4 weeks helping students navigate suffering. In this series, you’ll teach your students four gospel realities. If suffering is like a scrambled pile of puzzle pieces, these gospel realities will act like corner puzzle pieces for your students—giving them a starting point as they try to piece together why suffering happens in their lives.

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Week 1

Intro: The reality of unexplained suffering can lead us toward being angry with God. Hopefully, this series will help us establish some corner puzzle pieces as we all work to solve the puzzle of why suffering happens.

Truth: So why do bad things happen to good people? In Romans 3:9-12, Paul shares the sobering reality that there are no good people. All are bent toward sin and rebellion against God.

The Point: There are no good people.

Week 2

Intro: It can be easy to believe that the reason for our suffering is because God is punishing us for being bad.

Truth: But the gospel paints a different picture. God used to punish people for their specific sins in the Old Covenant (Jeremiah 2:14-17). But we are now in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), so the punishment for all of your sins has been poured out on Jesus on the cross.

The Point: Your specific pain is not your specific punishment.

Week 3

Intro: Suffering can change us in bad ways. But it doesn’t have to. Not in Christ.

Truth: In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul shares how suffering led him to surrender. It led him toward God, not away from Him. It led him to become more like Jesus.

The Point: Suffering leads to surrender.

Week 4

Intro: The enemy loves it when we suffer. He likes to influence people who suffer to make others suffer too. But in the core message of the gospel lies an example of what it looks like to weaponize suffering against the enemy.

Truth: In Galatians 3:13, Paul explains that Christ suffered for our redemption. In other words, His suffering changed our story for the better. And when we emulate that, we’re loving others as Christ has loved us in the gospel.

The Point: Your suffering can become someone else’s redemption.