get insight now.

---

Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org.

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie interviews Luke Smallbone about his new film, "Unsung Hero." It’s a film that pulls at your heartstrings and brings you back to the importance of the family roles we each have, motivating us to be better spouses, parents, sons, daughters, and siblings. And it's our gift to you this month at harvest.org/donate.

---

Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are many places in the country where the locals say, ‘If you don’t like the weather, just wait 20 minutes.” Weather changes . . . constantly. Job security for weather forecasters. It’s the same with the storms of life. They come, and they go. Some of us feel like a rain cloud has been hovering over our heads for months! But today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us find the help and reassurance we need for those times of crisis in our lives.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a strange day indeed when a “man of the cloth” runs from the Lord. Jonah was a prophet of God . . . but when God gave him an assignment, he literally left town in the opposite direction. That solved everything, right? Not at all. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out, when we run from God, He still knows where we are, and He has some amazing ways to get our attention. And He may stop at nothing to get us back on track. Let’s learn more.

Listen on harvest.org

---

Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.