Discussion Questions for Sermon Series He’s Still Got the Whole World in his Hands Week 3

How are we supposed to remain hopeful in a hopelessly broken world? We want to be hopeful, but when relationships sour, stock prices tumble, dreams disappear, and plans crumble, hope can be hard to come by. In a world without guarantees, hope can be a dangerous thing. But what if the tension we feel is the result of putting our hope in the wrong things? What if God has a different plan for us—a plan built on his unfailing love?

1. Jon defines hope as a person or thing in which our expectations are centered. With that in mind, in whom or what do you most frequently hope? In what kinds of things or people do you see your friends and family placing their expectations? 

2. Share about a time when you put your hope in something or someone and came away disappointed. 

3. Read Romans 8:20. How does this verse support the idea of sin as a disease and not an event? Why does this matter in the context of finding and maintaining hope? 

4. Read Romans 8:26-30. What phrases or concepts in this passage engender hope within you? 

5. Romans 8:33-39. Paul provides a long list of circumstances, culminating with “nor anything else in all creation” that shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you were to write your own list of circumstances, powers, or feelings that will not separate you from the love of God, what would be on that list? 

Hope. It only works when the object of our hope is certain, when it is consistent, when it will not fail. God has offered us such an unfailing object: his love. As evidenced in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins, God has shown that his love is truly without fail. So, although this world will remain broken due to the disease of sin, you can confidently hope without reservation—if you will transfer all of your hope onto God’s unfailing love. 

 

“May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” 

Psalm 33:22 

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