Spiritual Growth / Suffering

  • Unquenchable Joy by John Sartelle

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2005

    “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness” (James 1:2). Was James a masochist? “When you face trials, do it with joy.” Who gets …Read More

  • What’s Our Problem? by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2006

    There is a great divide between the city of God and the city of man. The competing armies of the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, however, have this much in common — we’re all sinners …Read More

  • A Refuge for the Weary Soul by Robert Rayburn

    FROM TABLETALK | June 2006

    The sufferings of our Lord and Savior were the penalty He bore for our sins. But those same trials and sorrows served another purpose. Living a very difficult life prepared our perfect Savior to be a better help to us …Read More

  • It Can’t Get No Worse? by Keith Mathison

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2010

    In 1967, the Beatles released their album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. One of the classic songs on that album is titled “Getting Better.” Many people are familiar with the catchy, upbeat chorus: “I’ve got to admit …Read More

  • Fire and Rain by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | January 2007

    I can’t help but love my doctor. Any man who commits himself to serving those suffering from cancer probably has a large heart himself. He was a gracious help to my wife a few years ago, and he was …Read More

  • The Letter to the Church in Smyrna by Paul Gardner

    FROM TABLETALK | May 2009

    How wonderful it would be if our church received an encouraging letter from Jesus, especially if it contained no criticism. Jesus has no censure for the church in Smyrna but reveals His deep compassion for a people who are faithful …Read More

  • Good Grief? by Anthony Carter

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2007

    I suppose I grew up like most of my generation, reading and watching Charlie Brown and the rest of the cast of Charles Schultz’s PEANUTS. Schultz had an uncanny ability to relate a sea of emotion in a cup …Read More

  • Mourn with Those Who Mourn by Archie Parrish

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2007

    Yesterday, Helen told me that her husband, Gerry, is now a quadriplegic. In college, Helen was my wife’s roommate, and Gerry and I lived in the same dorm. Helen was maid of honor at our wedding. When we graduated …Read More

  • From Grief to Glory by James Coffield

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2007

    My father was slowly relinquishing his fragile life. His once sharp mind was now confused with the bleakness of Alzheimer’s. The cumulative effect of the medication to sustain his heart was destroying his liver, and the drugs needed to …Read More

  • A Grief Observed by R.C. Sproul

    FROM TABLETALK | April 2007

    What’s wrong with this picture? I’m speaking of my assignment for this month’s issue of Tabletalk. Over the years, my articles have been generally written out of a concern to communicate content of a biblical or theological …Read More

  • I Will Sing an Old Song by R.C. Sproul Jr.

    FROM TABLETALK | July 2008

    Trouble comes to the people of God. If it is not here now, it will be here soon. Those who promise that the Christian life is a breezy walk through the meadow not only have not taken up their cross …Read More

  • Glory Versus the Cross by Gene Edward Veith

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2008

    Mother Teresa was a living saint, according to the popular mind, compassionately caring for the sick and dying and projecting a love that brought cynical secularists to their knees. After her death, the Vatican put her on a fast track …Read More

  • A Light in Dark Places by Derek Thomas

    FROM TABLETALK | March 2008

    “The Holy Spirit has exhorted the faithful to continue clapping their hands for joy until the advent of the promised Redeemer,” wrote John Calvin in a comment on Psalm 47:1–2. Paul would heartily concur! Writing from a prison …Read More

  • Count It All Joy by Scott Devor

    FROM TABLETALK | October 2011

    Just a few days after the death of his wife, Idelette, John Calvin wrote these words expressing the depths of his suffering: “The death of my wife has been exceedingly painful to me … . I have been bereaved of the best …Read More

  • A Pastor’s Reflection by Charles Drew

    FROM TABLETALK | September 2011

    What do you do when the world falls apart? When the planes struck, I was in my office overlooking Columbia University on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, eight miles north of Ground Zero. I listened helplessly to news reports …Read More