December 1, 2019
GodSpeak for the Week of December 1
We begin our Advent season by considering the meanings of the Advent candles on the wreath. And, our consideration is aided via a video series by “The Skit Guys,” along with what these definitions mean in the world today.
This week, we consider the meaning of…hope.
Day 1…Read Isaiah 2:1-3a
- Consider this – in the vision God gave to Isaiah, the prophet sees God’s holy mountain (i.e., His dwelling place) as being the highest of all mountains.
- Answer this – rather than
being off-putting, how does God want the people to view/understand His holy
mountain?
- What will come from God/what will He do from that lofty place?
Day 2…Read Isaiah 2:3b-5
- Answer
this – what does God mean that He will “settle disputes for many people”?
- What does that look like/how is that worked out in our day-and-age?
- Answer
this – likewise, what does God mean that He will “beat their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks”?
- What does that look like/how is that worked out in our day-and-age?
Day 3…Read Matthew 24:36-44
- Consider this – the season of Advent generally starts with this passage about the “last days” (i.e., a reminder that our Lord was born into this world once…and that he will come once more before the end of time).
- Answer this – what are
Jesus’ two primary points in this passage?
- What is Jesus trying to get folks to understand?
Day 4…Read Romans 8:18-21
- Consider this – in v. 20, the word that gets translated as “frustration,” Paul intends to mean “frailty” or “want of vigor”.
- Answer this – why would God have subjected Creation to “frailty” and “want of vigor”?
- Compare – Genesis 3:1-7 to Genesis 3:8-19.
- Answer this – where does “frailty” appear between these two passages?
Day 5…Read Romans 8:18-21
- Consider this – as Creation was subjected to “frustration” (i.e., frailty and want of vigor) by God, the Heavenly Father has DONE SO in “hope” (that is, “joyful/confident expectation of eternally saving”)
- Answer this – what is the “hope” that God has for the Creation He has subjected to “frustration”?
Day 6…Read Romans 8:22-26
- Consider this – the word “hope” appears several times in this passage and always means that idea of “joyful/ confident expectation of eternally saving”
- Answer this – how is “hope” used in terms of God’s hope versus our hope?
- From where does the “hope” of salvation come (very important)?