Walking With God In A Pandemic (2020)

When It Seems Like Jesus Shows Up Too Late

John 11

Your brother, Lazarus, is sick and dying. Your sister, Mary, is emotional. You’re just trying to hold it together. And the one person you are CONVINCED can solve the problem, the healer, seems to be taking his sweet time getting there. And then…it’s too late.

Have you had times in your life when you’ve prayed so earnestly for God to intervene and it seemed like he left you to handle it on your own? As we are surrounded by all that COVID-19 brings–illness, death, economic hardship and uncertainty–where is God? Why would he let this happen? Doesn’t He care that hospitals are full, health care professionals are overloaded, people are losing their jobs? Why won’t He–or why can’t He–just heal us right now? What is He waiting for???

Here’s the promise: Jesus is here in the perfect time with the perfect solution. He loves us deeply. He grieves when we grieve and rejoices when we rejoice. No other God is like our God. But still…sometimes you just wish he’d make himself known just a little bit sooner.

Join Man in the Mirror president, Brett Clemmer, as he kicks off our series, Walking with God in a Pandemic. It’s going to be a great—but still perhaps a difficult—day.

How You Can Conquer Coronavirus Worry

Matthew 6:25-34

People are worried. And why wouldn’t they be? Like a granite fist from the heavens, the coronavirus has delivered a staggering gut punch to the entire world.

“Stay at home until further notice.”
“Work from home, and school your children while you’re there.”
“I’m sorry but we have to let you go.”
“I don’t have enough money to pay my bills.”
“We need your rent now—we have bills too and a mortgage to pay.”
“You tested positive.”
“You’re being admitted.”

Jesus has something to say about all this. Join us. We’re going to look at some of the most comforting words ever spoken from the most famous sermon ever preached by the most famous person who ever lived.

Transcript and handout at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Here’s Some Courage for the Next Few Months

Joshua 1:1-9

The next few months are going to be hard. Even if you’re personally in good shape, you’re still going to be caught up in a lot of hardship and disaster until, with God’s help, we conquer this pandemic. Whether you’re just trying to survive or hoping to thrive, it’s going to take courage to work through the next few months.

Courage is “the quality or state of mind or spirit that enables one to face hardship or disaster with confidence and resolution.” We all want that, right? Here’s the question: Will you have enough courage for the difficult tasks that lie ahead? In this lesson, Patrick Morley explains God’s desire and plan to equip you with a deep, unwavering courage to face the next few months.

Handouts and other downloads available at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Trusting Through Turmoil

Watch the latest Man in the Mirror Bible Study and join Khayree Pender as he unpacks the resource that can give you confidence that God will see you through this pandemic.

What to Pray in Times of Trouble

Luke 22:39-46; Psalm 34:4-8,18

What should you pray for when you’re afraid of the future? Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane shows us what Jesus prayed when he was afraid. On his way to the cross, Jesus had an agonizing time of prayer. He brought his disciples along and, knowing what was to come, pleaded for release while affirming his commitment to obeying his Father.

Are you afraid for your future? Sickness, concern for loved ones, job loss, financial difficulties…we are all facing difficult times. Join Brett Clemmer as we learn from Jesus what to pray for when the future seems frightening. And rest in the peace of a loving God who is close to us and saves us in the darkest times.

For handouts, transcripts and more: https://mimbiblestudy.com

Why Your Sufferings Are The Kisses of Jesus

Romans 8:18-39
Mother Teresa said, “Pain and suffering have come into your life, but remember pain, sorrow, suffering are but the kiss of Jesus—a sign that you have come so close to Him that He can kiss you.” Shocking, isn’t it? But wouldn’t it be incredible if we each could feel the same way—if you could make this message your own? Join us as Patrick Morley shows us from Scripture how suffering can add a depth to our convictions that we simply can’t get any other way. You can have the confidence to see what Mother Teresa saw and feel what she felt.

———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org

Satisfying That Ache for More Faith

Luke 18:8, Mark 9:22-24, Matthew 9:27-30, Luke 24:13-35,
Romans 10:17, Jeremiah 20:9 |

Atheist Julian Barnes begins one of his books, “I don’t believe in God, but I miss Him.” Whether like Barnes you still feel out in the cold, whether your faith has lapsed, whether you struggle with a lukewarm faith, or whether like John Wesley you’ve felt your “heart strangely warmed,” we all share this: We all ache for more of the power and presence of God that comes by faith. Jesus constantly reinforced the centrality of faith. He said at the end of a parable on prayer, “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” So, how do we increase it? Join us as Patrick Morley explains the profoundly simple means God has provided for all men to satisfy that ache we have for a more supernatural life of faith.
———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org

Why You Can Believe the Bible Is the Word of God

2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Peter 3:15-16, John 17:17, Proverbs 30:5-6, Isaiah 55:11, John 20:30-31

The more confidence we have in the Bible, the more it will influence what we think, say, and do. The Bible, which makes the internal claim to be the written word of God, is the most scientifically and academically studied, carefully documented, and transmitted piece of literature in history by an exponential factor. Join us as Patrick Morley reminds us why we can have confidence in the Bible—what it is, what it claims, how it was written and by whom, the continuity of its contents, how it has been preserved, the scrutiny it receives, and how problems have been addressed. There’s more than enough evidence to get a conviction that the Bible is exactly what it claims to be: a flawless record of exactly what God wanted to say exactly the way He wanted to say it.
———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org

Recovering from the Biggest Crisis of Your Life

1 Samuel 30

You’ve been through a lot, and now this. Are you prepared? And are you prepared if it gets even worse? David killed Goliath and became a national hero. But then the bottom fell out. For the next decade, David’s life was a nightmare that kept getting worse. It was so bad that “David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep.”

Join Patrick Morley and learn what happened in one of the scariest stories in the Bible, how David recovered from the biggest crisis of his life, and how you can apply those same principles to recover from any crisis in which you find yourself ensnared.
———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org

The Heartbeat of a Citizen

Mathew 4:23-5:16

Times are full of tumult and anger. The frustrations of injustice, economic difficulty and widespread sickness are bubbling over. Almost nobody really feels like the “systems” are working. This was the world Jesus walked in, and it’s the world we live in today.

Join Brett Clemmer as he shares how we can avoid the anger and cynicism of our day to be salt and light for the gospel. The key? Remember whose kingdom you are really a citizen of.
———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org

The Way Forward

How do you adjust when everything you had assumed is in shreds? Your job, your finances, your friendships, even your assumptions about yourself have gone sideways. You know you can’t sit in hopelessness and despair. You have to keep going.

Join Brett Clemmer as he looks at the story of the women going to the tomb after Jesus’ crucifixion. Things seemed dark, but they weren’t as bad as the women and the 11 remaining disciples thought. Need some hope? Join us as we look to the Scriptures to find the way forward.

Verses referenced in this lesson:
Mark 16:1-7
———————
Find more information, transcripts, Bible studies near you, and more at https://mimbiblestudy.com

Help us to continue this vital ministry by partnering with us: https://mimbiblestudy.com/give

Learn more about Man in the Mirror at http://maninthemirror.org