This week’s theme: “Faith Equals Hope”
This week we take a look at faith. We talk a lot about it, are sometimes inclined to take it for granted, but also want assurances of what our faith will get us. Christian faith is a deep trust and confidence in God and God’s promises, as recorded in the Bible, specifically through Jesus Christ. Faith is a gift from God. When we truly have faith we also have hope. The daily challenge for us is to keep our faith even when it is tested beyond our capacity to understand.
This week’s Gospel passage:
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Questions to ponder while reading this passage:
- Based on this passage, and your life experiences, how would you define faith?
- How would you characterize the link between faith and obedience in this chapter?
- In today’s context, what might it look like for you to step out in faith as Abraham did?
- How might understanding the world as framed by God’s word affect your perspective on current global events?
- How does the understanding of faith in Hebrews 11 shape your perception of hope and future?
- What are some practical ways to demonstrate faith in your community?
This week’s bulletin