This world is full of pain and heartache that reaches into every one of our lives in some

way, not to mention the endless suffering we see on the news.

Given all the struggles in the pains of this world, Pastor John recently explained the

emotional complexity of being a follower of Christ in this broken world.

In a recent sermon, here's what he said.

7.2 million people die of cancer in the world every year, and in America, it's been steady

for years, about 600,000 people die of cancer every year just behind heart disease and sometimes

vying for first place, a disease that is unique in its adaptability to evade our efforts

to kill it.

Another current reality is that I was preparing for first Peter for the last two days, that

I taught for the last two days, and first Peter is permeated with suffering, more than

any other New Testament book.

And so I had that on my mind, the suffering of first Peter.

And then, as you can imagine, I had on my mind the ISIS killing last Monday of the couple

dozen Ethiopian believers, and before that, the Egyptian believers, and after that, the

12 Christians that were thrown overboard in the Mediterranean Sea, not to mention the

900 people from North Africa who were trying to get to Europe who drowned in the last several

weeks from the capsizing of their boats, and then I didn't anticipate that there would

be an earthquake that would kill at least 2,400 people, and that would probably double

over the next several days, and as we speak, people perhaps are lying under rubble, wondering,

will anybody reach me?

And so that cluster of contemporary realities drew me to speak on this, the world of pain

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