The Compass

A Daily Personal Reflection & Small Group Discussion Guide

by John Hay, Jr.
Senior Pastor, West Morris Street Free Methodist Church

Hope in the Darkness

Isaiah 9:1-7; Romans 8:8-17

TRACKING THE WORD
Hope inspires us to persist and triumph amid darkness and difficulties

1. Future glory puts present sufferings into PERSPECTIVE.

Romans 8:18

2. All creation PARTICIPATES in the hope-inspired movement from frustration and bondage to LIBERATION and freedom.

Romans 8:19-22

3. Christian hope is not just about SPIRITUAL adoption; it includes PHYSICAL redemption.

Romans 8:23-25

4. For this present darkness, God gives the Holy Spirit for DAILY HELP.

Romans 8:26-27

A. Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.
B. Holy Spirit searches our hearts.
C. Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

GROWTH & ACTION POINTS
Applications for spiritual journaling, one-on-one discipleship, or small group discussion

1. Journal or discuss: What are some of the spiritual struggles you have that you attribute to living amid spiritual darkness? What makes these struggles bearable? How do you cope?

2. Journal or discuss: How do you see non-human and even non-animal creation "subjected to frustration" and "groaning" along with us in history's challenges?

3. Have you considered hope in Christ as a spiritual promise only? How do you respond to Paul's inclusion of "the redemption of our bodies?" What do you think this means? What does it say about the range of care and power of God for us?

4. How does hope function in your daily life: What do you endure for the sake of hope? What gratifications do you delay because of hope? What do you commit to God and let go of based on His promises? What particular parts of the vision of the future painted in the Bible keeps you faithful and looking forward? Journal and discuss your responses.

5. Try to put yourself in the shoes of a person without hope. What do they need to know that they currently do not know? What do they need to experience that they have not experienced? How can you convey your hope to them in a way that they can see it and have the opportunity to receive it?

MARKINGS & WAYPOINTS
Insights others have received as they have journeyed in hope

GOD'S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT "I have peace in knowing that God loves my wife even more than I do, and that He is not blind or deaf to our pain. I thank God, not for the circumstance--He doesn't expect me to say, "Thank You that Marian has this disease that is scrambling her brain." There would be no love in that statement. But I give thanks in this situation, for God is in it with us. As I love and serve Marian in her helplessness, I am also serving God. My heart overflows with praise and gratitude to God, not because I am a candidate for sainthood but because His grace is sufficient. And for that I am eternally grateful." - Russ Blowers in Decision magazine

GIGANTIC CHRISTIAN SECRET "The mass of men have been forced to be happy about the little things, but sad about the big ones. Nevertheless, it is not native to man to be so. Man is more himself, man is more manlike, when joy is the fundamental thing in him, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live ... Joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian." --G.K. Chesterton

PROMSIES, PROMISES "Our God is the great maker of promises. His Word, the Bible, is quite simply a collection of the promises He has made to us. In the beginning God told Adam and Eve, I will send someone who will crush the head of the serpent. A promise. Most of the other promises in the Bible-if you look at them closely-are variations on that same theme. They concern Jesus, who would come to be known as the "Promised One." The Bible tells us that when the Promised One finally came, the Lord poured all of Himself into Him." -- Michael Card in Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ

RESPONSES & OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE
Want to explore The Compass with others? Have questions?

If you'd like to connect with others who are working weekly with The Compass, e-mail me or call the church office (317.632.8311)

If you have questions about Scriptures or some of the questions, or just want to share what your are discovering through The Compass, you are welcome to e-mail me.

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