Getting Help – the Hope Choice

Here are some questions that will stimulate honest discussion and prayer in your small group. Feel free to use some or all of them to explore the topic. Remember to give time for friendship and socialising, as well as prayer and letting the Holy Spirit guide your time together.

“Happy are those who mourn, for God will comfort them”

Jesus, Matthew 5

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him”

Paul, Philippians 2v13

Do you truly believe that God exists, that you matter to Him and that He has the power to help you recover?
Read Hebrews 11 v 6. What kind of God do you believe in? What is He really like?
God’s love for us is not based on our performance but on His character (eg Romans 5 v 8). What part of God’s character gives you most hope?
“C.S Lewis wrote that ‘Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Sometimes we need pain to shake us free from denial. It is not sent from God but He allows us to experience it and even brings good from it. What do you know of pain that comes from crisis, failure or the confrontation from others; and the way it actually helps move you towards God’s love and care?
How can mourning over our past mistakes and our loss of control lead us to comfort? Share examples of how this has happened in your life?
The Spirit of God gives us power, love and self-control (2 Timothy 1). When have you experienced the Spirit like this?

Pray for one another, for a revelation of the love of Jesus and for an experience of the comforting hope that comes through receiving the Holy Spirit.

For more prayer ideas, see the weekly noticesheet.

Martin Young, 28/02/2010