DEVOTED: Struck down, but I got up again 🎶

December 7, 2025

"In God's economy, our weakness is one of our greatest assets."

-Desiring God

IN THIS EMAIL

Shout Out: Blanket Drive

Try This: Advent: Peace

Bible Discovery: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

SHOUT OUT

Devoted followers of Christ at DCC

Let's celebrate our Blanket Drive—it was a huge success!

We had 210 blankets donated to the Madison Area Jail Ministry, which helps recently-released individuals reintegrate into society. Many thanks to those of you who donated a blanket!

Be on the lookout for tables in the foyer of every campus the next few Sundays, where you'll find our local and global partners. You can explore our ministry partners and see ways to get further involved.

TRY THIS

Fresh ideas for spiritual growth

Advent: Peace

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist, has famously coined Gen Z as the “anxious generation.” While this may be true of a generation, they are not alone. We live in a time where fear and anxiety are on the rise. We have more access to bad news than ever before; technology fights for our attention, numbing our hearts and inner lives. Further, we can be spurred on to distract ourselves with good things: busy schedules, vocation, caretaking. But the quick fixes that these things offer us are a shadow of the real peace that Christ has given: God promises to be a refuge in the storm, to be a hiding place in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1), to be our Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

As we begin the second week of Advent, our theme is peace. In Luke, the angels proclaim, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” This is what the angels declared—so what does it mean for us today? What does it mean for us to be people of peace? How can we realize and experience the peace that Christ has promised to us today?

For one, we remember that we live in a shattered world and that troubled days will come, AND we fix our eyes on Jesus. While we experience fear and worry, it doesn’t mean we are passive in our experience. We surrender our worries to God, trusting that He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). And we know He cares for us because we are currently celebrating that He sent His Son for us!

We also follow what Paul says—to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15). This means we have an active role in choosing peace, choosing to let the peace of Jesus have the priority in our thoughts, our hearts, our decisions, every part of our lives.

Try This

Every night before dinner, light two candles, remembering the hope and the peace that Christ has promised and given to us.

We can’t experience the peace of Jesus if we aren’t spending quiet time with him. Set a goal for yourself—whether it’s a daily five minutes of quiet or a daily one hour of quiet, whatever your season allows—to spend time with Jesus and to meditate on the truth that he is the source of true peace.

Cut out social media!

When worry and anxiety fill your mind, say a simple prayer, “Jesus, I trust you to be my Prince of Peace.”

Listen to the song: "Come to Him" by Josh Garrels (highly recommend his whole album Light Came Down).

In all that this week brings, remember that peace has come to us.

BIBLE DISCOVERY

Get more out of the message

Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

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We are invited into a season of waiting, longing and delighting in the incarnation—the joyful truth that God is with us. And yet, so much in our world around us can easily “crowd out” Jesus during this time of year. In the midst of the hurts, noise and fear that often accompany this season, how do we set our hearts on the One who brings hope, peace, joy and love? We intentionally prepare Him room.

WATCH: YouTube or Website

To print discussion questions: Select "File" > "Print" > change the print range to the pages you want, or save as a PDF. There are other options, i.e. printing pictures, including backgrounds, to be helpful. OR you can highlight the text of the sections you would like to print > right click the highlighted text > "Print" to only print (or save as pdf) the sections you would like.

The Big Idea

(What is the author's point?)

How can Christians be so joyful when life is so hard? Because that’s when His sustaining power is most evident!

Why It Matters

(Why is this relevant to us?)

"How's life?"

The way we typically answer that question is by thinking about all the things that are "right." When the job pays well, when the family is getting along, when the bill of health comes back clear—that's when life is good.

But what about when the job is a bust, the family text blows up and you find out there's something scary happening in your body? What then? Is the gospel still true? Is God still powerful?

The true test of faith is not how you feel when life's circumstances are good, but how you feel when they're not. That's when you see whether you truly trust in God.

In this passage, Paul reminds us that God's power is most evident in our weakness, regrets and unmet expectations.

When we really discover the sustaining power of His grace in our weakness, we will become the most joyful, resilient people on earth!

Good to Know

(What are some helpful insights into this passage?)

“Jars of clay” (2 Cor. 4:7) – Not Pottery Barn, think cheap, Dollar Store Tupperware knock-offs. Paul uses this image intentionally: God puts the priceless gospel in fragile people so the power is clearly His, not ours.

Paul’s four “but not” contrasts in vvs. 8-9 reflect a known ancient rhetorical style.

Ancient teachers often flexed by listing their heroic encounters. Paul flips it. He highlights weakness, not toughness, so God’s strength shines through.

“Death is at work in us, but life in you” (2 Cor. 4:12) is Paul’s ministry philosophy in one line. He sees suffering as the pathway through which others receive spiritual life. This should ring a bell because it mirrors the gospel itself!

“Outer self…inner self” (2 Cor. 4:16) isn’t body vs. soul. Paul is contrasting our old age (marked by decay) with the new age begun in Christ (marked by renewal). God is remaking us from the inside out, not rescuing us from our bodies but redeeming all of us (Rom. 8:23).

“Eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor. 4:17) is a deliberate wordplay. Paul takes the “heavy” feeling of affliction and reframes it: compared to the solid, substantial future God promises, present suffering will feel light and momentary.

This whole section has "Advent vibes" before Advent existed. We fix our eyes on what we cannot yet see (2 Cor. 4:18), we groan for renewal (Rom. 8:22–25), and we trust that God is preparing both a future glory and a people ready to inhabit it.

THIS WEEK'S

Bible Discovery Author

Pastor Ryan Morrison

Group Guide

Following the series with your group?

Start with some icebreaker questions.
Read the passage together before you dive in.
Share any insights from the message. Use the questions below to get your conversation started:

Conversation Starters

1. In your own words, what is the treasure in the jars?

2. How might we view our sufferings differently if we remembered that the “life of Jesus is also being revealed” to us?

3. What are some tangible ways we can remind ourselves and one another to “not lose heart?” (v16)

4. Read verses 17 and 18 again. What wonderful reminders of Advent and the eternal hope we have in Jesus! When you think of all the glory to come, what excites you most?

Prayer

King Jesus, thank you for giving us hope and being with us in every suffering. Help us not to lose heart, to turn our eyes to you and remember the eternal weight of the glory to come. Amen.

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