APPLY YOURSELF TO THE FIELD MINISTRY, Week of September 15-21, 2025, Start Conversations: FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. (Making Disciples: A Work of Love, Lesson 5, point 3). Prepared Assignment.

APPLY YOURSELF TO THE FIELD MINISTRY, September 15-21, 2025, Start Conversations: FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. (Making Disciples: A Work of Love, Lesson 5, point 3). Prepared Assignment.

5. Start conversations (4 min.) from house to house. Use one of the “Bible Truths We Love to Teach” from Appendix A of the booklet A Labor of Love (LMD lesson 5, point 3).

Setting: During the door-to-door preaching, the publisher encounters a person distressed by global suffering and offers comfort through biblical principles. They reflect on human suffering, its causes, and God's role according to the Bible.

Publisher: Good morning. How are you?

Assistant: Not very well, really.

Publisher: I'm so sorry. I can see from your face that something's bothering you.

Assistant: Yes, I'm seeing the increasing suffering around the world on the news. That's something that worries me a lot.

Publisher: Sometimes, when they see so much suffering, many people think that God is to blame.

Assistant: Yes, I've also come to think that way... that it's a punishment from God.

Publisher: I understand this is a topic that's affecting you deeply. The Bible teaches that God is not to blame for suffering.

Note what James 1:13 says: "Let no one say during a temptation, 'God is testing me,' for with evil no one can test God, nor does God test anyone."

As you've noticed, the suffering we and our loved ones endure is not a punishment from God. Knowing this will bring us closer to our loving Creator.

Assistant: That makes sense; it makes me feel a little better knowing God isn't to blame.

Publisher: Exactly. On the contrary, God wants us to live in peace and happiness, as He intended from the beginning: to live without suffering or pain.

Assistant: I understand then… but if God is not to blame, whose fault is it?

Publisher: The Bible mentions the main causes of suffering. First, selfishness, greed, and hatred. People are often victims of the cruelty and selfishness of other imperfect human beings.

There are also bad times and unexpected events. Accidents can happen because we're in the wrong place at the wrong time, or because we're careless or make mistakes.

And finally, there is the evil ruler of the world: the Evil One or Devil, a powerful spiritual being who was originally a good angel, but who did not remain faithful to the truth.

Assistant: That makes sense. Thanks for explaining this to me.

Publisher: How about I come back another day to explain more about how God loves us so much and has the power to end suffering and injustice?

Assistant: Sure, that's fine with me. I'll wait for you.