Message from Samuel Andres on June 18, 2023

When traveling the dark valley of grief... | I. You can be honest. | II. You can be confused. | III. You can express doubt. | IV. You can trust God and maintain integrity.

I. Eliphaz - “You reap what you sow, bro.” | II. Bildad - “How can a maggot claim to be right before a righteous God?” | III. Zophar - “You probably deserve to suffer worse than this.”

I. The Loneliness of Grief. Job 2:11-13 | II. The Laments of Grief. Job 3:1-10 | III. The Questions of Grief. Job 3:11-23 | IV. The Despair of Grief. Job 3:24-26

I. When life is full of good gifts, God is worthy of our worship. Job 1:1-5 | II. When life is empty with devastating loss, God is worthy of our worship. Job 1:6-22 | III. When life is cruel, and God is confusing, God is worthy of our worship. Job 2:1-10

I. Service is what God requires from us, no matter what you’re going thru. | II. No One Who Serves The Lord Is Ever Laboring In Vain.

I. Our Father in heaven desires to reward us in the secret place of prayer. Matthew 6:5-6 | II. Our Father knows what we need before we ask, but He wants us to ask because He wants us. Matthew 6:7-8 | Putting it into Practice: | 1. Choose a focused time for solitude and prayer. | 2. Choose a focused place for solitude and prayer. | 3. Choose a structure for your solitude and prayer, and change it from time-to-time.

Outline: 1. Since our current bodies will face death, we’ll need new bodies (v. 50-54) | 2. Jesus defeated death and will return to finish what He started (v. 55-57) | 3. Therefore, we can live without fear in the face of death (v. 58) | APPLICATION: 1. Talk about death with sadness and celebration. | 2. Fight the fear of death by dwelling on heaven. | 3. Whether in death or life, live in victory, not defeat.

1 Corinthians 15:35–49 | To imagine the glory of your future resurrection body... | 1. Think of your current body like a seed. v36-38 | 2. Think of the diversity of the created world. v39-41 | 3. Think of your body going from destructible to indestructible. v42 | 4. Think of your body going from a source of shame to a source of glory. v43 | 5. Think of your body going from weakness to power. v43 | 6. Think of your body going from natural to supernatural. v44 | 7. Think of your body going from earthly and Adam-like, to heavenly and Christ-like. v45-49

1 Corinthians 15:12–34‌ | I. The existential dread of doubting our future resurrection, 1 Cor 15:12-19 | II. The existential hope of believing in our future resurrection, 1 Cor 15:20-28