Jesus: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” —John 16:33 (NLT)
“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” —1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)
Why do bad things happen?
• God is not real – Evil is
• God is real – Evil is
• God is real – Evil is
“I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the Ending of all things,” says God, who is the… All Powerful One.” —Revelation 1:8 (TLB)
“For God is good, and he loves goodness.” —Psalm 11:7 (TLB)
What is
Our God-given ability to make choices (good or bad)
Where is God when bad things happen?
• He’s
“The Lord is close to those whose hearts are breaking…The good man does not escape all troubles– he has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one.” —Psalm 34:18-19 (TLB)
“God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” —Hebrews 13:5-6 (NIV)
“God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” —Acts 17:27 (NIV)
• He’s
“He was despised and rejected– a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief… he was wounded and crushed…. He was beaten…. He was whipped…. He was oppressed and treated harshly…” —Isaiah 53:3-7 (NLT)
• He’s
“The Lord is… patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” —2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
SONG: “IT IS WELL”