Sharing in Suffering and Comfort

Well, good morning. I'd like to welcome you here to worship this morning. My name's Jeff. I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Advent.

And if this is your first time worshiping with us this morning, you've picked a good Sunday to come.

Later in the service, we're going to be celebrating some baptisms, which is going to be great.

And this morning, we are also beginning a new sermon series, which I'm excited about.

This morning, we are starting a series in the book of 2 Corinthians.

And we thought that 2 Corinthians would be a good book to study together right now in the life of our church,

because the central theme of 2 Corinthians is God's power and our weakness.

That's the title of the sermon series this spring that we're going to be going through, Power and Weakness.

Two years ago, almost coming up on two years ago, that the world changed completely as we know it.

And I don't know about you, but the past two years have given me lots of opportunities to confront my own weaknesses and my own limitations.

I felt my weakness and my lack of control over my circumstances and just life in general.

I have felt my weaknesses in facing the limitations of my own body and my mortality.

I felt my weaknesses in facing my own insecurities and fears time and again.

And I'm sure if we had time this morning, I'm sure we could share all kinds of examples about ways in the past couple years that we've been forced to confront our weaknesses and our limitations.

And I don't know about you, but I think when it comes to thinking about experiencing the power of God, the presence of God in my life,

my weaknesses aren't normally at the top of my list for like how to do that.

I would say that probably my weaknesses are more of an obstacle or more of a hurdle to experiencing the power of God at work in my life.

But one of the main things that we see when we study the second Corinthians, this letter from Paul,

is that instead of being obstacles or hurdles to God's power in our life and to God's work in the world,

we actually see that very often our weaknesses are the very vehicle that God chooses to use.

We see the apostle Paul come back to this again and again in second Corinthians,

perhaps the clearest and most memorable instance of this is in chapter 12, verses 8 and 9,

when he asked the Lord to take away the thorn in his flesh.

And he says,

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.

But the Lord said to me,

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest on me.

God's power and our weakness.

That's what the book of second Corinthians is about.

And that's really what the Christian life is about.

And so to kind of orient us to our study of second Corinthians,

I just want to give us two main pieces of background information.

Kind of two mental hooks, if you will, that are necessary to frame our study of this book.

And the first is this.

Reading second Corinthians is pretty complex.

Because reading this letter is sort of like reading a pastor's email inbox.

As you begin to read this letter,

where you suddenly realize that you're in the middle of this ongoing correspondence

between Paul and this church that has been taking place over multiple years.

And so you suddenly realize that you're in the middle of this, you know,

several years long communication, and you kind of have to put together the pieces.

So back in Acts chapter 18, Paul, in his second missionary journey,

Acts 18 · chapter mention

he comes to Corinth and he preaches the gospel.

And people come to faith and he plants the first church there in Corinth.

And Acts 18 tells us that he stays there for about one and a half years.

But then he moves on to Ephesus.

And when he moves on to Ephesus,

he hears a report about the church in Corinth that there was some conflict going on.

That some in the church were rejecting his teaching and challenging his authority.

And so in response, he sends Timothy back to Corinth to address some of these problems.

And that's when he writes the book of 1 Corinthians.

That's where we get 1 Corinthians.

And what we find out is that in between writing 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians,

it appears that the situation didn't get better.

In fact, it got worse.

And so when Paul heard about this, he decides to change his travel plans

and to make an emergency visit back to Corinth.

But this visit for Paul ended up being a very painful visit.

Evidently, he was publicly attacked.

He was humiliated by some in the church.

And so rather than defend himself in the middle of being publicly attacked,

he decides to actually just embrace the humiliation and to leave,

not wishing to cause further pain.

So he leaves and returns back to Ephesus.

And afterwards, he writes another letter.

It's a letter that he describes in 2 Corinthians 2 as a letter that he writes out of much affliction,

anguish, and tears.

Scholars normally refer to this letter as the sorrowful letter or the severe letter.

Paul references this letter multiple times throughout the book of 2 Corinthians.

And from what we can gather, it seems that overall the church responded well to this letter.

Many had a change of heart, but there was still a minority who remained resistant.

And so to summarize, we have Paul's initial founding of the church in Acts 18.

We have conflict.

We have correspondence in response to this conflict, which includes the 1 Corinthians letter.

We have Paul's painful visit.

And then in response to that visit, we have more correspondence, which involves 2 Corinthians.

And so this is kind of the backdrop.

This is kind of the backdrop to what's going on in Paul's email inbox.

And this is important to understand some of Paul's main goals, his main purposes in writing this letter.

And so this is the second kind of mental hook I want to give us as we think about 2 Corinthians.

And it's that broadly speaking, broadly speaking, Paul has 4 main goals in this letter.

And this covers 3 main sections of this letter.

So in chapters 1 through 7, in chapters 1 through 7, Paul seeks to restore his relationship with the church

to kind of do some relational repair and restoration and to defend the authenticity of his ministry.

So he's going to affirm his love for them and his commitment to them.

He's also going to answer some of those who challenge his authority.

And then in chapter 8 and 9, he transitions to encouraging their partnership in the gospel through generosity.

And so he's going to remind them of a previous commitment they had to give generously to other churches who are in need.

That's chapters 8 and 9.

And then in chapters 10 through 13, he's going to conclude his letter by addressing and challenging the minority in the church who are still resistant.

So he's going to lovingly confront those who still need to repent.

And so that's kind of an overview.

That's a bird's eye view of the flow of the book of 2 Corinthians.

And so with that background in mind, with those kind of mental hooks in mind,

let's turn our attention to chapter 1 as Paul begins his letter.

In chapter 1, we see a couple of things.

We see the central theme of God's power in our weakness.

And we see kind of two of his main goals start to come out.

We see him seek to restore his relationship with the church and to defend his ministry.

And Paul does this primarily by talking about suffering.

He does it by talking about suffering.

The first half of chapter 1 that Brianna read earlier shows us that one of the primary ways that we experience God's power in our weakness is through suffering.

All of us eventually face suffering in this life.

It's an inevitable part of being a human being.

And when we face suffering, all of us go looking for comfort.

We all go looking for comfort in all kinds of places.

Some more healthier than others.

And Paul shows us here in 2 Corinthians 1 that our greatest comfort,

he shows us the greatest comfort that we can find in our suffering.

And he also shows us the greatest comfort that we can offer others in their suffering.

So that's what we're going to look at this morning.

We're going to look at the comfort that we receive from God and the comfort that we share with others.

The comfort we receive from God and the comfort that we share with others.

So first, the comfort that we receive from God.

Paul begins the body of his letter in verse 3.

And he says,

Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our affliction.

Paul begins his letter by praising God for something that we see all throughout Scripture,

starting in the Old Testament, that God is a God of comfort,

that he comforts people in their suffering.

Isaiah 51 says,

For the Lord comforts Zion.

He makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord.

Famous Psalm, Psalm 23, about the Lord being our shepherd.

It says,

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

And this is different from the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods

that those in Corinth would have been familiar with,

who are more or less aloof to human pain and suffering.

The first century Stoic philosopher, Pliny the Elder,

said the idea that a supreme being pays heed to human affairs

is a ridiculous notion.

The idea that a God up there would pay attention to human suffering is ridiculous.

But the God of the Bible has revealed himself as someone who is just the opposite.

He hears the cries of his people.

He is intimately acquainted with their suffering.

God is a good father.

He is a good shepherd who comforts his people.

And the word that Paul uses for comfort here in this chapter

shows us that the comfort that God provides

isn't simply just to put us at ease or to make us feel better,

but it's a comfort that encourages us

and strengthens us in the midst of our suffering.

The 2 Corinthians scholar David Garland says this.

He says,

The comfort that Paul has in mind

is not some tranquilizing dose of grace that only dulls the pain,

but a stiffening agent that fortifies one in heart, mind, and soul.

God's comfort strengthens weak knees

and sustains sagging spirits

so that one faces the troubles of life

with unbending resolve and unending assurance.

If you're here this morning

and you feel like you have weak knees,

if you feel like you have a sagging spirit,

the comfort of God is available to you.

The comfort of God is available to you

to strengthen you and to encourage you.

Paul also points out in verse 4

that God comforts us in all our affliction,

in all our affliction.

There is no suffering too big or too small

for the God of all comfort.

Whether your suffering comes from your circumstances

or from a relationship

or from your own mind and body,

God's comfort is available for all of it.

Whatever it is,

He sees,

He knows,

He cares,

He loves you,

He's with you.

So how does,

how does the comfort of God

flow into our lives?

How do we experience God's comfort?

Paul tells us in verse 5,

as he continues,

he says in verse 5,

for as we share abundantly

in Christ's sufferings,

so through Christ

we share abundantly in comfort too.

What does it mean to share

in Christ's sufferings?

This is kind of an interesting phrase.

What does it mean to share

in Christ's sufferings?

Does it mean that

somehow we contribute

to Christ's sacrifice

on the cross for our sins?

Know that the rest of the Bible

is clear on that,

that Christ suffered

once and for all for sin,

that His work on the cross

is finished and complete.

Does it mean that

Christ somehow

continues to suffer

in His resurrected body,

in His glory,

in His ascension?

I don't think we can say that either.

Christ conquered suffering and death

in His resurrection.

So what does it mean?

It means that for believers in Christ,

all suffering

is a way to experience

communion with God

because God Himself

has suffered.

This is an important

aspect of our

union with Christ.

In a little bit,

we're going to celebrate baptism.

And baptism is all about

union with Christ,

that by faith,

we're united to Jesus

in His life,

in His death,

in His resurrection,

such that all that is His

becomes ours.

We see this language

of union with Christ

all over the New Testament.

You were,

you died,

you were buried,

you were raised,

you're hidden with Him,

you're seeded with Him,

you have His righteousness,

you have His inheritance.

Union with Christ

means sharing in the

privileges and benefits

and status of Jesus.

And it also means

that we share

in His suffering.

In another place

in Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Paul says this,

that the Spirit Himself

bears witness

with our spirit

that we are fellow heirs

with Christ.

That's union with Christ's language.

But then he says this,

provided we suffer with Him

in order that we may

also be glorified with Him.

Union with Christ

means both glory

and suffering.

And this is important

as we think back

to what we said earlier

about the background

of what's going on

in the 2 Corinthians church,

about the conflict

that's taking place,

that there were some people

who sought to discredit

Paul's authority

in his teaching

by pointing to all the trials

and difficulties

that he faced,

like being put on trial,

being put in prison,

being persecuted,

all the suffering

that he faced.

They said that,

he said,

well, that invalidates

Paul's ministry.

That discredits

his ministry.

How could an apostle

from God

experience what looks

like weakness,

what looks like failure?

And so to answer

these critics,

he actually says,

no, it's just

the complete opposite.

He says that his suffering

authenticates his ministry.

His suffering validates

his ministry

because it confirms

his closeness with Jesus.

And this is something

that he comes back to

again and again

throughout the letter.

What's true

of the apostle Paul

is true of all Christians,

that anyone who seeks

to follow Jesus

will suffer.

As we follow

in his footsteps,

just as Christ's

sufferings brought

healing and redemption

to the world,

as we follow him

and continue his life

in his ministry

by the power of the Spirit,

his sufferings

will flow into our lives.

But the good news,

Paul says here

in 2 Corinthians 1,

that as we share

in his sufferings,

we also share

in his comfort.

The great comfort

that we have

in Jesus

is this,

that all suffering,

whether big or small,

is an opportunity

for deeper intimacy,

for deeper communion

with Christ.

This is because

he knows firsthand

what it's like

to go through it.

Isaiah 53 says

that he was despised

and rejected by men,

that he was a man

of sorrows

and acquainted

with grief.

For a Christian,

all suffering

is fellowship

with a man of sorrows.

All suffering

is fellowship

with the one

who was acquainted

with grief.

Have you ever

experienced

physical pain?

So has Jesus.

Have you ever

experienced

deep agony

in your soul?

So has Jesus.

Have you ever

been wounded

by other people?

So has Jesus.

Have you ever

experienced injustice?

Have you ever

been betrayed?

Have you ever

been lonely?

So has Jesus.

Have you ever

been overwhelmed

with sadness

and grief?

So is Jesus.

All suffering

is fellowship

with a man

of sorrows.

John Lennox,

who's a professor

of mathematics

at the University

of Oxford,

tells the story

of when he was

traveling in

Eastern Europe

and one time

he decided

to do some

sightseeing

and visit

an old synagogue.

He joined

a tour

of the synagogue

with some

other visitors

there and

he struck

up a conversation

with a woman

who said

that she was

there to

find out

more about

her family

who had

lived in

Eastern Europe

during World War II

and during

the Holocaust.

And eventually

the tour

came to

the place

in the synagogue

that had

pictures

from World War II

and from the

Holocaust

and one

of the

pictures

of the

main gate

one of the

pictures

was of the

main gate

of the

concentration

camp

in Auschwitz.

And John

says that his

new friend

pointed to the

gate

and said

and what

does your

religion make

of this?

And Lennox

said at first

that he was

speechless.

What was he

to say?

What could

he say?

What do you

say in that

moment

when you're

asked a

question like

that?

But he

says still

she stood

in the

doorway

patiently

waiting

for an

answer.

And this

is what he

eventually

said.

He said

I would

not insult

the memory

of your

parents

by offering

simplistic

answers

to your

question.

I have

no easy

answers.

But what

I do have

for me at

least is a

doorway into

an answer.

She said

well what

is it?

And Lennox

responded

well you know

that I'm a

Christian which

means that I

believe that

Jesus is the

Messiah.

I also

believe that he

was God

incarnate come

into our

world as a

savior.

Now I know

that you don't

agree with me

on this but

think about this

question.

If Jesus

really was

God what

was God

doing on

a cross?

If Jesus

really was

God what

was God

doing on

a cross?

And the

woman was

silent.

She stood

there motionless.

And after

a moment

with tears

in her

eyes she

said quietly

but audibly

why has

no one ever

told me this

about the

Messiah before?

The cross

of Jesus

shows us

something really

important even

though this

side of heaven

suffering often

remains a

great mystery

to us.

We may never

get an answer

to why God

doesn't stop

this or that

from happening.

but in the

cross we can

still find

great comfort

in knowing

what the

answer is

not.

It's not

because God

is angry

with us

for sin.

Look at the

cross.

The cross

is the

objective

evidence that

all of God's

anger and

wrath for sin

has been

poured out

on Jesus

and there's

none left

for you and

I.

It's not

because God

has abandoned

us.

Look at the

cross.

on the

cross Jesus

was forsaken

by the

father so

that you

and I

can know

that we

would never

be forsaken.

It's not

because God

doesn't love

us.

Look at the

cross.

The cross

is the

objective

evidence.

It's the

greatest

demonstration

of God's

love for

us.

And it's

not because

suffering will

one day win

because for

Jesus the

cross wasn't

the end of

the story.

The resurrection

is.

And union

with him

means the

same as

true for

us that

no matter

what your

story is

headed towards

resurrection.

Suffering and

sadness and

grief doesn't

get the last

word in your

story.

Jesus does.

Anxiety and

depression don't

get the last

word in your

story.

Jesus does.

Cancer doesn't

get the last

word.

Death doesn't

get the last

word in your

story.

Jesus does

and he is

making all

things new.

And what

that means is

that no

matter what

your story

is headed

towards

resurrection.

If we

share in

his

sufferings,

we share

with him,

we share

in his

glory.

And this

is the

comfort that

strengthens

our weak

needs and

sustains our

sagging

spirits.

The weakness

of our

suffering is

not an

obstacle,

it's not a

hurdle to

experiencing the

power and

presence of

God in

our life.

It may,

in fact,

be the

vehicle.

Because we

have a

God who

is present

and powerful

on the

cross.

And if

God was

present and

powerful on

the cross,

then he

can be

present and

powerful in

your suffering

and in your

weakness.

So that's the

comfort that we

receive from

God.

Secondly,

the comfort

that we

share with

others.

In the next

few verses,

Paul shows

us that this

comfort that

we receive by

sharing in the

fellowship,

the sufferings of

Christ,

isn't meant to

stop with us.

In verse 6,

he says,

if we are

comforted,

it is for

your comfort.

Verse 7,

if you share

in our

sufferings,

you will also

share in our

comfort.

Because we're

united to Jesus

and because we're

united to one

another by his

spirit, not only

do we share in

his suffering and

comfort, but we

share in one

another's suffering

and comfort.

In the next few

verses, Paul

actually puts this

on display for

us.

He actually shows

what this looks

like.

He models what

he teaches by

giving us an

example from his

own life that he

hopes will be a

source of comfort

to the Corinthians.

In verse 8,

he says,

for we do not

want you to be

unaware, brothers,

of the affliction

that we experienced

in Asia.

For we were so

utterly burdened

beyond our

strength that we

despaired of

life itself.

Indeed, we felt

that we had

received the

sentence of

death.

We don't know

specifically the

circumstances that

Paul is referring

to, but whatever

they were, they

were dire.

He despaired even

of life.

For Paul, it was

a place of

extreme weakness.

But then he

says in verse 9,

but that was to

make us rely not

on ourselves, but

on God who

raises the dead.

He delivered us

from such a

deadly peril, and

he will deliver

us.

On him we have

set our hope that

he will deliver us

again.

Paul says it

was in a place of

extreme weakness

that I experienced

the power of God.

As an apostle, I'm

tempted to rely on

my own strength,

my own giftings,

my own ingenuity,

but that's not

where true power

lies.

It lies in the

God who raises

the dead.

In a place of

great weakness,

Paul experienced

deep trust and

confidence in the

Lord.

And just like

Paul here in

2 Corinthians 1,

God often uses

the difficult

things in our

lives to be a

place of ministry

for others.

He often uses

the difficulty in

our lives to be

a means of

ministry for other

people.

I love the way

my friend Victor

Sheldon puts it.

He says that

God's purpose in

our lives, in

all of our lives,

is that we would

become wounded

healers.

God's purpose in

our lives is that

we would become

wounded healers.

You know, one of

the hallmarks of

the Healthy Church

is that it's a

place where people

who are suffering

can come and

experience comfort

and healing.

Because people in

that church have

learned what it

is to be a

wounded healer.

How do you

become a wounded

healer?

How do you

allow the

difficulty in your

life to be a

place of ministry

for others?

How do you do

that?

There's a lot that

we could say in

our time this

morning, but I

want to offer, I

want to suggest a

few reflections

here from this

text in 2

Corinthians 1

about what it

looks like to be

a wounded healer.

And the first is

this.

The first is that

you can't give

what you haven't

received.

You can't give

what you haven't

received.

If this morning,

if you're in the

place of experiencing

some difficulty in

your life, your

primary job is

probably just to

receive.

Just to receive.

Before your

suffering can

become a place

of ministry, you

must first receive

the ministry of

the church for

however long it

takes.

God knows the

timeline of your

healing process, and

he's not expecting

you to rush it.

He's not expecting

you to skip steps.

Maybe your job is

to simply just

receive the

ministry of the

church.

And if you're

here this morning,

and you are in a

place of difficulty,

you're suffering,

I want you to

know that your

suffering is not a

burden.

It's not a

burden.

I know that in

times of difficulty

in my life, sometimes

I feel like the

hardship that I'm

going through is

somehow a burden to

other people, but

it's not.

There are people

here who would

love to walk

alongside you and

pray with you.

They would consider

it a privilege to

sit with you and

listen to you and

hear your story.

And it's not just

because people here

are nice, although

we have some nice

people in our

church.

It goes deeper

than that.

This is true because

what we've seen

here in this

text is that our

suffering brings us

in fellowship with

Christ and it

brings us in

fellowship with one

another.

For those of us who

maybe are more in a

position to offer

comfort, I think

there's a temptation

that we sometimes

face when we seek to

comfort others and

their suffering.

And the temptation

is that we would

offer a kind of

comfort that isn't

based in our

experience.

purpose.

I cringe when I

think back to ways

that I did this

early on in my

ministry as a 22

year old campus

intern when I was

trying to figure out

ministry.

And I remember

being eager to help

students who were

going through a hard

time, maybe they

were going through a

breakup.

I remember wanting

to help people but

not really knowing

what help meant.

Maybe you can

resonate with this.

I was quick to

speak and slow to

listen.

I was quick to

give answers and

explanations.

But this is exactly

the mistake that

Job's friends made

being miserable

counselors.

They offered to

Job lots of

explanations when

what Job probably

needed most was

their presence and

their questions and

perhaps even their

tears.

I'm still a work in

progress but hopefully

by God's grace I

have become a

grown to become

less of a miserable

counselor partially

by receiving

counseling myself but

also through experience.

Knowing what has

comforted me in my

suffering has equipped

me to offer comfort

to others in their

suffering.

So first you can't

give what you haven't

first received but

secondly we learn to

offer comfort first

just by being present.

Just by being present.

The most important

thing that you have to

offer somebody is your

presence.

And that's because

offering comfort is

first and foremost

about sitting together

with someone and

sharing in the

sufferings of Christ.

And the only way to

do that is to learn

how to be present.

There's a reason why

Paul says a few times

in this letter that he

is eager to come see

the Corinthians again

because he knows that

that comfort is

presence and

presence is comfort.

most often the best

thing that you can do

is just sit with

somebody and listen

and hear their story

and ask questions and

listen some more and

pray with them.

And if you get to the

place where you have

absolutely no idea what

to say next chances are

you're probably doing it

right.

If Job's friends would

have listened they just

they would have been far

more useful.

And I think if you're

here this morning and

I think there's a lot of

us who maybe look at

people who might be

going through a hard

time and we think that

that we have nothing to

offer them.

It's not true.

You already have the

most important thing.

You already have your

presence to offer people

and that's the most

important thing.

So you can't give what

you haven't received but

what you can give is your

presence.

Is your presence.

Third and finally

as you learn to be

present ask the Lord for

opportunities to share

your story of his power

at work in your

weakness.

Paul gives us a great

model here for this in

verses 8 to 10 of what

it looks like to share

our story as a means of

offering comfort to other

people.

In verses 8 through 10 he

shares what he went

through.

He shares his own

weakness and what it felt

like to go through it.

And he shares how

despite all of that

that the power of God

was present in his life.

God is the hero of

Paul's story not him.

What story do you have

in your life that can be

a source of comfort to

other people?

What story of difficulty

in your story can be a

way to help bring comfort

to somebody as they're

walking through their own

journey?

I would encourage you and

invite you to ask the

Lord to give you an

opportunity to share that,

to open a door for that.

And if you pray for that,

I would say get ready

because he loves to answer

that prayer request.

And so as we close, I just

want to acknowledge that

all of us are probably in

very different places as we

come into talking about

suffering as a heavy topic.

And we're probably in all

kinds of different places

all across this room.

And so the first thing that

I want to say as we close is

that the truth is that all of

us have something in our

lives that we're bringing in to

this morning that's hard.

It could be big.

It could be small.

But no matter how big or

small that thing is, the

invitation for us this

morning is to see that

thing as an opportunity to

experience fellowship with

Christ, as an opportunity to

experience fellowship with a

man of sorrows.

Some of us today may

especially be in the place of

just needing to receive

comfort.

And if that's you, that's a

great place to be.

There's people here who would

love to pray with you, who

would love to listen to you

and walk alongside you.

Maybe one place to start is

the prayer ministers who are

available during the

Eucharist.

During the Eucharist, there'll

be prayer ministers outside

those doors who would love

to just pray with you.

So as you take the Eucharist,

you can head back out there

and there'll be someone who

would love to just pray with

you and be with you.

Others of us may need to just

continue to learn what it

means to be present with other

people.

Maybe we feel like we want to

offer comfort to others in

their suffering, but we're

like, we don't know how.

And maybe we just need to

learn what it means to sit

next to someone who's going

through a hard time and to

learn and to experience what

it feels like to listen and to

have no clue what to say.

And I would put myself in that

category.

I need to continue to learn what

it means to be present in other

people's lives.

And if that's you, that's also a

great place to be.

And maybe for others of us,

maybe you're thinking about

something in your life that God

has brought to mind.

And maybe for you, it's a

matter of asking the Lord for

opportunities to share that part

of your story.

How is he calling you to offer

comfort to others through your

story of his power at work and

your weakness?

But regardless of where we're at,

regardless of how we're coming in

to worship this morning, none of us

can do any of this without first

realizing that whatever that we have

to receive and whatever we have to

offer, it all flows out of our

relationship with the ultimate

wounded healer.

All suffering is fellowship with a

man of sorrows.

All ministry is partnership with a

man of sorrows.

It's by his wounds that we're

healed.

It is by his wounds that we're

comforted.

And as Paul says in verses 9 and 10,

he is the one who has the power to

raise the dead.

He is the one on whom we set our

hope.

And he is the one who is making all

things new.

Let's pray together.

God of all comfort, we come to you

this morning.

We praise you and thank you that

whatever we're going through this

morning, we thank you that it is

partnership with you or that it is

fellowship with you.

What I pray for all of those who are

going through a difficult time this

morning, we pray that you would be

the God of all comfort to them.

They would experience your love,

your comfort in their life.

Lord, I pray that you would equip us

to be a church of wounded healers,

a church that is able to offer

comfort to other people based on

Jesus, what you have done in our

lives.

Lord, thank you so much, Lord, for you

revealing yourself to be this God,

to be this God who is not allude from

our pain, but a God who dwells in it.

I pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.