A Theology of Suffering - "Thoughts and Prayers"

We now come to the final sermon in this series about developing a theology of suffering and putting that theology into practice. It is in today's sermon where our theology and practice will be contrasted with contemporary culture and practice as well as biblically critiquing them. In our increasingly interconnected and social media obsessed world, unconsidered assumptions, forms of speech and reflexive behavior which are normal for Christians are immediately and often viciously critiqued by every troll hiding under a Twitter or Facebook virtual bridge. And rather than simply rejecting the critiques, perhaps it is time that we critiqued these things too. There is perhaps no greater opportunity to do so than when a tragedy strikes and many well-meaning people say, "We're sending our thoughts and prayers…." Many critics take this as an opportunity to rail against praying and the Faith or even religion in general. How should you respond to this? Are there examples in the Scriptures of what we should or should not do and say in such cases? The answer is yes! – Pastor Schlegel