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Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Sunday, April 17, 2022
Pastor Jojo Ma

Weekly Bulletin | Worship Lyrics

2 Corinthians 1-1:11

 

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope when life is hard.

2 Cor 2:4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

2 Cor 1:1-11 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope when life is hard.

2 Cor 1:8-11 8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

How many of you have faced a life-threatening situation because of your faith in Jesus Christ? How many here have suffered real persecution because you are a Christian?

8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia.

8-10 8 For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.

1 Cor 15:32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'

1 Cor 16:9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

2 Cor 11:23-28 ...with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

How many of us are this God-ward in our trials? How many of us consider God's purposes in our hardships? God is always going after our hearts. In our afflictions, God wants our affections.

9...But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Tim Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering: "You don’t really know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have."

10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.

Why does the apostle Paul trumpet God's resurrecting power? The answer is because resurrection implies power. He's confident in God's power. Are you?

9...but on God who raises the dead.

CrossLife, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead gives us hope when life is hard. The apostle Paul believed this, we should too. Because God has power to raise the dead, He has power to resurrect anything.

9-10 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again.

"Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!"