Mitch ChaseWe will not leave this earthly life unscathed. The longer we live, the more we will see and experience suffering. Since we will experience grief and will need comfort, we need to think clearly and biblically ahead of time about how to walk through...
Jason StoneMark Ward and Harold Senkbeil talk through what it means to set our eyes on Christ through difficult times and to pray for those facing calamity. Watch as Dr. Senkbeil shares about his own recent experience with tragedy, answers from the Word about...
Guest AuthorEvery church is full of sufferers. No matter the size of your congregation, someone is probably suffering from illness, relational dysfunction, financial distress, loss, addiction, or any number of hardships. Thankfully, there are worship songs that...
by Kris Brossett In Part I of Kris Brossett’s series he discussed three views of hell, including Eternal Conscious Torment (ECT), Annihilationism/Conditional Immortality (ACI), and Christian Universalism (CU). In this second section, Kris...
"What does God say about hell? What is left to mystery and what is definitively revealed in the biblical texts? Not everyone arrives at the same place when they survey the Scriptures, so how are we to respond?"
Dave Wenzel says, "Suffering gives us an opportunity to reach out and express the grace of God in situations where people are hurting and looking for that meaning and purpose in their life."
Jennifer GrishamAfter a year that feels oddly like we’ve all walked into an episode of the Twilight Zone, Harold Senkbeil’s Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley—which just won the 2021 Christianity Today Award of Merit in the Beautiful...
Where do we turn in times of trouble? Harold L. Senkbeil, longtime Lutheran pastor and award-winning author of The Care of Souls, wants us to remember the God who understands our emotional, physical, and spiritual suffering. In Christ and Calamity...
Matthew BoffeyWith references from Psalms, Romans, and Hebrews, and a message that fixes our eyes on the love of God, “Your Love Never Fails” is a balm for sufferers. It explores that mysterious yet powerful connection between suffering, hope, and God’s love...
“Death Was Arrested” was inspired by the epitaph of a tombstone found in a St. Mary’s, Georgia, cemetery. The inscription reads: Here rests what was mortal of Samuel Burr, age 42. In search of help far from home, death arrested his progress on...
Jake MailhotWhen we read something, that information is filtered through our own experiences and culture. This is no less true when we read the Bible. Our worldviews are important, but we rarely get a chance to see the Bible from another perspective. Because of...
Ryan PembertonA mother buries the child she loves. A hardworking husband loses his job. A family goes hungry. All of these scenarios beg the same question: If God is good, why do we suffer? For some—including many Christians today—suffering is a sign of God’s...
My wife, Linda, was asleep, and I was watching the National Memorial Day concert on the Mall in Washington D.C. I sat in my living room, lights out, weeping. I didn't get it. Why was it bothering me so much?
Ryan NelsonSuffering often catches us by surprise. One day we are healthy, comfortable, and happy. The next we find ourselves ill or injured, struggling, and distraught. The pain that invades our lives may come from our own suffering or that of a loved one...
It was far more common in John Calvin’s day than in our own for children to die at birth or in the early years of life. This, however, does not lessen the grief of loss. Three times in their short marriage, Calvin and Idelette experienced the pain...