Sermons – St Peter's Barge Unknown

Job 34 ‘If God is good, why does he allow so much suffering in the world? And why did he allow this or that to happen to me?’ Doubts can start to creep in, and we wonder, ‘Maybe he’s not so good after all’. Given such doubts can invade the thinking of even the godliest of people, like Job, we need to listen carefully to what this chapter says about the goodness of God.

Job 31 Some people live to please others; some to please themselves; but the believer lives to please God. But what does such a faith-filled, God-fearing life look like? That is what we find out in this chapter. It points us to Jesus who lived this perfectly, but also challenges us to live as he did.

Job 30 Sometimes in life we can feel trapped – stuck in a difficult present. That’s where Job is in this chapter, mocked by others and feeling rejected by God. The Bible speaks of ‘the steadfastness of Job’. That is a quality we will need too in the Christian life.

How productive would you say you are? How good are you at managing your time? Do you wish you could devote more time to projects outside of your work? God gives us time and we have to decide how we use it. At our Faith in the Workplace session, we are going to see how a biblical perspective on productivity can help us with the very practical day-to-day demands of life.

Job 29 Looking back with nostalgia to happier times in life, as Job does in this chapter, is unhelpful if it just leaves us feeling sad and gloomy. But it’s good if it makes us long for a better future, and if it motivates us to pursue that – deeper friendships; a better marriage; a closer relationship with God.

Money and anxieties often shape our life choices; we all aim to be financially well off or perhaps just to be secure. Jesus warns you and me that we could be financially well off but still be considered a fool by God. He also offers us good reasons why we can have security investing in what is eternal.