Breaking News! We hear those words over and over

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Breaking News! We hear those words over and over again during news cycles. They may arrest our attention for a moment. But the words, “He is not here; he is risen, just as he said,” have been a game changer ever since they were spoken to by the angel at the empty tomb of Jesus (Matt. 28:6). Hope began to germinate among his first followers. Hope, grounded in the resurrection, gripped the early church. It altered the way people live their lives. It inspired strength and courage in very generation of Christ followers. So, how is the resurrection of Jesus giving you hope? Let’s consider the words or one whose hopes went from dashed to driven by the resurrection.

Revealed

Raised Reverent Fear

Ransom

Radical Hope

Personal Application 1. What difference does God’s impartial judgment of us (1 Peter 1:17) make in the way you live your life?

2. In whom have you witnessed reverent fear of God? How does that image affect your relationship to the Lord?

3. When God’s word speaks of hope it has more to do with confident expectation than wishful desires. What fuels your confidence/hope in God?

4. When have you felt deep hopelessness? How did you handle it? Does hopelessness describe what you are experiencing right now? What are you doing about it? How can we help you? Please let us know.

5. How has the resurrection of Jesus impacted your sense

of hope?

Hope 1 Peter 1:17-21 Pastor John April 5, 2015