February 25, 2024
Hope Seeds
Isaiah 6:9-13
God asked Isaiah to give the people of Israel a message. Although they won’t listen to Isaiah, God tells him to keep preaching until the land is laid to waste and the people are carried away into exile. God says Israel will ‘look like pine and oak forest with every tree cut down, every tree a stump, a huge field of stumps.’ God continues to speak to Isaiah: ‘BUT there’s holy seed in those stumps.’
Songs for this week: Spotify
Isaiah 6:9-13
- How do you relate to the Isaiah 6 picture of a ‘field of stumps’? Why does loss sometimes feel like a stump?
- Has there been a time when you’ve been between two things, for example, between jobs, between relationships, between places to live? What did that feel like? Were you able to find God in the midst of it?
- False hope is when I try to convince myself to be hopeful by thinking that things aren’t as bad as they look. Have you experienced false hope? How did that impact you?
- Brueggemann describes the prophetic tasks of the church as, to “tell the truth in a society that lives in illusion, grieve in a society that practices denial and express hope in a society that lives in despair.” Which task do you relate to the most? The least? How can we do these three things better?
- Why is having hope hard sometimes? Is there a promise that God has made that helps you stay hopeful today?
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Recent Sermons
Luke 12:13-21 - Jesus warns us about the hidden danger of greed. Discover three heart attitudes toward money—I deserve it, it’s all for me, and I’m better off with more—and why they matter.
Acts 20:32-38 - For three weeks, we explore what Jesus says about money. This week, Paul’s final message highlights contentment, hard work, and caring for the weak.
Luke 2:22-40 - This week we reflect on the quiet faithfulness of Joseph and Mary as they bring Jesus to the temple. In this moment of ordinary obedience, God meets them with extraordinary hope through Simeon and Anna.
Matthew 1:18-25 - God puts His people on the go. Explore God’s call to Joseph and how an ordinary life is drawn into a greater mission and purpose.
Luke 1:39-45-Unexpectedly pregnant before she was married, Mary’s life was in upheaval. God sent her to Elizabeth, who would encourage her with a blessing.
Luke 1:26-38 - This Christmas, discover how God is on the move—sending Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth and inviting ordinary people into the greatest story ever told. Explore Mary’s costly yet courageous “yes” and what it reveals about the Christian life.
