Finding Hope in Hard Times

In Week Two of our series, Get Your Hopes Up, Pastor Ryan taught us that hope is more than a feeling. It’s an action that requires steps of faith, and the same hope given to Joseph during the very first Christmas is available to us today. Use this guide to keep talking about the sermon. 

SERMON HIGHLIGHTS

• Hope: A confident expectation of what God has promised based on the certainty that God is faithful
• “Perhaps the greatest psychological, spiritual, and medical need that all people have is the need for hope.” — Billy Graham 
• Hope is more than psychological—hope is theological. 
• Hope doesn’t get you out of trouble—hope gets you through trouble. 
• Sometimes, it is the strength of the storm that shows the strength of your anchor. 
• “The difference between devastation and transformation is the presence of hope.” — Katherine Wolf

KEY SCRIPTURES

• Matthew 1:18-24
• Lamentations 3:21-24
• Hebrews 6:19
• Romans 5:5

START TALKING 

• How are you feeling about the holiday season? Hopeful, excited, anxious, or sad (or maybe a mix of all of those)? 
  

KEEP TALKING

• When was the last time you told yourself not to get your hopes up, or is there an area where you feel that way now? How did this sermon shift your perspective? 
• Matthew 1:19 says, “So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.” If Joseph would have divorced Mary, he would have missed his God-given mission. What are you resisting or rejecting because it’s not part of your plan? What would you do differently if you believed God could work it for His purpose, even if it wasn’t part of your plan? 
• Sometimes, the greatest gifts come in the packages we least expect. When was the last time you went through something hard but found a gift or a blessing in the process? Talk about it! 
• Lamentations 3:21-22 says, “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end.” Talk about one way God has been faithful to you in the past. How does this give you hope for today (and the future)? 
• Hope isn’t a feeling. Hope is an action. What’s a step of hope you can take this week (a step of obedience, a step in one of your relationships, a step of faith, a step of generosity, etc.)? 

KEEP IT GOING

Write Lamentations 3:21-24 on a sticky note and then place it somewhere you’ll see it often. Meditate on this verse throughout the week as you ask God to help you get your hopes up. 

Don’t forget—we’re called to help others get their hopes up! And since hope is an action, consider taking a step of generosity by participating in Christ Birthday Offering.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for being a sustainable source of hope in this life. We’re so grateful to have you as an anchor for every storm. We praise you for your faithfulness. Help us get our hopes up for all you’re going to do in and through us. Amen.