sharing hope

“Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.” (Psalm 130:7–8, NIV)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13, NIV)

Yes, we repeated the Psalms passage from yesterday. Some passages are just too good to think about once. What does “unfailing love” mean? If you sin really bad will God stop loving you? If bad things start happening in your life is that proof that God has stopped loving you? (You may want to consider Romans 8:35-39 as you think about that.)

How will the Lord redeem Israel from their sins? How much sin are we redeemed from? What did Jesus have to do with that?

Does this give you hope? Why or why not?

Romans 15:13 is a prayer and a reminder of our theme this week – hope.  Who will fill us with joy and peace?   What is our responsibility in this transaction?

Why is God described as the God of hope?  Some people think of God as a harsh judge or a distant, uncaring deity. How do you see him? Can you honestly think of him as a source of hope, or do you just hope he won’t strike you will lightning bolts?

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. How is trust related to hope?

What then happens within us? Do you think this is involuntary or do we have some part to play in it? If so, what do we have to do? Who helps us? If it is involuntary, why aren’t more Christians overflowing?

Why might some people not believe in God or in Jesus as his Son?  Do you think they have hope?

What is our responsibility to these friends and neighbors who do not see God's hope?

Pray about how we can share that hope with them.