Suggested questions — feel free to pick and choose, or come up with your own. You can also find the video script online here.
Q1: Read Isaiah 45:7 again. To what degree do you trust that God is in control behind all the chaos, disasters and darkness in this world? Do you whole-heartedly trust that he’s at work behind the scenes, or is it all too real and unnerving, and God too unseen and distant, for that to feel true?
Q2: Going back to that picture of an art gallery — that in difficult seasons of life, our faith becomes much more visible to those around us. What positive examples have you seen of this in the lives of friends and family, and in the life of our church?
Q3: Romans 8:23 says “we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” How many of us relate to that sense of “groaning inwardly” as we wait for the “redemption of our bodies”?
— Do we think there are a few different aspects to that groaning?
Q4: In the section titled “When you listen to yourself pray”, Sam talked about how he noticed the narcissism living within him seemed to get much more pronounced in difficult times; and this became evident through listening to his own prayers. Have you ever noticed a similar thing happen to you — that difficult times can force us back into our shell, and that we can’t see past our own storm whirling around us? And if so, what can we do to combat this?
Q5: Read Romans 8:16-17. What do we think in means to “we suffer with him” in the context of this chapter? (You may even want to read verses 1-30 together, which are amazing). Is it just referring to one or two specific things (like persecution, or resisting sinful desires), or could it capture a much fuller experience of being human in a fallen and broken world?
Q6: Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. How have you experienced the comfort of God in your life so far? And how has that helped you comfort others?
— Have you found yourself equipped to comfort others in a specific area, because of what you’ve been through in the past?
— Can you see this as a tool which has been placed in your hands, forged through those difficult experiences?
— What hard experiences are you going through now that could equip you in future to help others? And what do you think needs to happen for you to be able to do that?
Q7: Read 1 Peter 4:1-2. Here we see that being willing to suffer is the very means by which we turn our back on sin and all the passions of the world, and instead face the will of God. If Christians run from suffering, not only will we remain caught up in sin, but we will miss the purposes of God for our lives. Yet if we are willing, a whole world of godliness and purpose can be unlocked. To what degree do we feel we have grasped this truth, both individually, as a church, and as Christians living in the West?
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