Key Thought: God brings people into difficult positions and circumstances that they may discover the defects in their character so they can be corrected and fit for His service.
.July 9, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read I Peter 4:12-19.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How are we to respond to troubles and difficulties in our lives? Are many of our problems caused by our own poor choices and actions?
3. Personal Application: Why do we always face adversity and trials with an attitude that it is a strange thing to happen to us? Do we think God is always going to give us smooth sailing? Share your thoughts..
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why do I have so many trials in my life? It seems like one disaster after another. I know I haven’t always done what God has wanted me to do, and I don’t go to church much, but why is everything so hard for me?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read I Peter 5:8.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How seriously do we take this message?
3. Personal Application: When we are caught up in sin and the immorality of the world and can see no way God could forgive us; what promises does God give us to help encourage us and others? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “This world is so perverted now. Morality is deemed as judgmental, condemning, and biased as every level of sexual deviance is rampant. Murder, theft, hatred, and anger is rampant everywhere. There is no respect for elders, leaders, teachers, or parents. Where is God in all this?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Romans 1:21-32.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What is Paul saying about the stages of sin and its consequences?
3. Personal Application: How have you reaped the consequences of your own sins? What have you learned from this? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How do I know whether some bad thing that is happening to me is from God, or from the devil, or from my own mistakes” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How does Paul deal with his thorn in the flesh?
3. Personal Application: Did Paul’s weakness have any spiritual benefits for him? How can his response help you to deal with your thorns? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

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“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12, NIV).

Surprises, painful surprises, can come in many ways. A car veering across the road into your path. A sudden notification that you’re losing your job. A medical test that gives you unexpected bad news. Betrayal by someone you loved and who you thought loved you. As bad as the pain can be, it’s always made worse by the element of surprise.

Image © David Sorensen from GoodSalt.com

This week we will look at a few specific types of painful situations or crucibles that should not take us by surprise.

To begin, let’s go back to 1 Peter 4:12. The Greek word for “surprised” in 1 Peter 4:12 (NIV) means to be “alien” or “foreign.” Peter is urging his readers not to fall into the trap of believing that fiery ordeals and trials are alien to Christian experience. Rather, they are to be considered normal — they can and should be expected.

The word used for “fiery ordeal” (NIV, NRSV) or “fiery trial” (NKJV) comes from another Greek word, and it means “a burning.” In other places it is translated “furnace.” This experience of suffering for our faith could therefore be considered a “smelting process,” the process of the crucible.

Read 1 Peter 4:12-19. What is Peter’s message?

Many of us are surprised about suffering because we often have an oversimplified view of the Christian life. We know there are two sides — God, who is good; and Satan, who is bad. But often we then automatically put everything that feels good in the box with God, and everything that feels bad in the box with Satan. But life is not so simple. We cannot use our feelings to decide what is in God’s box or Satan’s box. Sometimes walking with God can be challenging and hard. And following Satan can appear to bring great rewards. Job, who is righteous yet suffering, illustrates this when he asked God, “Why do the wicked live on, growing old and increasing in power?” (Job 21:7, NIV).

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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