Locations & Times

What if the hardest thing you’ve lived through is the very thing God wants to use to change someone else’s life?

Mother’s Day can bring joy, grief, pressure, regret, exhaustion, and questions most people never say out loud. In this message, Pastor Jim Burgen takes an honest look at purpose, pain, identity, motherhood, faith, shame, healing, and what it means to put God on display in a broken world. This is a raw conversation for women carrying invisible weight, men who need to wake up, and anyone wondering if their past disqualified them from a meaningful life.

God never promised an easy life, but He does promise that your pain is not pointless. Romans 8 reminds us that God works through every part of our story, even the parts we wish never happened. Divorce, betrayal, addiction, abuse, loss, disappointment, failure, loneliness, and exhaustion do not get the final word. Jesus does. This message is about moving forward, forgiving yourself, trusting God again, and discovering that your greatest purpose may not be success, achievement, or approval. Your purpose is to show the world what God can do through a life that refuses to quit.

Key Scriptures: Romans 8:28-30

Jim Burgen
May 10th, 2026

// Bible References: Rom 8:28-30

// Community Question: How do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

// Discussion Questions

1. Jim explained that while painful experiences like cancer, betrayal, and loss happen to everyone, for Christians who love God, God works even those difficult circumstances together for good. Apart from God, disaster and loss can simply feel like disaster and loss without the hope or redemption found in Him. How might viewing a difficult situation you’ve experienced through the lens of God working all things together for good change your perspective on that experience?
   
   
2. Jim said that God 'foreknew' everything that would happen to us - both good and bad - yet still chose to call us. How does this change how you view your past mistakes or painful experiences?
   
   
3. What does it mean to be conformed to the image of Christ? How might this look different than just trying to be a good person? In what specific area of your life right now do you need to trust that God is conforming you to Christ's image, even though it may be difficult or painful?
   
   
4. Going Deeper: Read Rom 8:28-30, Jim explained that God’s primary purpose for our lives isn’t simply to be wives, mothers, or to build successful careers, but to put Him on display through the way we live—showing how He has transformed us from who we once were into who we are becoming in Him. In what areas of your life could you more intentionally reflect that purpose?
   
   

// Challenge: How can you show the wife and mother in your life that you notice what they do and how much you appreciate them this week?