Newsletter – 07/30/26

Mark Your Calendar

• Marriage Retreat – Sep 25-26

📢 Announcements

👤 Identity: Who Am I? – Recap

The “Who Am I?” summer series walked through one of life’s most pressing questions: where do we find our true identity? Over eight weeks, the series laid a Biblical foundation—creation, the fall, and redemption—before diving into five specific areas where people commonly search for identity: relationships, careers, sexuality, gender, and God’s transforming grace. Each week pointed back to the same truth: our identity is rooted not in what we feel, what we do, or how others see us, but in who God says we are. The series closed with a challenge to shift the question from “Who am I?” to “Whose am I?”—a reframing that changes everything.

Be sure to watch this recap of the Who Am I Series where Pastor quickly walks through the important points from the series:  https://youtu.be/55gGbYXjOrw

Discussion Questions for Unplanned Suffering

📖 Biblical Insight Questions

1. Honest Lament Before God (Psalm 13:1–2)

• Why does David repeatedly ask, “How long, O Lord?”
• Why is it significant David brings his questions to God instead of turning away from Him?
• What does Psalm 13 teach us about the difference between honest lament and unbelief?

2. Bringing Our Needs to God (Psalm 13:3–4)

• How does David move from expressing his pain to pleading for God’s intervention?
• Why is prayer often difficult during seasons of suffering?
• What does David teach us about continuing to seek God even when we don’t understand?

3. Choosing Trust Before Deliverance (Psalm 13:5–6)

• What changes in David between verses 4 and 5? What remains unchanged?
• Why does David choose to rejoice before his circumstances improve?
• What does this passage teach us about the relationship between faith and God’s character rather than our circumstances?

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🔨 Practical Application Questions

1. Practicing Biblical Lament

• When suffering comes, what are some unhealthy ways people commonly respond?
• Why do many Christians feel pressure to hide or minimize their pain?
• What would it look like to practice biblical lament instead of pretending everything is okay?

2. Trusting God in the Waiting

• How does Scripture portray God’s heart toward those who are hurting?
• How does knowing God’s character help believers persevere through suffering?
• Why is waiting often one of the hardest parts of suffering?
• What truths about God can sustain us when answers seem delayed?

3. Worship in the Middle of Pain

• David praises before his situation changes. Why is worship during suffering so powerful?
• What are practical ways to remind yourself of God’s faithfulness when emotions tell a different story?
• How has God used difficult seasons to deepen your faith or reveal His character?

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🪞 Personal Reflection Questions

1. Your “How Long?”

• Is there an area of your life where you’ve been asking God, “How long?”
• How has that season affected your faith, emotions, or relationship with God?
• Have you been bringing those questions honestly to Him?
• When life becomes painful, are you more likely to withdraw from God or cry out to Him?

3. Choosing Trust

• Is there a circumstance where you’re waiting for God to act?
• What truths about God’s character can you cling to while you wait?
• How can you intentionally choose trust even if nothing changes this week?

4. Living with Hope

• Scripture never mocks or dismisses a sufferer. Should that shape how we care for people?
• Can you identify a past season where God proved faithful even though you didn’t see it at the time?
• How might remembering God’s past faithfulness strengthen your present faith?

Nursery Schedule

8/2 – Karen & Grace Brown
8/9 – Cara & Ruby Stevens

Eastside Worship Playlist

Watch it Again