small group, week 7 of 7

Even though the seven week small group+sermon series wraps up, there are more chapters left in Martin Thielen's book. Our own group decided to carry on next week and dwell on chapter 19 about the Holy Spirit. But for tonight we stuck to the theme of Resurrection and what it means for the significance of Hope.

Ideas sparked from the talk:

<> Faith, Hope and Love (karitas/charity for all)... the greatest of these is Love. Each corresponds to a time aspect: past (Faith/legacy that lives on), present (Love/relationships), future (hope/intentionality).

<> Struggle seems to be inherent in hope; hoping for a brighter day and release from current conditions. But what if current conditions are blissful? Then does hope lose meaning?

<> Hope seems connected to optimism and better possibilities. How does it work with pessimists who protect themselves from disappointment by presuming the worst interpretations.

<> Common conversation is sprinkled with 'hope' (I hope it rains, I hope we are not late...). But does this 'hope' hold any resemblance to Hope of the Bible (of a promise paid for by the Christ)?

<> Mere mortals could not accept the promise of heaven, so just like God in human form to allow us relationships scaled to our horizons, here again God makes the promise vivid and undeniable: a killed man walks again. No theorizing or hair-splitting needed: just see and believe.