Jessica Stafford, Director of Children’ Ministry, and Pastor Efrain Silva
Hope is an Anchor
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Each week, our Sermon Discussion Questions are here to help the sermon go deeper into your life. You can think these through on your own, or discuss them with your spouse, family, or small group.
1. If you have a “wilderness adventure story” from your own life, share about that with your group.
2. Jessica said, “Hope has gotten a bad rap in our society.” What did she mean by that?
3. Read Hebrews 6:13-20: When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.
16 People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
4. When it comes to boating, what is the purpose of an anchor? What happens without an anchor?
5. Go back and look at verse 19, where it says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul….” What is the hope that the author is referring to here?
6. Theologian Matthew Henry compared our spiritual life to a ship at sea: “We are in this world as a ship at sea, liable to be tossed up and down, and in danger of being cast away....The temptations, persecutions, and afflictions that we encounter, are the winds and waves that threaten our ship. We have need of an anchor to keep us sure and steady, or we are in continual danger.”
With that in mind, read Hebrews 2:1: “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
If you’ve ever had a time in your life when you started to drift away spiritually, share about that. What helped you notice that you were drifting? What helped you get out of that drifting?
7. The curtain in the temple in Jerusalem separated the outer part of the temple from the “Holy of Holies” because human imperfection separates us from God, who is absolutely holy. No human was ever allowed to go through that curtain into God’s presence, except for the High Priest; and even he could only pass through it once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. But when Jesus died for us this curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, demonstrating ordinary believers like us can now enter freely into God’s holy presence any time. Given this background information, what is the point of Hebrews 6:19-20?
8. Jessica referred to the hymn lyrics: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil” Sometimes in really difficult life storms, people feel God’s presence even more strongly and intimately than they do in good times. If you’ve experienced that in your own life, share about that with your group.
9. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13: “…you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”
As Christians, although we still grieve when we lose a loved one, our grief is different. How is it different?
10. Read Romans 5:1-5: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
What does Paul mean when he says, “hope does not put us to shame”?
11. C.S. Lewis wrote: “Hope is one of the theological virtues. This means that a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do.” What did he mean by this?
12. Author Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “Of one thing I am perfectly sure: God’s story never ends with ‘ashes.’” What did she mean by that?
13. Read Deuteronomy 33:27: “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Jessica pointed out that, while we hold onto hope, hope also holds on to us. Why is this significant?
14. Read Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How could this passage increase your hope, especially in a difficult season?
15. Theologian Charles Spurgeon said:
Do you know anything about your hope holding you? It will hold you if it is a good hope; you will not be able to get away from it, but under temptation and depression of spirit, and under trial and affliction, you will not only hold your hope - that is your duty, but your hope will hold you–that is your privilege. When the devil tempts you to say, “I will give it all up,” a power unseen will speak out of the infinite deeps, and will reply, “But I shall not give you up, I have a hold of you, and none shall separate us.” Our security depends far more upon God’s holding us than our holding to him. Our hope in God that he will fulfil his oath and promise has a mighty power over us, far more than equal to all the efforts of the world, the flesh, and the devil to drag us away.
What do you think about this?
16. What was the most helpful idea from this sermon for you personally?
17. Read Hebrews 10:23 out loud together as a group: “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
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