Today we embark on a journey to discover our life's true purpose, to wrestle with God's sovereignty amid our
suffering, and to encounter the transformative resurrection life found in Jesus Christ.
John 11:1-27
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who
anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters
sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not
lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved
Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the
place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to
him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are
there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of
this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” After saying these
things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to
him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that
he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that
I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow
disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already
been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to
Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went
and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” Jesus said
to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection
on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die,
yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to
him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Mistaken?
God's Glory
Sovereignty and Trust
Darkness is Coming
Blessing from Sorrow
I AM the Resurrection
What is the purpose for reading the Bible?
Why did God make you? What is your purpose?
How can we trust God when we don't understand what he is doing?
Does God's sovereignty over all events bring you comfort or cause you fear? Why is
that?
Will you be ready when the day of darkness comes?
What did Jesus mean when he said, 'I am the resurrection and the life'?
Are you ready for the resurrection? Does the resurrection life of Jesus Christ dwell
within you?
Let us offer gratitude for the gift of life and the hope of resurrection through Jesus Christ. Pray for the
strength to trust him even when suffering clouds our understanding. Ask that he would prepare our hearts for the
day of darkness and fill us with his marvelous light.
Creation vs. The glory of God
Ubiquity of Glory of God in Creation
Why God Created Us
Worth Every Second: Vaneetha's Joy in Suffering
How Can God Be Sovereign and Good and Allow Suffering?
Joni Eareckson Tada: Refined by Fire
A Biblical Theology of Resurrection
Trusting God in the Dark
Trusting God Through Trials
Jesus Is the Resurrection and the Life