Adversity

“Leading a local church in a pandemic and coming out of a pandemic has been filled with both pain and beauty. God has done exceedingly more than I could ask or imagine.” - Eric Gieger

“I’ve learned a lot while on my back and I want to share some of those lessons I’ve learned by leading in sickness.” - Treg Spicer

“If you scan through the uses of this word in the NT, you can’t help noticing something that you may find surprising—the frequent connection of joy with trials.” - Olinger

“…we’re not obligated to think about, let alone agree with, any old thought that pops into our heads. We can direct our minds. We can take charge of our thoughts.” - Olinger

“If you have had a stable and steady job for 5, 10, or 20 years, it’s easy to get the idea that the job that is what provides for you. No, God provides for you. …You may say—God has provided a small group for me, a dear friend for me, a healthy church for me, a wonderful ministry for me. These are the means of God’s supply.

“On the day Christ commissioned Saul as apostle to the Gentiles, he told him he would suffer. He told Ananias, the believer who healed Saul of his heaven-sent blindness….And Saul, now Paul the apostle, tells the believers in the little church at Philippi that this is the common fate—no, the ‘privilege’—of all believers” - Olinger

“When we’re overwhelmed––perhaps by many changes, or by one major change with seismic effects––Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 1:8 will resonate with us: ‘We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength.’ What an apt description of a full load and a heavy heart: utterly burdened.” - TGC

“Yet interruptions—even life-altering intrusions—are a normal part of the history of mankind. Floods, famines, wars, and pandemics have punctuated the lives of our predecessors. How did Christians of the past respond? How should we today?” - Rooted Thinking