Suffering is the platform for God's power - Sunday, May 31st

Devotional

Day 1: Widows Holding Up the Garments You Stitched

The mourners didn’t recite Tabitha’s accolades or status. They clutched handmade tunics, proof of her quiet labor for those society forgot. Legacy isn’t built by chasing recognition but by stitching dignity into overlooked lives. Like Tabitha, our most enduring impact often hides in small acts for the “unimportant” – the widows, the grieving, the ones who can’t repay us. What tangible evidence of love would others hold up if we were gone? [11:02]

“All the widows stood beside [Peter] weeping and showing the tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.” (Acts 9:39, ESV)

Reflection: What practical, unglamorous act of love could you do this week for someone who couldn’t repay you? Name the person and the specific action.

Day 2: When the Nail Outlives the Hammer

The jujitsu mat teaches: victory and defeat both reshape us. Peter’s echo of Jesus’ resurrection command (“Tabitha, arise”) wasn’t about his power but God’s pattern – using broken ankles and broken bodies to reveal glory. Suffering isn’t a detour; it’s the workshop where God rebuilds our purpose. Even resurrection required a death first. [05:29]

“He said to her, ‘Talitha cumi,’ which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking.” (Mark 5:41-42, ESV)

Reflection: What failure or loss in your life feels like a “broken ankle” moment? How might God repurpose it as a tool for growth?

Day 3: Blood Stains at the Motel Six

Earth grinds like a budget motel – stained carpets, no room service. Tabitha didn’t resent the mess; she cleaned it. Her needlework amid Joppa’s imperfections mirrors our call: love the flawed world without demanding heaven’s comforts. Suffering loses its sting when we stop expecting five-star treatment from a broken planet. [24:04]

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been angry at life’s “stains”? How could adjusting your expectations free you to serve instead of complain?

Day 4: Legacy in the Salt Mines

Francis Ngannou traded championship belts for a fiercer title: “My children never missed a meal.” Tabitha’s mourners didn’t list her social media followers. They counted stitches. Legacy isn’t curated; it’s what the hungry remember when you’re gone. The gospel measures greatness by empty hands filled, not trophies earned. [16:33]

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink… Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:35-40, ESV)

Reflection: Who are the “salt mine” people in your orbit – those grinding through unseen hardship? How could you tangibly strengthen them today?

Day 5: Eulogy of the Unthanked Stitches

Tabitha’s funeral displayed tunics, not titles. Her story challenges us to draft our eulogy now – not with résumé bullet points, but with receipts from love’s ledger. What will they hold up? A casserole dish for the grieving neighbor? The extra coat you gave the shivering stranger? Heaven tallies what earth overlooks. [27:34]

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27, ESV)

Reflection: If your funeral were tomorrow, what three concrete items would people hold up as evidence of your love? What gap exists between that vision and today?

Sermon Summary

Acts 9 sets Tabitha of Joppa front and center as a disciple whose name says something about her life. Her Aramaic name is Tabitha. Her Greek name is Dorcas, which means gazelle, a scriptural picture of grace and of one who is deeply loved. The text shows why. Widows crowd the room, weeping, holding up the tunics she stitched. No one cites her positions, platforms, or publications. Her love took a practical shape. She aimed it at people everyone else forgets. That is the legacy the room remembers.

Peter walks in and sends the mourners out. That move echoes another room in Mark 5. Jesus arrived to a dead little girl, sent the crowd outside, took her hand, and said, Talitha, arise. In Acts 9 Peter does not invent a new play. He repeats Jesus’ line with one letter changed. Tabitha, arise. The parallel is on purpose. Peter’s action does not center Peter. Tabitha’s resurrection does not even center Tabitha. The scene is a signpost. It points past the room to the power and pattern of Jesus.

Great love and great suffering sit side by side in Tabitha’s story. Her love is not glamorous, but it clothes the grieving. Her suffering, even her death, becomes a platform for the Lord’s power. That is the question the text pushes into any disciple’s life. Will love be spent on the vulnerable, where there is little return but real need. Will suffering be handled as a pity party or as a platform, a big arrow that says, look at what God can do with broken things.

Jesus’ pattern reframes timing and urgency too. He is not late in Mark 5. He is staging a different miracle. He is not content to manage sickness when he can speak to death. That perspective steadies a disciple in a world that is more Motel 6 than five star. Earth is not heaven. Expecting heaven here will only breed anger, bitterness, and shock at grief. Receiving the cross realigns the expectations. At Calvary great love and great suffering collided. From there the daily yes takes shape. Yes to love without applause. Yes to suffering as the place where his strength shows up.

So the stitch is stronger than status. At a funeral, garments hold more weight than headlines. The disciple who dies to ego and aims love at the least will leave behind something people can hold up. As the room once held Tabitha’s tunics, so a future room will hold the quiet work of those who followed Jesus’ pattern.

Key Takeaways

1. Aim love at the vulnerable The widows’ tears and their garments show where love lands when it looks like Jesus. A disciple’s legacy is not built on access to the important but on attention to the easily overlooked. Directing practical care to people who cannot pay it back trains the heart for heaven’s economy and frees the soul from chasing headlines. [11:38]
2. Let suffering become a platform Tabitha’s death did not end her ministry. It enlarged the stage for God’s power. Pain still hurts, and the text never minimizes that, but it reframes the purpose. The choice is stark and freeing at once: pity party or platform. [21:58]
3. Remember earth is not heaven Treating this life like a five star stay sets a disciple up for constant outrage. Honest expectations make space for lament without surprise and hope without denial. Naming the gap keeps the heart soft and the eyes open for grace in hard places. [24:04]
4. Follow Jesus in Dorcas’s story Peter’s Tabitha, arise mirrors Jesus’ Talitha, arise almost syllable for syllable. The echo is intentional, pulling the eyes off gifted people and onto the Lord they imitate. Imitation here is not nostalgia but apprenticeship in how to love, wait, speak, and lift. [20:55]
5. Be remembered for what you stitched At the end, people hold up what love made, not what ego amassed. Quiet acts that meet basic needs become tangible parables of the kingdom. Writing a eulogy now can expose the gap between status and stitches and redirect a life while there is still time. [27:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:34] - Jiu Jitsu highs and lows
[05:29] - Hammer or nail, both build
[06:46] - Great love and great suffering
[07:32] - Tabitha in Joppa
[08:59] - Two names, one loved life
[11:02] - Widows show stitched garments
[12:09] - Legacy is how the weak are treated
[15:52] - Keep the legacy, kids eat
[17:19] - From love to suffering
[20:33] - Talitha to Tabitha, arise
[21:39] - Suffering as a platform
[23:41] - Earth is not heaven
[25:47] - Cross where love meets suffering
[27:34] - Write your eulogy, stitches not status

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Acts 9:36-42 (ESV)
Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.

Mark 5:21-43 (ESV)
[Includes Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter and healing the woman with the issue of blood.]

Observation questions

What specific actions did Tabitha take that caused the widows to weep and show the garments she made (Acts 9:39)?
How does Peter’s command to Tabitha, “Arise” (Acts 9:40), mirror Jesus’ words in Mark 5:41?
What practical needs did Tabitha meet for the vulnerable in her community, and why were these acts significant compared to other forms of recognition (e.g., positions, platforms)? [11:38]
In the sermon, how was the analogy of Motel 6 vs. a five-star hotel used to explain our expectations of life on earth? [24:04]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the Bible intentionally parallels Tabitha’s resurrection story with Jesus’ miracle in Mark 5? What does this teach us about where our focus should be in moments of suffering or triumph?
The sermon said, “Earth is not heaven.” How does this truth reframe our response to suffering, grief, or unmet expectations? [23:41]
Tabitha’s legacy was defined by “stitches, not status.” Why might acts of practical, uncelebrated love leave a more lasting impact than achievements that gain public recognition?
How does the cross, where “great love and great suffering collided,” shape a disciple’s daily choices to love and endure hardship? [25:47]

Application questions

Who are the “widows” in your life—people who are easily overlooked or unable to repay kindness? What is one practical way you could serve them this week, even if it goes unnoticed?
When facing a current struggle, how could you shift from viewing it as a “pity party” to seeing it as a platform for God’s power? What would that look like tangibly? [21:58]
The Motel 6 analogy reminds us not to expect heaven on earth. Where have you felt anger or bitterness because life didn’t meet your expectations? How might accepting earth’s brokenness soften your heart to see grace in hard places? [24:04]
If your legacy were defined by the “stitches” of love you leave behind (like Tabitha’s garments), what would people hold up at your funeral? What needs to change today to align your life with that vision? [27:34]
Reflect on a time when suffering or failure became a turning point for growth or ministry. How did God use that “brokenness” to reveal His strength?

Sermon Clips

34s

“The truth is about great love and great suffering is those are really our only two options for being transformed in this life. Great love has a way of just when we experience great love from another person and from God, it opens us up to being changed. And when we experience great suffering, the failures in this life, it has a way of breaking us open, and then we're open for God. And I love this quote from Leonard Cohen when he says that there's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.”

31s

“By the way, if you were making up the scripture, you would never include this in the bible that Jesus did this. Because if you really read it objectively, it seems very passionate for him to slow down and talk to somebody, heal somebody when this other situation urgently needs him. But you see, Jesus Jesus' lack of urgency was giving time for the little girl to die because he was saying, I'm not gonna show you that I can heal the sick. I'm gonna show you that I can raise the dead.”

43s

“You see, Tabitha being raised from the dead wasn't about Tabitha. Peter doing it wasn't really about Peter. It was all putting the power of Jesus on display. This was all pointing to Jesus. See, Tabitha's suffering was the platform for God's power, and we have to ask ourselves, the way that I suffer in this life, am I willing to let it be a platform for the power of God in the world around me? And I'm not here to say that your suffering doesn't hurt. It does hurt. It is painful.”

30s

“And when you go to a Motel six, you gotta remember something. You're at a Motel six. You can't expect it to be a five star hotel. Because when you walk into the motel six, if you call the front desk and say, man, there's water stains on the wall and blood stains on the carpet, they're gonna go, yeah, you're at a motel six. And if you call the front desk at the motel six and say, hey, I'd like to order room service, they're gonna be like, yeah, get a Hot Pocket out of the vending machine, brother.”

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Suffering is the platform for God's power - Sunday, May 31st - Oconomowoc Campus