Dock Resource Kit

Sunday sermon, 25 January 2026

Summary

This week Raff spoke to us about living out the gospel we believe, not just hearing it — copying and pasting the life of Christ into our everyday lives. Drawing on 2 Corinthians 1:1–11, he reminded us that God is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who meets us in suffering not only to heal us, but so that His comfort might flow through us to others. Through stories of grace, loss, addiction, and hope, we were challenged to see suffering not as a denial of faith but as a place where dependence on God is formed and hope is revealed. Raff called us to be living testimonies of the gospel — people whose lives preach Christ through comfort, endurance, and trust in the God who raises the dead.

Key Points & Takeways

  • We are called to imitate Christ, not merely listen to Him
    The Christian life is not just about believing the right things, but about living them — becoming “doers of the word.”

  • God comforts us with purpose
    Comfort is never meant to stop with us. God meets us in suffering so that we can carry His comfort to others.

  • Grace must be lived, not just preached
    Many people will never read a Bible, but they will read our lives. We may be the only gospel some ever encounter.

  • Christians suffer — but with hope
    Suffering is real and painful, but it is never meaningless. Because Christ has overcome death, our suffering is framed by resurrection hope.

  • Dependence on God is formed at the limits of our strength
    God often allows us to reach the end of ourselves so that we learn to rely on Him — the One who delivers and raises the dead.

  • Faithfulness matters more than outcomes
    God’s saving work does not always look the way we expect, but His promises remain trustworthy.

Dock Discussion Questions

  1. Paul says God comforts us so that we can comfort others. Where have you experienced God’s comfort, and how might He be inviting you to pass that on?

  2. Raff said, “You may be the only Bible a non-believer ever reads.” What do you think your life currently communicates about God?

  3. How has suffering shaped your faith — either strengthening it or challenging it? What helps you hold on to hope in difficult seasons?

  4. Paul speaks about learning not to rely on himself but on God. Where do you sense God inviting you into deeper dependence on Him right now?

Long-form, edited transcript

Manifest.
Showing God.

2 Corinthians 1:1-11

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.


Introduction

The Christian faith is not only something we believe; it is something we live. Scripture repeatedly calls us not merely to hear God’s word, but to imitate Christ — to reflect His character in how we love, suffer, endure, and comfort others.

Paul’s opening words in 2 Corinthians 1:1–11 give us a powerful framework for understanding what this looks like in everyday life.

The God of All Comfort

Paul begins by praising “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles”. But this comfort has a purpose: “so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

God’s comfort is never meant to end with us. It is given so that it may flow through us to others.

Just as Christ’s suffering leads to abundant comfort, so our own experiences of pain become the means by which God ministers to the world. Comfort received becomes comfort entrusted.

Throughout Scripture, this pattern repeats. God does not act only for individual benefit; He works so that His grace might ripple outward. The question is not simply whether we have been comforted, but whether that comfort is being shared.

Grace That Is Lived, Not Just Preached

It is easy to preach the gospel. Living it is far harder.

Churches can become places where we worship a God of grace while offering very little grace to others. Yet many people will never open a Bible. They will only ever read the lives of Christians.

For some, you may be the only Bible they encounter.

This is not theoretical. I know it personally. I was once a criminal, an addict, a man who had lost hope in himself. I could not be a father to my children or a son to my mother. Much of what I received from the world was judgment.

When I first encountered church spaces, I often felt that I did not belong. Grace was difficult to find — until I met a pastor named Raymond Ramos in Brooklyn. Raymond met me at my worst and responded not with condemnation, but with love. He embraced me when others pushed me away.

For a long time, Raymond preached without words. He lived the gospel before he ever explained it. By the time he spoke about Jesus, the message had already been delivered.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. As followers of Christ, we are called to do the same — to make the gospel visible.

Comfort as Mission, Not Sentiment

Paul makes it clear: God comforts us so that we may comfort others. That phrase reveals purpose.

Comfort that stops with us becomes self-focused. Comfort that flows through us becomes mission.

We see this in Jesus’ response to the woman caught in adultery. The law demanded condemnation; grace offered restoration. Jesus did not deny the seriousness of sin, but He refused to let judgment have the final word.

If God dealt with us according to strict fairness, none of us would stand. What we have received is grace — undeserved and transformative — and we are called to extend that same grace to others.

Suffering With Hope

Paul does not minimise suffering. He is honest about distress, pressure, and despair. But Christians suffer differently.

We suffer with hope.

Jesus tells us plainly: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” This is not a promise of ease; it is a promise of meaning and victory.

The world does not just watch that we suffer — it watches how we suffer.

Suffering without hope leads to despair. Suffering with hope becomes testimony.

I learned this through personal loss. Years ago, I was preparing to marry a woman named Gemma — a woman rescued by God from addiction and abuse, now leading many others to Christ. On the way to speak at a Christian recovery conference, she was killed in a car accident.

I wrestled with God. I cried out in grief and confusion. Scripture gives us language for that pain. Even the psalms are full of lament. But in the midst of loss, God reminded me of something vital: Gemma ultimately belonged to Him. And because Christ has overcome death, death was not the end of her story.

I suffered deeply — but not without hope.

Dependence That Leads to Deliverance

Paul then speaks openly about reaching the end of his strength. He describes suffering so intense that he despaired of life itself. And he explains why: “that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”

Sometimes God allows us to reach the limits of our own ability so that we finally learn to trust His.

There are moments we cannot fix, control, or overcome on our own. These moments expose where our trust truly lies.

I reached that point in my addiction. I could not stop. No strategy or effort was enough. When I finally stopped relying on myself, God stepped in and delivered me — not only for my sake, but so that my life might point others to hope.

Even deliverance does not always look as we expect. Raymond, the pastor who led me to Christ, prayed for years for his son to be freed from addiction. His son died from an overdose the day before his nineteenth birthday.

Raymond later said, “God did save my son — just not the way I wanted.”

That statement only makes sense in light of the resurrection.

Living as Disciples, Not Just Believers

There are billions who identify as Christians, yet the world remains deeply broken. The world does not need more people who claim belief; it needs more disciples who live it.

To die is to be with Christ. To live is to serve Him.

If we truly believe this, it will shape how we comfort others, how we endure suffering, and how we depend on God. Our lives will preach louder than our words.

God comforts us so that we may comfort others.
God sustains us so that we may testify to His faithfulness.
God raises the dead — and because of that, our hope is secure.

May we not only hear these truths, but live them.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus,
We thank You that You are the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.
Thank You for meeting us in our suffering and not turning away from our pain.

Teach us not only to receive Your grace, but to live it.
Make us people whose lives reflect Your kindness, Your mercy, and Your hope.

Where we are weary, comfort us.
Where we are hurting, strengthen us.
Where we rely on ourselves, teach us again to trust You.

Send us out as living witnesses of Your love, that through our lives others might encounter You.
We ask this in Your holy and powerful name.
Amen.