When God's People Suffer: Living in a Suffering World

109 of the church bible and we're going to read all of chapter 1 so someone's going to read verses 1 to 12 and then 13 to 22.

Job chapter 1 or yeah chapter 1 sorry in verse 1.

Job 1 · chapter mention

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright. He feared God and shunned evil.

He had seven sons and three daughters and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys and had a large number of servants.

He was the greatest man among all the people of the east.

His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes and he would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

When a period of feasting had run its course Job would send and have them purified.

Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them thinking perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.

This was Job's regular custom.

One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came with them.

The Lord said to Satan, Where have you come from?

Satan answered the Lord, From roaming through the earth and going to and fro in it.

Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job?

There is no one on earth like him. He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.

Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied.

Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?

You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.

But stretch out your hands and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face.

The Lord said to Satan, Very well then.

Everything he has is in your hands.

But on the man himself do not lay a finger.

Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house,

a messenger came to Job and said,

The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby,

and the Sabians attacked and carried them off.

They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said,

The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants,

and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said,

The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off.

They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said,

Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house,

when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house.

It collapsed on them, and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head.

Then he fell to the ground in worship and said,

Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

May the name of the Lord be praised.

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.

Well, we are going to be looking at this book over the next number of weeks,

and time to time I will recommend some books that relate to this theme.

I have got three this morning, some that I have read that you may find helpful.

This one is just a very simple little book.

It's called Suffering and Evil, aimed at kind of teenage years.

But if you've got a simple mind like me, then that's the book for you.

It's a very simple read.

This one on a similar vein is,

If I were God, I would end all the pain,

written by a man whose father died in an airplane crash,

and he works through that whole issue of suffering and the big question, why?

Okay, this one is a little bit more, I think, better.

It's a longer read, a little bit more pastoral.

Suffering Well, the Predictable Surprise of Christian Suffering.

And it really says, look, it's not if we suffer, but when we suffer,

because we're all going to face it at some stage or another,

asking all those questions and how to deal with it as Christian people.

So those are three books that I recommend,

and there'll be others along the way that I'll be pointing out too.

So you can look at them afterwards if you wish.

Well, let's get to the book of the Bible,

the book that we can trust, God's Word.

Let's pray.

Father, we recognise that all of us will face some form of suffering,

and perhaps we are already in it or have gone through it.

And we come with all kinds of questions and struggles,

and we want to come with you openly and honestly,

asking that you would speak into our lives,

that you would help us to understand your ways better,

but ultimately that you would give us a heart

that submits to you and trusts you.

Even when the darkness closes in,

we would still be able to say,

blessed be the name of the Lord.

Please help us.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

A loving family,

with all their plans and dreams ahead of them,

are greeted with the unwelcome news

that the husband has a tumour.

With great strength and determination and faith in God,

they fight through all the operations,

all the treatment and the pain.

Just after the birth of their second child,

which he's become too weak to hold,

he leaves this world as death takes over.

Why?

A young man has become a Christian.

He turns from his selfish life to submit to God.

He was told that the cost of becoming a Christian,

that friends might turn their back on you,

and people might even criticise you.

But he never thought his wife would leave him,

taking with her their only child.

Why?

A family who obeyed God's call

to go and serve the people in North Asia.

At great sacrifice,

they leave their family and friends,

bringing with them the good news of the gospel.

The conditions they are at are poor and basic,

but filled with a love for God,

they go on serving their neighbours around them.

Tragically,

their little son dies in an awful accident,

burned from an open cooking fire.

Why?

A pastor and his wife rush to the hospital,

ready for the birth of their fourth child.

The delivery goes well,

but as the early days pass,

it becomes apparent

that their daughter is not going to survive for very long.

Amazingly, she does survive,

but requires 24-7 care.

Now more than 20 years later,

she still can't walk or talk

or go to the loo by herself.

Why?

Now I'm sure you all have your own stories

of people who suffer,

but each one of these are people that I know.

And their suffering is not just

an intellectual problem with the head,

it's experienced,

and they live with the pain

and the heartache

every single day.

And of course,

it's natural for us

that when we are facing suffering,

that we ask the question,

why?

Why me?

Why this?

Why now?

And it's a question

that we all want answers to,

but there are no easy answers.

When we ask the question,

why?

God in his wisdom

has given us a book

called Job,

which is 42 chapters long.

In other words,

it's telling us

that there is no quick fix.

There are no pat answers.

You can't just do it

in one easy session.

As one writer has put it,

these are not armchair questions.

These are wheelchair questions.

So as we read through Job,

we are invited to watch

and listen

and to learn

from one man's experience

of suffering.

It's a real

and an honest account

of personal pain,

heartache,

and tragedy.

It's a journey

of one man

as he gets angry,

confronting God

and questioning God

and shaking his fist

at God

to cope with suffering,

to deal with suffering,

to understand suffering.

We need to take time

to immerse ourselves

in this story.

In some way,

this story

must become

our story.

We've got to let it

touch our hearts

and to impact our minds.

We are to feel

his pain.

We're to ask

his questions

and we are to submit

to his God.

So as we go over

these studies

over the next few weeks,

there's got to be

some clear signposts

that we have in place.

They don't answer

all of our questions.

In fact,

at the end of this study,

there are going to be

more questions.

But what they do

is they begin

to point us

in the right direction.

They help us

to start the journey

as we live life

in a suffering world.

So signpost number one

is this,

innocent suffering.

Job is innocent,

but yet he suffers.

You know the stories

that I told

at the beginning

have all one thing

in common.

Those involved

are all

innocent people.

I don't mean

they're perfect

because none of them

will tell you

that they're perfect.

But what I mean

is they are hard-working,

loving and caring people

who seek to do

what is right

and good.

You see,

some suffering

that happens

as a result

of our foolish actions.

We can understand that.

So somebody

might drink too much,

they get in their car,

they end up having a crash

and they have brain damage.

And as tragic

and as awful

as that is,

we can understand

that there's a logic

to it.

But when people

suffer for no

apparent reason,

then that's really hard.

When good,

honest and caring

people get sick

and they struggle

with terrible pain

and then they die.

When people

who love justice

and seek peace

get mugged

and stabbed.

When hard-working,

generous people

lose their savings

and job,

we find it very difficult

to understand.

But that's the story

of Job.

Job is introduced

to us,

look at verse 3

of chapter 1,

the end of verse 3,

as the greatest man

among all the people

of the East.

He is obviously

a man of great influence

and power.

He has considerable wealth.

Look at verse 2.

He had seven sons

and three daughters

and he owned

7,000 sheep,

3,000 camels,

500 yoke of oxen

and 500 oxen

and he had a large

number of servants.

He's in millionaire status.

But he doesn't allow

his wealth to rule

or ruin his life.

Look at verse 1.

We're told there

in the middle

that this man

was blameless

and upright.

He feared God

and he shunned evil.

Or as God says

in verse 8,

there is no one

on earth

like him.

Job is a man

of integrity

and honesty.

He seeks

what is good.

He loves God,

not just in words,

but in his actions.

And he hates

evil.

But not only that,

he's not only concerned

for his own spiritual life,

he's concerned

for his whole family.

Look at verse 4.

His sons used

to take turns

holding feasts

or parties

in their homes

and they would invite

their three sisters

to eat and drink

with them.

And when a period

of feasting

had run its course,

Job would send

and have them purified.

Early in the morning

he would sacrifice

a burnt offering

for each of them

thinking,

perhaps my children

have sinned

and have cursed God

in their hearts.

You see,

Job is the kind

of neighbour

you would want,

the kind of friend

that you'd love

to have,

the husband

or the father

that you would dream of,

the employer

you'd love to be

working for.

You can't fault him.

He's innocent.

But then all of a sudden

and without warning,

he is destroyed

by personal suffering.

In the first scene,

look at verse 15.

He loses his donkeys

and servants

to some act of war,

not unlike what's

going on in Syria.

Then in verse 16,

through some natural disaster,

most likely it's

lightning,

but we're told

that fire wipes out

his sheep

and more servants.

And then in verse 17,

there's more violence

as all his camels

are stolen

and his remaining

servants are

brutally butchered.

And if that were

not enough,

in verse 18,

all of his children

and their families

and all the grandchildren

are killed

in what seems like

a tornado

or a hurricane,

a natural disaster

similar to what

had struck

at Japan

a year ago.

And then in the second

scene,

in chapter 2,

verse 7,

it gets even

more personal.

We're told there

that Job is afflicted

with painful sores

from the tip of his toes

to the top of his head,

excruciating pain

all day

and all night.

In a matter of days,

his life is ruined,

broken,

and destroyed.

An innocent man

experiencing

unimaginable suffering.

And as we said,

suffering that happens

as a result of our

foolish actions,

we can understand,

we can kind of get

our heads around it,

but innocent people

who suffer,

well, that's too hard

to bear.

And it's that kind

of suffering that

begins to ask

the question,

why?

Why did God

allow this to happen?

Why did God

not intervene?

Such suffering

threatens to destroy

our faith,

our hope,

and our meaning

and purpose,

and to get our heads

around the world

that we live in.

Another man

who knew

great suffering

was a man

called

Elie Wiesel.

As a teenager,

he was shoved

with his family,

a Jewish family,

into a cattle hold

onto a train

and taken

to Auschwitz.

On the first night

of being in that

concentration camp,

he witnessed

his mother

and his little sister

being forced

into a giant

furnace.

and as he

reflects,

this is what

he writes.

He reflects

on that night.

Never

shall I forget

that night,

the first night

in camp

that turned

my life

into one

long night,

seven times

sealed.

Never shall I

forget that smoke,

never shall I

forget the

small faces

of the children

whose bodies

I saw

transformed into

smoke under

a silent sky.

Never shall I

forget those flames

that consumed

my faith

forever.

Never shall I

forget the

nocturnal silence

that deprived me

for all eternity

of the desire

to live.

Never shall I

forget those moments

that murdered

that murdered

my God

and my soul

and turned

my dreams

to ashes.

Never shall I

forget these

things,

even were I

condemned to

live as long

as God

himself.

Never.

Do you hear

what he said?

Never shall I

forget those flames

that consumed

my faith.

Never shall I

forget those

moments that

murdered my

God.

You see,

innocent suffering

when it comes

threatens to

destroy our

faith,

our hope,

our meaning,

our purpose.

What is this

world that we're

living in?

And if we are

to leave it there

at this point,

it would leave us

without faith,

without hope,

without meaning,

like Elie

Wiesel.

But God has

so much more

to say.

Our second

signpost is

this.

Satanic

influence.

Satan is

real,

but not

in control.

When suffering

happens,

people tend

to blame

Satan.

In other

words,

everything bad

that happens

in this world

is the work

and the influence

of Satan.

But everything

good that

happens is

the result

of God's

goodness and

his love.

But that's

not how it's

presented in

Job.

Unknown to

Job,

and let's

remember this,

unknown to

Job,

but known

to us,

the reader,

God and

Satan are

in conversation

behind the

scenes.

Look at

verse 6,

chapter 1.

One day

the angels

came to

present themselves

before the

Lord,

and Satan

came with

them.

The Lord

said to

Satan,

where have

you come

from?

Satan

answered the

Lord,

from roaming

through the

earth and

going to

and throw

in it.

There's

something evil

and sinister

there,

isn't there?

Satan

wandering

around the

earth looking

for ways

to get

at people.

Verse 8,

then the

Lord said

to Satan,

if you

considered my

servant Job,

there is

no one

on earth

like him,

he is

blameless

and upright,

a man

who fears

God and

shuns

evil.

Does Job

fear God

for nothing?

Satan

replied.

Have you

not put a

hedge around

him and

his household

and everything

he has?

You have

blessed the

work of

his hands

so that

his flocks

and his

herds are

spread

throughout

the

land.

You see,

anyone will

love God,

or the

only reason

that Job

seeks good,

the only

reason that

Job loves

God,

the only

reason that

Job hates

evil is

because he's

wealthy and

healthy.

Do something

to him,

verse 11,

stretch out

your hands

and strike

everything he

has and

he will

surely curse

you to

your face.

You see,

saying anybody

will love

God,

any one of

us will

be a

Christian,

if everything

in their

life is a

bed of

roses.

But if

you throw

in a

few

thorns,

then that

will soon

sort out

who is a

genuine

believer.

Go on,

God,

make something

bad happen,

make him

suffer,

and then

you'll soon

see that

he is

nothing more

than a

fake.

Without a

doubt,

Satan is

real.

His

influence

is real.

And we

should never

minimize his

desire and

his effort to

keep people

from God

and to

turn people

away from

God.

He is

God's

enemy and

he's our

enemy.

But we

should never

think that

he has the

power over

God or

that he has

control over

the world.

The story

of Job does

not allow us

to let Satan

be the

boss.

Look at

what happens

in this

conversation.

It's all

happening in

the control

room of

power.

Look at

verse 6

again.

The angels

were told

and Satan

come to

present

themselves

before God.

It's like

they've been

summoned to

report their

activities to

the Almighty,

to the one

who's in

control.

Even Satan

knows who

is in

control.

Look down

at verse

11.

He says,

but stretch

out your

hand and

strike

everything

he has.

Satan

knows he

can do

nothing on

his own.

He hasn't

got the

power to

do as

he pleases.

He has

to ask

God to

stretch

out his

hand.

Verse 12.

The Lord

said to

Satan,

very well

then,

everything

he has

is in

your hands.

God,

with absolute

power and

supreme

authority,

allows

Satan to

bring

suffering

into this

man's

life.

But there

is a

boundary.

Look at

the rest

of verse

12.

But on

this man

himself,

do not

lay a

finger.

It's

repeated

again in

chapter 2.

There's

almost the

identical

same

scene.

They come

before God,

present

themselves.

Look at

verse 6.

Satan has

come again

asking for

more

suffering.

The Lord

said to

Satan,

verse 6,

very well

then,

he is in

your hands,

but you

must spare

his life.

So Satan

went out

from the

presence of

the Lord

and afflicted

Job with

painful sores

from the

soles of

his feet

to the

top of

his head.

Satan

is real,

but he

is under

the control

of God.

It's

like if we

could imagine

it like

this,

that Satan

is on a

leash,

he's on

a lead,

he's tied.

Yes,

he has

influence,

but he

does not

have free

reign to

do what

he pleases

when he

pleases.

The story

of Job

makes it

crystal clear

that this

is God's

world and

he is the

one who

remains in

charge.

sin.

So signpost

one, there

is such a

thing as

innocent

suffering.

Signpost

two, there

is satanic

influence, but

he does not

have control.

And the

third signpost

is this,

divine sovereignty

or sovereign

control.

God is

powerful,

but lets

people suffer.

You see,

despite all

the suffering,

God holds

sovereign

control.

Nowhere are

we ever to

think that

this world

is in

freefall,

that it's

some kind

of avalanche

that nobody

can stop,

or that

somehow Satan

is this force

that God

is struggling

to cope

with,

trying to

come up

with plan

B and

plan C.

In fact,

the opposite

is true.

Behind all

the suffering

that is

going on

stands God

who remains

firmly in

charge of

Job's life,

of your

life,

of my

life,

over Satan

and the

world in

which we

live.

In fact,

the big

shock and

the big

struggle and

the big

difficulty

for us

is that

God,

who is

all-loving

and all-powerful,

allows

innocent

people

to suffer.

Look at

how this

has worked

out.

God

initiates

Job's

test.

Look at

verse 8

of chapter

1.

Then the

Lord said

to Satan,

have you

considered

my servant

Job?

You see,

it's not

Satan who

picks on

Job.

It is

God who

brings

his faithful

servant

Job

to Satan's

attention.

To God,

Job is

special.

He calls

him a

servant.

It's a

title.

The same

title that

were given

to great

men of

honour like

Abraham and

Moses.

The same

title that

was given

to Jesus

Christ.

So there's

no animosity

between God

and Job.

God loves

him.

He treasures

him.

He cares

for him.

But yet

God takes

this initiative.

Have you

considered

my servant

Job?

Job?

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

Job.

But then

God also

permits

Job's

suffering.

Verse 12.

The Lord

said to

Satan,

Very well

then,

everything he

has is

in your

hands,

but on

the man

himself do

not lay

a finger.

Satan

knows who's

in control.

That's why

he had to

first ask

God,

for God

to stretch

out his

hand.

But in

what is

perhaps the

most

surprising

and shocking

response

in the

whole of

the story

of the

Bible,

God

turns

Satan's

desire

back to

Satan

and gives

him

permission

to inflict

suffering.

It's not

that God

is standing

idly by

with his

hands tied

behind his

back.

No,

he's

involved,

he gives

permission

for this

awful

suffering

that

follows.

And if

that is

not shocking

enough,

and it

should

outrage

us,

Satan

comes a

second time

to God.

Look at

chapter 2,

verse 3.

The Lord

said to

Satan,

Have you

considered

my servant

Job?

There is

no one on

earth like

him.

He is

blameless

and upright,

a man who

fears God

and shuns

evil,

and he

still maintains

his integrity,

though you

incited me

against him

to ruin

him without

any reason.

Skin for

skin,

Satan replied.

A man will

give all he

has for his

own life,

but stretch

out your

hands and

strike his

flesh and

bones,

and he

will surely

curse you

to your

face.

You see,

at this

point we

would think

God would

say,

no,

that's it,

stop,

enough is

enough.

There's been

enough suffering

in this

man's life,

there's going

to be no

more.

But to

our shocking

surprise,

God gives

Satan

permission

again,

verse 6.

Then the

Lord said

to Satan,

very well

then,

he is

in your

hands,

but you

must spare

his life.

You see,

everything

within us

screams

that this

can't be

true.

I want

to rip

those verses

out of

the Bible.

I don't

want to

read them

because I

don't like

them.

I find

it too

hard to

come to

terms with

because the

God that I

know is

loving and

compassionate

and in my

thinking he

would never

take initiative

and he

would never

give permission

for such

terrible

suffering to

happen to

innocent people.

The man is

blameless,

people are

blameless,

he's done

nothing wrong,

how can we

say that

God is

behind all

of this?

It raises

lots of

questions and

there's no way

that we're

going to

answer all

of that.

That's why

we're going

to take

our time

over these

coming weeks

to work

through it,

to battle

with it,

to deal

with it.

But at

this point

let me

say that

as far

as this

story so

far,

the story

of Job

tells us

that God

stands behind

all good

and behind

all evil.

But God

is never

ever charged

with wrong

doing.

He's never

charged with

doing anything

wrong.

He's not

vindictive.

But he

stands behind

it as the

one who's

in control

and as

mysterious

as it

is for

us to

try and

comprehend,

we are

left to

conclude at

this point

in the

story

that God

is in

control.

He's in

control of

the world.

He's in

control of

your life.

He's in

control of

my life.

He's in

control of

everything.

everything.

So how

do we

respond?

Well,

Job's

response

helps us.

Look at

verse 20

of chapter

1.

Let's

try and put

ourselves in

this man's

shoes and

all that he

has lost

and the

suffering that

has come

his way,

verse 20.

How does

he respond?

At this,

Job got

up and

he tore

his robe

and he

shaved his

head and

then he

fell to

the ground

in worship.

He doesn't

understand his

suffering.

He has no

answers.

He has no

reasons.

He simply

responds with

worship.

He's not

jumping up

around the

place,

jumping up

and down,

singing happy

songs.

That's not

what it

means.

He fell

to the

ground in

worship.

It means

that he

just fell

down and

submitted

himself to

God.

He bows

down to

one who

does know

and one

who we

can trust

in every

circumstance

of life.

And then

he says,

verse 21,

the well-known

words,

naked I

came from

my mother's

womb,

naked I

shall

depart.

The Lord

gave and

the Lord

has taken

away.

May the

name of

the Lord

be praised.

Do you

notice that

Job attributes

all the

good in

his life

and all

the suffering

in his

life,

not to

Satan,

but to

God.

we sang

it earlier,

these very

words,

the Lord

gave and

the Lord

has taken

away.

Blessed

be the

name of

the Lord.

Verse 22,

in all

this,

Job did

not sin

by charging

God with

wrongdoing.

Job longs

for answers

as we will

see as we

read through,

and we

desperately

want answers.

But before

we can move

on and start

addressing some

of those,

we've got to

stop.

We've got to

stop and

worship.

To learn to

trust God

like Job

and not

curse God

like his

wife.

Look at

chapter 2,

verse 9.

His wife

said to him,

are you still

holding on to

your integrity?

Curse God

and die.

He replied,

you are

talking like

a foolish

woman.

Shall we

accept good

from God

and not

trouble?

In all

this,

Job did

not sin

in what

he said.

There's

no quick

fixes.

There's

no pat

answers.

And if

we are to

live in a

suffering

world,

we must

stop

to worship.

to bow

down with

all of our

questions that

we have

right now

and submit

to our

God,

who is

loving and

compassionate,

who is

powerful and

sovereign,

and kneel

before him

and say

with all of

our struggles

that you

are God

and I

am not.

Amen.

I'd like

us to

turn to

Psalm

13.

Rather

than sing,

I think

it's hard

to sing

sometimes.

It's not

always appropriate

to sing.

but we're

going to

read a

psalm that

perhaps helps

us to

express

some of

the things

that we've

been looking

at.

Psalm

13.

I'm going

to read

verses 1

and 2

and then

I'd like

us all

together to

read verses

3 to

6.

Psalm

13.

13.

The first

part is

just simply

an expression

of the

questions

of why.

But then

as we get

into it

then there's

this trust

in verse

5.

I will

trust in

your unfailing

love.

So let me

read verses

1 to 2

then you

respond by

reading verses

3 to 6

out loud

and then

we'll just

simply have

a moment's

quietness

to reflect.

How long

O Lord

will you

forget me

forever?

How long

will you

hide your

faith from

me?

How long

must I

wrestle with

my thoughts

and every

day have

sorrow

in my

heart?

how long

will my

enemy

triumph

over me?

Look on

me and

answer

O Lord

my God

give light

to my

eyes

or I

will sleep

in death

my enemy

will say

I have

overcome

him

and my

foes

will rejoice

when I

fall

but I

trust in

your

unfailing

love

my heart

rejoices

in your

salvation

I

will sing

to the

Lord

for he

has been

good to

me

let's just

take a

moment's

quietness

to reflect

Lord

holy

safe

and

have

tears

to the

you

.

pro

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Everything is possible.

God at that moment could have come to Jesus and said, enough is enough.

We won't go through this suffering.

Everything is possible.

But then he says, yet not what I will, but what you will.

The cross reminds us that God plans suffering for himself so that we might live.

And with absolute control, God in Christ suffered for you and for me.

Jesus submitted himself to the Father and Jesus on the cross drinks the cup of suffering.

He takes the wrath of God on himself for my sin, for your sin.

He takes the judgment of God.

He experiences hell, the ultimate suffering, on himself so that we don't have to.

God planned suffering for himself so that we might escape the greatest suffering.

And that's what we celebrate here with the bread and the wine.

The simple meal, Jesus took bread and broachers and gave it to his disciples.

And he said, you have to do this in remembrance of me.

God will not suffer anything from himself so that we might escape the most of you.

And the bread and the wine after I make is full of me.

Just in his mind, reflect on what Christ has done to me and to me.

And then we will continue.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

And Christ was in the garden.

And he prayed.

he cried out that if possible the suffering would pass but not my will but

your will be done and in his submission he suffered on the cross for you and for

me so that we might have life and the promise