We kick off a new series about trials and stress and pressure. How do we respond when it feels like life is an inescapable furnace? We’ll look at Peter’s words to the early Christian’s facing persecution under the tyrant Nero, and I hope all of us will find the courage, the endurance and the faith to keep going, keep loving our neighbors and keep pushing back the darkness. This week's discussion questions are below:


1. Can you recall a time in your life when you felt like you were being tested in a "refiner’s fire"? How did that experience shape your faith?
2. Peter talks about trials revealing the genuineness of our faith. Have you ever discovered something about your own beliefs through suffering? What was it?
3. Stephen Colbert spoke about learning to love the thing he wished had not happened. Is there something in your life that, though painful, has led to unexpected growth or good?

4. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says trials refine our faith like gold. How does this analogy help us understand the purpose of suffering in a believer’s life?
5. How do you interpret 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, where Paul talks about fire testing our works? What are some ways our motivations and actions might be tested in life?
6. Romans 8:18-22 speaks about all of creation groaning for redemption. How does this shape our understanding of suffering in the world today?

7. When facing difficult trials, how can we remind ourselves of the "living hope" that Peter talks about?
8. How can we encourage others who feel like they are being tested in the fire? What are practical ways we can walk alongside those who are struggling?
9. Peter calls believers to rejoice even in suffering. What are some ways we can find joy in difficult times without ignoring or dismissing the pain?
10. Russell Moore encourages us not to grow cynical or demoralized. What spiritual practices or habits help you maintain hope during hard seasons?

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