Getting Started This Week | At The Movies | Week 03

Focus of the Week:

As Christians, our lives look different because our hope is set on a different source: Jesus Christ's victory over sin and death.

As we set out this week, we will look at the major themes and process through reflection.

Notes on the practices:
Reflection helps to slow down and be mindful of what is being read. These questions are here to be a guide, not a task. Let the Holy Spirit lead you to whatever He may want to highlight for you specifically.

Pressing On:
We are all hopeful people. Hoping your kid's team wins the game. Hoping conversation on a first date won't be too awkward. Hoping things will all work out in the end.

Yet, there's a difference to a Christian's hope. Our hope doesn't come from the actions of those around us or from a particular set of circumstances. Our hope is founded on Christ's victory over death which saves us and reunites us with our Creator.

We see this truth evident from Paul in Romans 5:3-5: "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

So as we go about our day, we rest in the hope of who Christ is and in God's love for us.

Let this be the starting point:
Ask God to help instill this hope in you. That hope may overflow from you to those around you by how you live.

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40:31 NLT

This week is about learning to place our hope in Christ regardless of our situations.
Come back tomorrow as we learn to hope because we know God is always at work.