If God is Loving, Why Does He Allow Evil and Suffering?
We are confronted daily with headlines about wars, famines, earthquakes, tsunamis, terrorists, disease, and death. If God existed, surely He would not allow these things to exist or to continue…or would He? And if so, why? Couldn’t He prevent some of these things? Couldn’t He have made a better world? 

Guest speaker Charlie Campbell answers these and several other tough theological questions related to evil and suffering. For those who have wrestled with these questions, this message is comforting and instructive; but it also equips Christians to be better prepared to answer atheists who think evil and suffering disprove the existence of a loving God.

Learn more about Charlie Campbell and Always Be Ready Apologetics Ministry at AlwaysBeReady.com

​The Apostle Andrew was quiet, courageous, curious, compassionate, bold, and faithful—and always bringing others to Jesus, including his brother Simon Peter. And even though he may have been overshadowed by his older brother, without Andrew, Simon would have never become Peter.

Andrew found his brother, told his brother about Jesus, then brought him to Jesus. Without Andrew’s quiet, humble, and courageous faithfulness, Peter wouldn’t have preached on Pentecost, and thousands wouldn’t have been saved!

The life of Andrew is encouraging for quiet and courageous followers of Jesus. God sees you and wants to continue to use you in all sorts of extraordinary ways. The body of Christ needs followers of Jesus like Andrew—quiet and faithful yet boldly finding someone to share the Gospel with and bringing them to Jesus.

​This past Sunday, we continued our study of the twelve ordinary men Jesus called to be His apostles and focused our attention on Andrew. Although we read more about his older brother (Simon Peter) God knew that this quiet, bold, faithful, and humble man would be willing to do what God had called him to—the good work of The Good Shepherd.

There are three passages in the Gospel of John where Andrew is mentioned individually. In each instance, we see Andrew bringing people to Jesus. Watch our study of Andrew as we meditate on his willingness to come to Jesus and concern that others would come to Christ, too.

​Jesus chose and equipped gloriously ordinary people as ministry workers in His harvest. These people were not religious experts or super-spiritual, but people like Simon, who was called Peter.

Simon (which means hearing or heard) had difficulty with following through. He was the son of Jonah (which means soft mud). And Simon, son of Jonah, accurately described his life before being born again. He had a loud mouth and vacillated between moments of faith and foolishness.

But Jesus chose him and transformed him from Simon to Peter (which means rock). This change from soft mud to rock had nothing to do with Simon’s efforts. It was Jesus who changed him from the inside out. When Simon’s self-reliance and gusto were finally gone, Jesus transformed, strengthened, and led him by the Holy Spirit. Then, he was called Peter.

Maybe you can identify with Simon. Perhaps you waver between faith and foolishness. The Lord sees you. He knows you and what a mess you are in—full of muck and mire. He knows how many times you have failed Him and how many times you will fail Him. But take heart—even knowing this, He still loves and calls you! He wants you to draw near so He can transform you from the inside out and strengthen you with His grace.

​Jesus, fully God and fully man, is still only one man. He knows that the opportunities for pastoral ministry are endless, but those willing to partner in the work with Him are few. He instructed His disciples to pray that more workers would be sent into His harvest.

When these ordinary people prayed, they probably thought that God would send experts from religious institutions in Jerusalem or super-spiritual people like John the Baptist to do this work. Jesus certainly wouldn’t choose them to be the fulfillment of their prayer…would He?

As we continue our study from Matthew 9 to Matthew 10, we read that Jesus did just that—calling gloriously ordinary people, equipping them for ministry, and sending them out as ambassadors for Him. And first on this list was Simon, who is called Peter.

Watch our study from Sunday as we consider this fisherman from Galilee who became a fisher of men only through the transformation that Jesus made in his life.

​“God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-28)

It’s God’s habit and preference to choose and use unlikely ones—people who make us scratch our heads and wonder why. That’s why He chose you, too! Ordinary people are called by an extraordinary God to be with Him. Then, out of the overflow of our fellowship with Him, we will find ourselves living like Him, loving like Him, serving like Him, caring like Him, feeding, tending, and strengthening the sick, just like Him—joining Him in doing the good work of The Good Shepherd.

God chooses unimportant, ordinary people who are not noble, excellent, famous, gallant, glorious, goodly, lordly, mighty, or worthy. But the people He calls depend on The Good Shepherd to do the good work through them.

Are you willing to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers, workers, and under-shepherds to do the good work of feeding, tending, healing, strengthening, and alleviating suffering? Even though you might feel weak, ordinary, or forgotten, God very well may answer your prayer by choosing and calling you to do the work of The Good Shepherd.

​All of us are called to glorify God in all that we do—no matter the specific call God has for our life. Whether you’re an artist, teacher, banker, plumber, or pastor, God’s call on your life is no less holy and no more sacred than anybody else’s call. The key to bringing God glory is seeing our calling as from Him and for Him. It’s for Him that we work and labor. 

No matter where or to what He has called you, the opportunity for pastoral ministry is plentiful. But those willing to actually do the work and labor are few. We know this because Jesus said it was so. And after He encouraged His disciples to pray for more workers, He sent them to do this work. Those that He sent weren’t the religious elites. They were ordinary people who had been with Him. 

People probably questioned Jesus about His invitation to the unlikeliest ones to join Him in the good work of The Good Shepherd. And yet, it was His plan so that He would receive the glory. Watch our study of Matthew 10:1-4 as we consider why Jesus chose the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise and the weak things of the world to put to shame the mighty things.

Do you want to be better equipped to answer the questions and objections that atheists and non-Christians bring up? Apologetics can assist you to respond to questions and objections while also helping you gain confidence in sharing the gospel. With a deeper understanding of Scripture, you can clearly articulate why you believe what you believe and effectively respond to questions about Christianity. 

​Join us on Sunday, March 23rd, from 6-8 pm for a free apologetics equipping presentation with apologist Charlie Campbell. Charlie will provide thoughtful and Scripture-based answers to various objections about God and the Bible. There will be two teaching segments with a break for refreshments and dessert. This event is free, but please register.

​Moved with compassion for the people He saw, Jesus set out to do the good work of the Good Shepherd. But God made man is just one man. There was only so much work He could do, but there was so much more work to be done—shepherding God’s people by seeking and saving, healing and feeding, and teaching and preaching.

The opportunity for life-giving ministry is plentiful, but those willing to do the good work of the Good Shepherd are few. So Jesus said, “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). And as you pray, you might find that the Good Shepherd was willing all along to do His good word through you.

The Apostle Paul wrote about this life-giving ministry. “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.” (Colossians 1:28-29) If God is calling you, He will equip you. He will do the good work through you. That’s the hope of the gospel as we endeavor to lift up His holy name.

​When Jesus saw the multitude around Him, He was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd (Matthew 9:36). This is not just vivid imagery or poetic analogy, but the specific language God used in the Old Testament to describe His people. 

In Ezekiel 34, we read of God’s promise that one day He will be the Good Shepherd and do the good word of feeding, tending, and seeking and saving the lost. We find these qualities in The Good Shepherd—Jesus—as He cared for people by teaching, preaching, healing the hurting, and alleviating suffering.  

Watch our study of Matthew 9:27-37 as we consider the good work of The Good Shepherd.

Jesus won't fold His arms in disgust and turn away with frustration when people go to Him as their last resort. We might think this is how He will treat us when we finally relent, repent, and call out to Him. But He is gracious and compassionate—and on time, even though that might be difficult for us to see. 

But we have an internal (our flesh) and external (the devil) adversary that misrepresents the character of our King. These adversaries know that if we get to the Son, the Son will set us free. So they cause us to think that there is no way that He would ever help us—especially if we come to Him as our last resort.

Thankfully, we have the Scriptures that erase our misconceptions of the King’s character so that we can call out to Him and come to Him in our time of need—whether He has been our first choice or our last resort. Come to Jesus. He loves you, no matter what. You may be surprised at just how gracious He will be with you, giving you well-timed help when you need it.

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 4:15-16

​Have you ever had a situation where you’ve tried every option and exhausted every resource? And yet, there seems to be a two-year-old in all of us that still says, “I can do it myself!” Eventually, our self-sufficiency and pride disappear when circumstances deplete our strength and resources so that nothing is left but to cry out to Jesus. 

Though He would rather be our first choice, Jesus is willing to be our last resort. When our desperation overrules our hesitation, we finally come face to face with Jesus and might expect anger and frustration, but instead, Jesus shows us compassion, mercy, and grace.

Watch our study of Matthew 9:18-26 and Mark 5:21-43 as we encounter two daughters and a dad desperate for Jesus to help them, coming to Him as their last resort.

​The religious leaders criticized Jesus for eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners. But they were the kind of people that were sick and needed His help. Jesus loved to be with people who knew they were sinners because He could help them without working through the blinding hindrance of pride. Unlike the Pharisees (who didn’t understand what Jesus was saying but just wanted to argue with Him), only those who realize they are sinners can see that they are sick and need help. 

Since there are none righteous, Jesus is calling everyone who understands and readily admits that they are sick sinners. He did not come to patch up the Old Covenant. Jesus came to establish the New Covenant. He is the cornerstone of an entirely new institution called the church. And the church will be made of sinners who turn into saints because of the blood of Jesus. The church will include leaches, like Levi, that transform into men, like Matthew—enemies of God turned into “gifts of God” (the meaning of Matthew’s name). Rigid religious rules and regulations can’t handle this—it would just break. New wine must be poured into the new wineskin of the New Covenant. 

​God chose to pour new wine into new wineskins. He decided to pour the person and power of the Holy Spirit into the most unlikely of vessels. But why? So that no one could boast and God alone would get all the glory. 

In this way, the adventure of the Great Commission could be available to anyone that Jesus would call to follow Him—even if that person is considered lower than low, like a tax collector named Levi.

Watch our study of Matthew 9:14-17 and Luke 5:27-39 as we consider why Jesus came to introduce something new, not to patch up something old.

​Consider the faith of the four who brought their paralyzed friend to Jesus (see Mark 2:1-12). They were undaunted by difficulty. A crowded house was not an obstacle to them. They brought this man to Jesus through persistent, creative, and sacrificial faith. And Jesus saw the faith of these four friends. 

Have you had a friend who was so discouraged over their sinful condition that they couldn’t even get up the gumption to come to Jesus? It’s as if they are spiritually paralyzed. You can bring them to Jesus by persistent, creative, and sacrificial faith.

Maybe you’re the one who feels helpless and hopeless. Perhaps you’re ashamed of your lack of faith. Take heart—Jesus sees you, too! He loves you and wants to fulfill your greatest need. 

Like the paralyzed man, your greatest need is not physical healing, but spiritual cleansing. Jesus sees you and He loves you just as you are. But He also loves you too much to leave you in that state. Jesus wants to fulfill your greatest need. He is willing and able to forgive you so that you are no longer paralyzed by sin.

“I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
–Mark 2:17

Jesus’ words and actions confounded the religious leaders around Him. After all, Jesus was eating with sinners, ministering to sinners, forgiving sinners, healing sinners, and (worst of all) calling sinners to be His followers.

The religious leaders thought they were already righteous. They could not comprehend in their self-righteous hearts how the Messiah would come for sinners and not for them. So, the only conclusion they could make was that Jesus must not be the Messiah.

But they had failed to see Jesus had come for them, too. It’s just that something needed to happen in their hearts first. Watch our study in Matthew 9:1-13 and Mark 2:1-17 as we read about Jesus getting into trouble for all the right reasons.

​We’re mistaken that we need to be intimidated by the schemes of Satan. We may even look for a demon behind every bush. But Jesus is Lord through it all. Greater is He that is in within you than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). 

The satanic storm that freaked out the seasoned fishermen couldn't even wake Jesus from his nap. But something did—the cries of the people He loved.

For centuries, Satan has been trying to torment people from within and from without. He has not slowed down in his pursuit to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus is willing and able to save! He is not repulsed or intimidated by your outward or your inward condition. He is willing to walk right up into your storm, into your ugliness, and set you free because He has the authority and desire to do so.