Background Noise…living proof of our need for hope.
Week 2: Suffering and Hope
February 14, 2010
Pastor Jon Hand
Romans 8
Listen to Sermon: Suffering and Hope
Questions for you to ponder during today’s talk.
- Is hope growing in you?
- According to the bible what ultimately causes suffering?
- The early Jesus followers risked death and died taking care of the sick during the plagues of Rome? How did their hope motivate them to make such a sacrifice for people who didn’t even share their beliefs?
- How is hope demonstrated in your life?
- How is lack of hope demonstrated in your life? The only way to tell is to reflect on what happens to you when you are stressed, in a crisis, experience loss, or deep disappointment.
- How could your family, your career, your church, your marriage, your attitude, your relationships be different if you were growing in hope?
Book:
Where is God when it Hurts–Philip Yancey. This is a classic book on suffering, God, good, and evil? It seeks to cut to the heart of the classic arguments about God and suffering. How can God be good and allow suffering? How can God be all powerful and not stop it? Ticked at God or know someone who is because of suffering in their past? Read or recommend this book.
Community Group Discussion Guide
Getting Started
- Consider the following quote: “Hope in a glorious future gives us a deep and driving motivation to persevere through present difficulties and to make the hard, almost impossible decision to continue on our narrow path.” Do you think this is true? How have you seen hope sustain and motivate someone who was suffering? Have you experienced this yourself?
- How can having a personal hope in God change our attitudes and motivations when times are tough?
From the Book
- Read Genesis 2-3. God originally created us to be in relationship with Him, but our disobedience has caused a break in that relationship. How has this resulted in suffering? How has your own broken relationship with God resulted in suffering?
- Read Romans 8:18-32. What is the hope and expectation that Paul is writing about here? What resources does God provide us with as we wait hopefully? What is the anchor of our hope?
So What?
Take some time to consider God’s vision of the future. What will it be like to have a new body, free from decay and disease? How wonderful will the world be without violence and destruction? What will it be like to live without fear and anxiety, and in a very present and real communion with God? Allow God’s vision of a new body, a new earth, and eternal goodness to grow in you a longing for that day. May that hope carry you through the temporary trials you experience here and now.
