Episode 70

full
Published on:

14th Sep 2021

Great Question: Does God Cause Pain and Suffering?

Great Question 4: Does God Cause Pain and Suffering? – Ken Wetmore

Considering, the story of Hagar and Sarah:  In the Genesis version, there is a lot of difficult complexity - for instance, God sends Hagar back into bondage then tells Abraham to listen to Sarah and cast Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. Then, Paul does a REALLY horrible retelling of this story in Galatians. He makes a point we all like - that faith trumps the law - but he does it in a way that has resulted in much Inter-religious strife, gender oppression, etc. Why do all of these horrible things seem sanctioned by, or even motivated by, God?


#WholeLifeReflections for this week:


  • Have you ever made a decision that harmed someone else? If so, what did you do to make it right?
  • Do you identify more with Hagar or Sarah and Abraham? Why?
  • Has there ever been a time when you knew God "saw you?"
  • Do you view the characters in the Bible like Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Paul as real people with all the character quirks and defects that we have, or as one-dimensional characters? Why would this matter?
  • Does everything God does in the Bible have to make sense in order for you to believe that God is good?


Which reflection spoke to you this week? Reach out to us with your questions and comments using the information below:


■ Text/Voicemail:  407-965-1607

■ Email:  podcast@wholelife.church


SUBSCRIBE NOW to our companion podcast; This Is WholeLife where we dive deeper into the message and topic at hand with Pastor Ken and Pastor Jeff along with host Randy Magray. It’s the perfect midweek commute podcast to stay in touch with what’s being talked about at WholeLife Church and we encourage your questions, comments, and feedback which we will share on the next episode!


Thank you for listening!  Our show is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and anywhere you listen to podcasts!  If you’ve enjoyed this episode, please share it on social media at the following links and while you’re there, say ‘hello’!


Twitter: https://twitter.com/wholelifeorl

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholelifeorlando

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholelifeorlando 


NEXT WEEK 9/18/21: ‘The Messy Middle’ by John Monday


The theme music for Speaking of Grace was written, produced, and performed by WholeLife Church’s own, Phillip Burks - https://www.phillipburks.com/.


To learn more about WholeLife Church visit our website: www.WholeLife.Church


Use the #hashtags:  #WholeLifePodcast #WholeLifeReflections #ThisIsWholeLife #ThisIsUS #GreatQuestion

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Speaking of Grace

About the Podcast

Speaking of Grace
Messages of God's love and grace. Leading people into lifelong friendships with God.
The weekly message from the WholeLife Church in Orlando Florida. We are a multicultural and multigenerational faith community dedicated to being a church without walls, fully engaged in serving the people of our community. Thank you for joining us as we continue speaking of grace.

About your host

Profile picture for WholeLife Church

WholeLife Church

WholeLife Church is a diverse congregation in Orlando, Florida. Our mission is loving people into a lifelong friendship with God.

We are . . . single, married, divorced, female, male, straight, LGBTQ, poor, rich, old, young. At WholeLife Church, we welcome any member of the community to join us in worship. We don’t care if you’re a practicing Christian or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We want to offer you grace and peace as you begin or continue your faith journey.

We are WholeLife Church, and we’re all welcome here.