Category Archives: Sermon Notes

Posted on

Evil and Suffering, Passing the Blame

It took me some time to see it (15 years), but it finally dawned on me as I observed another doctor do it.  I saw a patient who was dying of end stage liver disease from alcoholism.  The first question that the admitting doctor asked the patient was “When was the last time that you had a drink?”  How is that relevant at the end of this patients life?

I have been guilty of this as well.  I have seen patients dying of lung cancer that I have asked if they smoked and how much.  WHY?!! There is no medical reason to ask.  We ask these types of questions because it makes us feel better.  We think to ourselves:  1. They are to blame for their demise and 2. I won’t get this horrible disease because I don’t smoke or I don’t drink.

The blame game does NOTHING to help with the suffering, the evil, the tragedies, the messes of life.  We must rise above the blame game to ask ourselves how can I help others through this and to help heal the pain with God’s help.

We all play the blame game and look for someone to blame.

Posted on

Evil and Suffering Sermon #2 Luke 13:4

This is Greg Boyd’s final sermon on evil and suffering his preaching on Luke 13. He makes 3 KEY POINTS in this sermon:

#1. collapse the judgment–don’t blame the sufferer and don’t blame yourself for the suffering. We don’t know squat! As C.S. Lewis said to a colleague who was trying to comfort him with Lewis’ own theological answers to evil and suffering after his wife Joy died: ‘Shut up, it’s just a bloody mess.”
When we judge or look for blame for a tragedy, it forces us to conclude that God is just, and therefore we must blame the individuals involved in the tragedy.  Or we must conclude that God is unjust, and we must blame God for the tragedy.  But God doesn’t cause the messes; He brings purpose to the messes!
The one suffering often feels horrible and that they are to blame which causes us to label ourselves a murderer or a whatever and that makes us “not a verb that we did but a noun that we are!”
We must live in the now because God is in the now.  No blaming but asking God how He can bring good out of this tragedy.  Every mess is an opportunity to bring healing and something good out of it.  In a time of suffering, we must be quiet, listen and ask how would you, God, have me respond to this mess?
#2. in the face of tragedies don’t judge, just respond–Are you turned and walking in the kingdom? Don’t try to figure it out! Just bring healing! HOW CAN GOD BE GLORIFIED IN THE MESS?
#3. God’s response to tragedy is always about healing never about condemnation–We live in a demonic war zone…demonic forces play a big part of suffering….
Posted on

John 9:3

3 great points made by Greg Boyd:

  1. Some people use this verse to say that God is sometimes the source of evil but we must look at the entire Bible and note that based on what the Bible says about God being good, this verse is the exception and not the rule
  2. There are unseen evil forces at work
  3. the original Greek of this text  states: “…But let the works of God be displayed in him…”  Therefore it does not say that God caused the man to be blind but his blindness lead to God’s goodness being displayed
Posted on

Evil and Suffering Sermon #1 Luke 13:4

Another GREAT sermon by Greg Boyd! I wish that I had heard this during my times of suffering.

KEY POINTS:

  • Evil and suffering is not from God
  • God is good
  • Don’t ask why but ask ‘to what end’ (26:45)
  • Ask God ‘How should I respond in this situation?’ & ‘How can God be glorified in this situation?’