Job 38:1-40:5

Job 29-31

Job 28:1-28 Ever since Chapter 4, we have been bombarded with the wisdom of man seeking to make sense of Job’s suffering all to no avail. The three cycles of argument have been born from Job’s howls from the ash heap of his unexplainable suffering in Chapter 3 where Job screamed out the agonized question of every sufferer—the question of “Why?” What 24 chapters of conversation have revealed is that Job still has no answer to the ‘why’ of his suffering. And furthermore, what these chapters have also revealed is that God has not answered Job’s question of “Why?” All of this produces the question—“Why will God not answer my question?” Chapter 28 shepherds us to see—What if the security we desire on the ash heap of suffering isn’t found in the wisdom of an answer for why we suffer. Instead what if the security we want is found in the wisdom of getting more of God himself through our suffering. Main Idea—While the wisdom we seek for why we suffer isn’t wrong; ultimately the wisdom we are to seek is Christ himself.

Titus 3:8-15

Titus 3:1-7

Titus 2:11-15

Job 19:1-29

Job 14:1-22 Job’s desire to speak to God back in Chapter 9 comes to pass in this text. Job begins to speak to God in Chapter 13 but his conversation surprises us. Instead of Job presenting his court case before God with evidence of how his suffering is unjust, he instead begins to talk about the problem of sin and death. But if you think about it, it’s really not all that surprising that this is where Job takes his conversation with God. Death is very much on Job’s mind. Chapter 2 has made it clear that he is very sick (2:7). And it just makes sense that as Job feels himself slipping toward the grave under what feels like God’s unexplainable punishment, he would ask the question—“What would happen to me if I were to die on this ash heap?” Job’s suffering is forcing serious reflection on the nature of death and what lies beyond the grave. And Chapter 14 records how Job fights to see more than just death in his suffering. Main Idea—When suffering forces me to face my mortality, I can rejoice in the hope of resurrection life.

Job 9

Job 4-27

Job 3:1-26

Titus 2:1-10

Titus 1:1-16

Job 1:1- 2:10

Various Scriptures We don’t have to go looking for it. It will come and find us. Sooner or later, suffering at a catastrophic level arrives and wrecks our lives. And while there are many times we understand why we are suffering, there are also times when our suffering is intense and makes no sense. This is why we need the Word of God, especially the book of Job. Suffering wisely and well does not come naturally to us. Therefore, we run to our God who is with us in the valley of affliction. It is here in the valley that we often learn more about our God than in the green pastures of life. To start off our series we begin with a short theology of suffering. In this sermon we touch on four categories of suffering we can experience so that we might better understand our suffering hero and learn to walk alongside him growing deeper in the God we love.

Psalm 24

Psalm 26

Psalm 25

Psalm 23

Ephesians 2:1-10