This weekend the noted New Testament scholar D. A. Carson spoke at a conference on suffering at Omaha Bible Church last week and you can download the four lectures in MP3 format by clicking HERE.
- Making Sense of Suffering – Part 1 (1 hr 12 min)
- Making Sense of Suffering – Part 2 (57 min)
- Making Sense of Suffering – Part 3 (1 hr 8 min)
- Gospel Reflections on Trials and Tribulations (52 min)
What Dr. Carson is attempting to do in these lectures is to prepare us in advance to suffer and to help us make sense of suffering sometime after the fact. This is an excellent series that is quite comprehensive and will make you think. Dr. Carson is an excellent speaker who combines intelligent thought with a Gospel infused tender mercy. If you can only listen to one lecture I encourage you to listen to the fourth lecture entitled Gospel Reflections on Trials and Tribulations (52 min)
Dr. Carson’s book How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil. 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006.) is an outstanding book on the subject and I can’t recommend it enough.
Carson hits the nail on the head when he says that we must prepare for suffering ahead of time. When we are in the midst of suffering we should cling to the Jesus Christ, the promises of God that we find in the Bible, and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
