From the Pulpit...

With the help of last week’s sermon, we are ready to tackle a challenging portion of the Bible. It is a challenge because it talks about persecutions and tribulations, and attributes to them a useful purpose that God wishes to accomplish in us. God does judge Christians, but it also sets unbelievers in their place, essentially swapping the present situation of troubler and troubled so that the persecutor now will receive punishment later, and the troubled now will receive relief later.