The Mystery of Catastrophe / Joel Richardson, Nathan Graves

The Mystery of Catastrophe presents a clear, biblical case for God's plans and purposes amidst tragedy.

Never in the history of the church has there been greater opportunity and greater ability to fully engage each catastrophe God brings. God is moving in the world in amazing ways. He determines the times and places of the nations and peoples of the earth. If God is the initiator of global disasters and wars and they are not random and purposeless acts, we should try to understand why they might be happening rather than ignore or oppose them.

In the Mystery of Catastrophe, you will learn to view catastrophes in an entirely new light. God uses natural and man-made disasters as his primary means of driving people to geographic locations of his choosing for the times of his choosing, to specifically position them to hear and believe in the one and only true God and salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. When Turkey opened the floodgates and allowed over a million refugees from the Syrian conflict and greater Middle East to pour into the Balkans toward western Europe many churches jumped at the opportunity to reach out to the hundreds of thousands of refugees who were pouring through the region. It seems that God is setting the stage for the prophecy to be fulfilled, that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

Regardless as to how one feels about the Muslim refugee crisis, it is clear that followers of Jesus are called to share the gospel with all people. You will learn to see gospel opportunities when many others see only chaos. The closer we approach the time of Jesus' return, the more natural and man-made disasters and calamities we will see. So also then will gospel opportunities increase if we have eyes to see them. The Mystery of Catastrophe will help you recognize what God is doing in the midst of the many storms that are even now gathering on the horizon.