Comfort in Trouble

 

Scripture quotations are from the EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2018, 2024 – UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.easyenglish.bible

2 Corinthians 1: 1, 3-11

1 This letter is from me, Paul. God chose me to be an apostle * of  Christ Jesus. Our Christian friend Timothy is here with me as I write…

Paul thanks God who comforts his people

3 We thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is so good to us. As our Father, He is very kind to us. He is our God who comforts us in every way. 

4 Whenever we have trouble, he comforts us. Because of that, we ourselves can comfort other people. When they have any kind of trouble, we can comfort them, in the same way that God has comforted us. 

5 Christ Himself received much pain, and God comforted Him. As Christ's servants, we also receive the same kind of pain. But, God also comforts us very much, because we belong to Christ.

6 So, when we receive trouble, the result is that we can comfort you. And then also, God saves you. When God comforts us, that helps us to comfort you too. As a result, when you receive the same kinds of trouble that we receive, you learn to be patient and strong.

 7 So we continue to be sure that you will remain strong. You receive many troubles, as we do too. But we know that God will also comfort you, as He comforts us.

8 Our Christian friends, we want you to know about the trouble that we had in Asia. Those troubles were very painful. We ourselves were not strong enough to continue. We even thought that we would die. 

9 We ourselves thought that we would certainly die. We knew that we could not trust our own strength. We had to trust God. He is the one who causes dead people to rise up to new life. So we could trust Him to make us strong. 

10 We nearly died, but God saved us from that great danger. We know that we can continue to trust Him. He will save us from any future danger. 

11 We also know that you continue to help us as you pray for us. As many people pray for us, they will thank God when He answers their prayers. They will see that God is very kind to us, and they will thank Him.

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Important Vocabulary to Learn

(Some of these words are from the reading and some are from the questions below.)

1. Words from the first 1000 high frequency General Service Word List.

answer(s), belong (to), cause(s), chose, Christian, certainly, continue, danger, die/dead, enough, expect, future, idea(s), kind, Lord, nearly, purpose (of), ready, reason (for), remain, result, rise (up), servant, shape, strong/strength, trouble, trust, willing 

(And all the other words in the reading that are not listed in numbers 2 and 3 below.)

2. Words from the second 1000 high frequency General Service Word List

comfort, pain/painful, patient, pray/prayers, thank(s) 

3. Glossary of Special Terms (These words are marked with a *)

 

Apostle - One of the first special messengers from God who were chosen by Jesus himself. (You can read more about how God chose Paul to be an apostle in Acts 9, verses 1-18. In this part of the book of Acts, we learn that Paul met Jesus in a very special way, while he was going to a city called Damascus.) You can read it here… https://www.easyenglish.bible/bible/easy/acts/9/

 

Learning Questions and Activities 

1. Remembering - Who gave Paul and Timothy comfort when they had trouble? What did that comfort help Paul and Timothy to do? 

2. Understanding - Why did Paul and Timothy need comfort? Why do God’s people need comfort? Why do you think that Paul started his letter by writing that God ‘chose’ him to be an apostle? How did knowing that God chose him help Paul when he had trouble?

3. Applying - Can you think of any times when you have had troubles and God has helped you? Tell someone about that. If you follow Jesus, are you ready and willing to go through any troubles that God lets you have, just because you belong to Him? (This is a hard question, isn’t it?) 

When you do have troubles, what should you do? (Check your answer in verses 9 and 11.) Do you do those things? 

How can you give comfort to other Christians when they have troubles? (Give some examples.)

4. Analysing - In verse 4, Paul writes, “When they have any kind of trouble”. Again, in Verse 6, Paul writes “when we receive trouble…” Why do you think Paul uses the word ‘when’ and not the word ‘if’? What is the difference in meaning between these two words? Write two sentences, one using ‘when’, one using ‘if’. Each sentence should show the meaning of these words clearly. Write them here…

1. When...

 

2.  If...

What does the reading seem to be telling us about a possible reason for, or purpose of, trouble in the life of a Christian?

5. Evaluating - Paul calls himself a ‘servant’ of Jesus Christ. He says he ‘belongs to’ Jesus Christ. He also says (in verse 5) “As Christ's servants, we also receive the same kind of pain.”  Does being a follower of Jesus mean we will have an easy life? Why/Why not? Should we expect troubles, if we follow Jesus? 

Does being a follower of Jesus mean you can live life the way that you want? Why/why not? What are the wonderful things about being a follower (servant) of Jesus and belonging to Him? What are some of the hard things? 

What kinds of thoughts of God can bring us comfort? Give some examples.

6. Creating - Sentence game

1. Copy and print out two copies of the table at the bottom of this page. (Make them a little bigger than they are here. Each shape should be about 2cm x 4cm.)  

2. Cut along the lines, so that there is one word on each piece of paper. Because you made two copies, you should have two of each word (e.g. trouble/trouble,  pray/pray etc.).

3. Put the words upside down on a table. (You should not be able to see the words.) Move the papers around and mix them up.

4. Work with a friend or a small group. Take turns to turn over two pieces of paper at one time. If the words on both pieces of paper are the same, the person can keep the two words. If the words are not the same, put them back (upside down) on the table. 

5. As you play the game, do not move the pieces of paper around into a different place. Each piece of paper should stay in the same place it was when the game started.

6. When all the words have been taken, the ‘winner’ is the person with the most pairs of words.

7. Each person should now try to use their words in a sentence to show the meaning. How well can you do this?

8. Now think about the main ideas you have learned from the reading. Write one or two sentences that say how you will use the ideas in the reading to help you in your own life.  Write your sentences here….

 

 

 

9. Share your sentences with others. You could also share some of the troubles you have as a Christian, if you want to do that. (If you do this, remember, you are there to give comfort to each other. Do not talk about your friend’s troubles with other people.)

10. Pray for each other. 

Ideas of things to pray for….

a. That God would help each of you to be strong when troubles come.

b. That you will be able to continue to trust God

c. Thanks for the example of Jesus, who died for you

d. Ask for God to help you to give His comfort to others when and where they need it

e. That God will keep His people safe from danger

Can you think of more prayer ideas? Add them here….

 Below are the words for the sentence game in number 6 ('Creating') above. Remember to make two copies.