Sermon
Suffering and Sovereignty
Stonebrook Community Church
Speaker: Brad Barrett
May 4, 2025 · 1 hr 27 min
Summary
Romans 8:18-25 teaches that present suffering, while real, pales compared to future glory. Developing a robust theology of suffering requires believing God rules all things, is eternally good, gives hope for eternity, and actively refines our faith—enabling joy amid trials.
Highlights
Our suffering is not theoretical. It's very practical, very real stuff. And the longer you live, the less theoretical the topic gets.
If God is sovereign but not good, then he is a monster, a tyrant. But if God is sovereign and he is good all the time, then there is hope.
Even the worst trials, by comparison to the glory that awaits us, are light and momentary. We need to fix our eyes on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.