Faith, Hope and Love: Part 1 - Go in Faith

This Sunday, Simon Lace brings us the latest of our short video talks. Once you have watched the video, we encourage you to reflect on the bible text and join us in the prayer that follows below.

To listen to the talk click here.

 
Readings
 

1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 13 (NLT)

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

Genesis chapter 12, verses 1 to 7 (NLT)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth—his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran—and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram travelled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your descendants.” And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

 

Prayer & Reflection

Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you that You do have a promise for us, a purpose for us. Father, thank you that You have a place for us and that You have a plan for us. Father would You help us in our times of doubting. Would you build us up - by Your Holy Spirit would You build us up in faith, that we would face that future together with You, and that we’d do it with great faith and great confidence in you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


Questions to Consider

1. Why do you think that Paul cited faith, hope and love as three things that will last forever?

2. Can you remember a time when you were helped through difficult times by faith, or hope, or love – yours or someone else’s?

3. In the talk, I suggested that Abram was in some ways stepping out into the “undiscovered country” of Canaan and that this might, for us, be like stepping into the undiscovered country that is the future. What does thinking about the future stir in you – fear, excitement, worry… or something else? Talk about this with friends.

4. What aspects of the future do you worry about? Are there specific things (or people) that you want to pray about for the future – and if so, could you be praying about them regularly?

5. In a time of prayer, ask God if there is anything that He is calling you to do. What will you do about this? 

6. If there are specific things that you want to change about yourself and/or your circumstances or relationships, take the time to write these down. Ask God to help you step out in faith towards those changes.

7. Returning to faith, hope and love… in what situations might you bring any or all of these to bear in a situation that you want to improve?

8. What do you do that helps to build up your faith – and do you need to re-assess your practices?

Simon Lace