Goals

  1. Equip you and answer your questions.

  2. Help you be confindent in your faith.

  3. Remove Objections as you share the gospel

  4. Go make disciples

Genesis 1:31

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 2:18

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for[f] him.” .

Revelation 12:7-9

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 


God made us good in a good place. Eden was good, all of Creation was very good, but It was marred by the entry of sin

Before the tree, the capacity for sin existed not the presence of sin and that is a massive difference

Sin was not in the original design for Earth.

Romans 8:18-25

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

At no point does God in the scriptures belittle human suffering nor does He say… just get over it

Naturalism- There is no evil, but there is suffering, it is all subjective and preferential. There is no standard to call evil evil, its all nature

Agnosticism- I don't know or it is unknowable- Who is anyone to call evil evil or suffering suffering.

Buddhism- pain and suffering is an illusion. Everything is consequences, its all simply cause and effect. Suffering is cold and impersonal- you suffer because of ignorance

Hinduism- Similar but more personal, You deserve all the suffering

How can one deserve this- your past life- your past life is what warranted such pain and suffering

Islam- Allah is the author of pain and suffering. We are born neutral and everything is a test. Pass or fail.

Taoism/ Confusionism /Zoroastrianism- opposing forces are equal and necessary- its not wrong its harmony. There is no such thing as evil, there is only balance.

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self[d] is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

    1. Do you have any questions or thoughts from this lesson and what stood out to you most?

    2. How do we avoid being dismissive to others when they ask us hard questions?

    3. How does knowing that God does not dismiss our hardship but redeems it, impact how we view evil in the world?

    4. What scriptures or Bible stories have helped you the most when you are going through tough times?

    5. How do we tangibly live this lesson out?


    1. How was your emotional and physical health this week?

    2. What is a serious stressor in your life?

    3. How has your personal time with God been this week?

    4. Would you like to share your personal temptations and how can we help you overcome them?

    5. Is there anything that we need to discuss that we have not already?

    6. How can we pray for each other this week?

    Pray for one another, invite each person to pray even if it is just a few sentences.