Sunday Setup – 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

[Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] Hey, Cross Church family and welcome to the Sunday setup. This is a time that we digitally gather uh on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram and across our podcast platforms where we can get together digitally and we can read God's word. We can pray through some prompts so that we can prepare our hearts for what God has for us this Sunday as we preach this text. And today we're going to be in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And we're going to be picking up in verse 7. We covered the last the first six verses of this chapter last week. But starting at 2 Corinthians 4 7, the Apostle Paul writes this. Now we have this treasure in clay jars so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way but not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair. We are persecuted but not abandoned. We are struck down but not destroyed. We always carry the death of Jesus in our body so that the life of Jesus may also be displayed in our body. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus's sake so that Jesus' life may also be displayed in our mortal flesh. So then death is at work in us but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak. For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise with will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you. Indeed, everything is for your benefit. So as grace extends through more and more people, it may cause thanksgiving to increase the glory of God. Therefore, we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen but what on what is unseen for what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal. As we reflect on this passage that Paul talks about the hardship that he's enduring, the hardship that the church at Corenth will endure. It reminds us of the hardship we face, the brokenness as believers that we have to go through. And the first prompt I kind of want us to focus on is as we read these verses of being in clay jars, of being afflicted and perplexed and persecuted and struck down, is you might have some moments where you feel like you are going through some hardship. You are going through some hurt. And I just want you to take some time and praying that we just acknowledge that to God is telling him, he knows it, but telling him how you feel hurt, how you feel like you're going through hardship right now. Making that known to our God, so we can also know what God is going to do in us through it. So here's our prompt for this is God, I feel broken in. God, I feel broken in. This is an acknowledgement, a little not truly just a confession, but an acknowledgement is God, I feel broken in. Just talk to God about the areas you feel broken in right now. Heat. Heat. [Laughter] [Music] God, we are thankful that you hear these prayers of just honesty, of transparency. God, I know those who are praying these now, who are listening to your word, that we might feel broken in our marriage, broken in our career path, broken in our relationships, might feel broken in God, our health, and our finances, and maybe just defeated in the stress and anxiety of all that's going on. Is God, there are so many areas in our life, in our world, and even broken in our attempts to share the gospel. broken and as we talk to people around us and try to tell family members about you and pray for them and we might feel broken that we don't see the progress and God we know you hear these prayers but God you don't ask us just to tell us tell you how we feel about the hardships in life but Lord we also are to petition to you for your will to be done and in this second prompt and that's exactly what we want to do is God I feel broken and you prayed that prayer to God. But then as we see how Paul talks about God uses our hardship, he uses our brokenness to glorify God. And this next prompt just simple easy but straightforward. can be hard to pray at times, but this is comes straight from the heart of this passage is God in my brokenness let me glorify you by God in my brokenness let me glorify you by pray that prayer to our God [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] God, in my brokenness, let me glorify you by trusting you more, by being wholly dependent on your strength and not my own. God, let me glorify you by sharing my brokenness with other people. That's not trying to hide that, not trying to pretend like I have things all together, but being honest about the hardships, being honest about the struggles and show that ultimately you are faithful through it. You are working through it. You are building us through it, God. But ultimately, let us glorify you in our brokenness by just pointing people more to you as the ultimate healer and as the restorer of this new life we have in you. God, hear these prayers that are being spoken across our church family. God, prepare our hearts. Set us up for what you are going to do this Sunday as your church gathers, as we pray through your word, as we praise through your word, as we preach through it, so we can go practice it next week. And Lord, we just ask that you be with us the rest of this week and and carry us through to this weekend. And we lift all this up in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you, church family, for joining us. We'll see you Sunday. [Music]