Wonderful Good News : Weak Messengers
(2 Corinthians
4 : 1 - 18)
“Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.’
— 2 Corinthians 4 : 7-9
Discussion Question
Do you remember an instance when you were on the losing team? What was that like?
Paul seems to be on the losing team yet optimistic. “Don’t lose heart,” he says in verses 1 and 16. What are his reasons for being so confident?
Paul describes us having treasure in jars of clay (verse 7). What is the treasure? What are the jars of clay? What is causing the difficult position that Paul describes in verses 8 and 9?
In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” In what ways can we follow Paul’s example in the passage we are studying today?
Pick a verse to pray from for this week. which verse would you choose?
Lent Prayer - SessIon 3
Good Friday: why?
https://unanswered.prayercourse.org/session/good-friday-why/
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”
— 2 Corinthians 4 : 10
Psalm 116
1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of deathentangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the nameof the Lord:
“Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I trusted in the Lordwhen I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.
15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.
17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord—
in your midst, Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.