Sermon Video: "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away" Job 1:20-21

The day is coming: A day of joy or a day of sorrow, a day of victory or a day of defeat.  Such days are coming for all of us and each of us.  In the book of Job, Job learns first of the complete ruination of his family's wealth, and then on the back of that shock, the horrific death of ALL 10 of his children when the building they were in collapsed during a storm.  How does Job respond to this trauma worst than our nightmares?  He falls to the ground in worship of God.  What??  Rather than ignoring God or responding with anger, Job responds with reiterating his commitment to the will of God.  How can this be possible?  Job understood a profound truth: All of life's blessings are from God, and all of them are temporary.  That perspective allowed Job to survive the worst possible news with his faith intact.
Can we worship God on our worst day?  Will our faith hold firm?  Perspective is the key.

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Sermon Video: The Best Dad in the Bible - Job 1:1-5

Who is the best dad in the Bible?  If you ask that question about mothers, there is some stiff competition, but unfortunately, when considering fathers in the Bible, many of the most famous men struggled in their role as a father.  One exception to this trend is Job.  Job was not only a father of ten children, but also a man of noble character, exceptional reputation, and a successful businessman.  How do we know that Job was a good father?  First, Job made sure that his own character and relationship with God were exemplary.  To be a good father, one must first be a good man.  Too many fathers have destroyed their ability to be a good father by failing morally as a man, Job did not falter as a father by falling to temptations.  Beyond this firm foundation, Job also saw the spiritual health of each of his children to be his responsibility.  He acted as priest for his family, making sacrifices on behalf of his children to ensure that they maintained their relationship with God.  Therefore, Job provided for his family, both physically and spiritually, this same combination of responsibility belongs to all of us who have been given the privilege by God of being called a father.

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Sermon Video: The Patience of the Prophets, the Perseverance of Job - James 5:10-11

Suffering and difficulties of every sort are inevitable in this world.  We will all go through them, and those who live by faith will also potentially face persecution because of it.  What then is the response that God requires of his people?  To explain our obligation in the face of suffering, James illustrates the two character qualities we need to develop and employ, patience and perseverance, through the actions of the prophets and Job.  The prophets were given their occupation by God, to be his messengers and speak his words to his people, but were not generally rewarded for being honored by God in this way.  Instead, the prophets were mistreated including imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom.  And yet they employed patience to continue, for decades, to fulfill their obligation to God's people, preaching his message no matter the cost.  This then is our example.  We too must have patience, responding to persecution by continuing in the fruit of the Spirit, not responding to hate with hate, but with love.
Some will endure greater difficulties than others, few will be able to stand alongside Job.  Job lost everything: wealth, family, and health, but steadfastly refused to blame God for his loss.  He persevered, despite the insistence of his friends that his troubles were his own fault, and maintained his character through the worst of times.  And so must we, whatever comes our way we must persevere, holding fast to our faith and maintaining our commitment to righteous living in every circumstance.

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Batman v. Superman and the problem of evil

{No spoilers}  You might not expect a comic book movie to delve into one of mankind's oldest and most fundamental philosophical questions, but Batman v. Superman does just that by utilizing Lex Luthor to ask about how an all powerful and all good God can co-exist with evil/tragedy in our world.  In theology, we call this theodicy, or The Problem of Evil.  Evil, both human caused and natural (disasters/disease/death) does indeed exist, only a fool would try to call the inhumanity of man toward his fellow man anything but evil, and only someone who is heartless would not be troubled by the latest drought/plague/volcano, etc. to spread misery and destruction.  Lux Luthor, played by Jesse Eisenberg, shares his belief that God cannot be both all powerful and all good, a conclusion that apparently contributed to his path toward villainy, an assertion that is not met with a response, per se, by any of the movie's heroes apart from their subsequent self-sacrificial actions.  In the movie, Superman's motives and choices are called into question, because of his power, as characters wonder if Superman must save everyone who is in danger, and if he doesn't, is he responsible for that 'neglect'?  Bruce Wayne/Batman does indeed hold Superman at least partly responsible for the destruction caused in his efforts to fight evil {General Zod from the last Superman movie}.
So, what is the Christian response to the problem of evil?  There are three possible choices: (1) Emphasize the sovereignty of God, as typified by the book of Job, with a "who are you to question God?" response, (2) emphasize the freewill of humanity, as typified by the German philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, who maintained that this is the best of all possible worlds that God could have created because human freewill with its accompanying evil is better than a world of automatons, (3) or attempt to meld some combination of God's sovereignty and human freewill.
A foundational belief that is built into Christian theology, which also has a significant impact upon theodicy, is Original Sin.  The idea that the world was created without flaws, humanity included, but that both humanity and the world around us (i.e. disease, natural disasters, etc.) are consequences of humanity's rebellion against God.  The finale of Christian theology, the End Times, as expounded primarily in Revelation, also posits that God will do away with this world, making a new heaven and new earth, one that is free of these causes of pain and suffering, at the same time that he removes the stain of sin, for good, from humanity.
Another aspect of the Christian response to the problem of evil is to consider the relationship between God and humanity within the analogy of parenting.  God often refers to himself in parental terms.  We know full well the warping danger of withholding consequences from our children, some of whom would become spoiled brats given that level of intervention, others of which would be psychopaths.  God must allow humanity to taste the bitterness of rebellion, of independence from him, if only to allow us to learn the value of obedience.
In the end, the problem of evil isn't going away any more than evil itself.  It will still cause skeptics to doubt God, it will still trouble believers (as it should), but the ultimate answer remains the same: Choose to trust in the goodness of God.