Objections To Jesus Week 1: The Problem of Pain Message Summary: How can a good God exist when there is so much evil in the world? This classic question has troubled people since time began. Why wouldn’t God change the way things are? Why wouldn’t God intervene? Why wouldn’t God stop tragedies and traumas? Is there any way to believe that a good God is running the world when so much evil still exists? ✦ When people have objections we need to have conversations. ✦ The honest tension = an all-loving God should stop evil and eliminate pain. ✦ The real objection = an all-knowing, all-powerful, entirely GOOD God. ✦ Isaiah 55:8-9 — “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ✦ Answer #1 = Evil & pain only exists in the (between) — it wasn’t at the beginning and it won’t when it all ends. ✦ Genesis 1-3 ❖ Genesis 1:31 — God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day. ❖ Genesis 3:17-19 — To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife andate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” ✦ Revelation 21:4 — “…’He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” ✦ Answer #2 = The greater good. ✦ Romans 8:28 — And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. ✦ Acts 2:22-23 — “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ✦ Genesis 50:20 — You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ✦ Isaiah 57:1 — The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; the devout are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. ✦ 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9 — We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ✦ Answer #3 = God gets it. ✦ Isaiah 53:3-5 - He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Planting Jesus Roots GATHER — Which song from today’s service most grabbed your attention? How might you use it the next time you are suffering? GROUP — Ask a friend about a difficult time in their life and what good, if any, came out of it. GROW — Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. How did Paul deal with his pain without getting mad at God? GIVE — Generous, selfless Christians can be a massive answer to people’s objections to Christianity. Pray for God to open your eyes for ways to serve others this week. GO — Do you know anyone who thinks that Christianity is based on blind faith? Invite them to join us for next week’s service where we will discuss the evidence for Jesus. Homework: Colossians 2:6-23 (Hashtags: Pain, Suffering, Evil, Faith)