A Rejecting Thief (2 of 2)
Series: Bad to the Bone
Joey Rodgers
Luke 23:39-43
In 1858, using an obscure statute in Illinois law, Stephen Douglas was sent to the U.S. Senate although Abe Lincoln had won the popular vote. In the moment, a concerned friend asked a dejected Lincoln how he felt, Abe replied, ''Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I'm too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.''
Rejection can be a tough pill to swallow can't it? A sucker punch to the gut. Like when a spouse throws in the towel, or a boss hands out a pink slip - when we don't make the cut for the team or we get ostracized by a friend or family member. The pain we feel can be devastating leaving us dazed, wounded, abandoned - and oftentimes angry. And depending on how we handle it, rejection will either leave us bitter or better. More often than not, it also leaves us questioning the goodness/presence of God.
Has this ever happened to you? You prayed for God to show up and He didn't - at least not in the manner you had hoped. And in your pain/frustration, have you ever blamed God for your plight in life?
Of course, you have... and so have I - b/c we often have a misunderstanding of who God is and how life works in a sinful, fallen world where Satan has been given temporary dominion and where sin and human short-sightedness often rules the day.
All too often, the disappointment we've experienced leads to projecting our anger onto God - causing us to turn bitter, and we lash out at everyone (and God). Such was the case of the man we'll look at today.
Over the past few weeks, we've been in a series entitled, Bad to the Bone. In this study, we've been looking at the men who turned from God's grace to a way that seemed expedient in the moment even when Jesus was right there in front of them. Today, I want us to look at the rejecting thief on the cross.
Let me set the stage. It's Friday, April 3rd, AD 33. The Jewish rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, has been arrested, falsely ...
Series: Bad to the Bone
Joey Rodgers
Luke 23:39-43
In 1858, using an obscure statute in Illinois law, Stephen Douglas was sent to the U.S. Senate although Abe Lincoln had won the popular vote. In the moment, a concerned friend asked a dejected Lincoln how he felt, Abe replied, ''Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I'm too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh.''
Rejection can be a tough pill to swallow can't it? A sucker punch to the gut. Like when a spouse throws in the towel, or a boss hands out a pink slip - when we don't make the cut for the team or we get ostracized by a friend or family member. The pain we feel can be devastating leaving us dazed, wounded, abandoned - and oftentimes angry. And depending on how we handle it, rejection will either leave us bitter or better. More often than not, it also leaves us questioning the goodness/presence of God.
Has this ever happened to you? You prayed for God to show up and He didn't - at least not in the manner you had hoped. And in your pain/frustration, have you ever blamed God for your plight in life?
Of course, you have... and so have I - b/c we often have a misunderstanding of who God is and how life works in a sinful, fallen world where Satan has been given temporary dominion and where sin and human short-sightedness often rules the day.
All too often, the disappointment we've experienced leads to projecting our anger onto God - causing us to turn bitter, and we lash out at everyone (and God). Such was the case of the man we'll look at today.
Over the past few weeks, we've been in a series entitled, Bad to the Bone. In this study, we've been looking at the men who turned from God's grace to a way that seemed expedient in the moment even when Jesus was right there in front of them. Today, I want us to look at the rejecting thief on the cross.
Let me set the stage. It's Friday, April 3rd, AD 33. The Jewish rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth, has been arrested, falsely ...
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