By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: II Corinthians 4:7-18 The passage for this lesson reminds me of the character Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone in the Rocky movies that were popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s. If you remember, Rocky, the prizefighter, would be beaten, bruised and almost out. Then, all of a sudden, a strength from within him would finish the fight

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: II Corinthians 1:3-11  After a major medical crisis in my life, I received the following advice. Don’t waste your suffering. The person giving these words was not being insensitive, nor was he telling me to just get over my suffering and quit whining. No, he was sharing with me an important biblical principle of suffering — use the comfort you

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Isaiah 53:2-12 I recently received a text from a mother whose daughter is facing open heart surgery.   A friend, whose own child had been operated on by the same surgeon just two weeks prior, had contacted her. The friend said of the surgeon, “He did our son’s surgery. He is the best of the best. Please tell him we are

By Tim Frank First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Job 40:1-8; 42:1-6  Last week we met a righteous man named Job. God allowed Job to be tested by allowing his 10 children to be killed, all his possessions destroyed or stolen, and his health devastated with painful sores. In the midst of his suffering, Job sought God for answers to his suffering.    God’s answer to suffering is His patience

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Job 11:13-16; 23:8-12; John 9:1-3 Two lessons ago, we established that pain and suffering can ultimately be traced back to sin, specifically the original sin in the Garden of Eden. It is easy, then, to assume all pain and suffering comes from specific sin in a person’s life. This is the driving force behind the questions, “Why am I suffering?

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage:  Isaiah 58:3-11  The life of Jesus gives the perfect example of One who was used to help others in their suffering.  He is our model in all things, especially in care and concern for the hurting. In Matthew 20:28, Jesus explains that He did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Genesis 3:16-19; Romans 8:18-25 In this life, there are few things that are universally experienced by every person.  Among those universal experiences are pain and suffering. Whether sickness or disease, by unintentional or purposeful actions, life is filled with pain and suffering. Jesus said in John 16:33, “In this world you will have tribulation.” A second universal experience connected to

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Acts 26:2-5, 12-18, 24-26  Everyone loves a good story. There is something about a personal story that draws you into the life of another. It may be the struggle and hardship of a particular time in life. It may be the drama and change that made all the difference in a situation. It may be the lessons learned and the

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Isaiah 44:6-11; John 14:5-7 A common expression says, “All rivers flow into the sea.” The meaning is clear. There are many streams, but, ultimately, they all end the same place. This thinking has been applied in the world to all religions being roads to the same destination — heaven. In fact, it is popular in today’s tolerant, all-inclusive culture to

By Tim Frank Pastor, First Baptist Church, Carthage Focal Passage: Luke 1:26-35 Merry Christmas! This is the week we have looked forward to throughout the year. The retail stores began decorating for this season well before Thanksgiving. Christmas presents have been bought and wrapped in many homes for weeks. In fact, most church and community Christmas events have come and gone. All that remains is the celebration of Christmas Eve