Session Eight explores the truth that the faithfulness of God is our hope.

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Ice-Breaker

Are you hopeful about the environment? Does this fluctuate? Why or why not?

Bible Verse – Revelations 22:2

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Reflection

This video is about hope, but it is also therefore about faithfulness.

Frederico Catihe talks about the work across the provinces of Angola, Katharine Hayhoe about the work in sub-Saharan Africa, and Ed Brown about the work of individual families restoring land.

In each case, the work takes time. In each case, the area of work seems small in comparison to the scale of the need. In each case, however, the faithfulness of people is bringing healing to creation.

As Ed Brown reminds us, we are called to be ‘faithful not successful’.

Often we can measure hope by apparent success. But the strength of our hope is not based on our apparent success, but the faithfulness of God, who is good.

As people of God, we are called to be people of hope. Trusting in God’s faithfulness, we hope for the healing of creation. Trusting in God’s faithfulness, in our own failure we remember the seeming failure of Christ when he died on the cross, and we hope for God’s redeeming power to be made visible like it was in Christ’s death.

Discussion

• Ed Brown says that ‘humanly speaking’ there is little reason for hope, and yet – ‘God is a God of Hope’. How do we both grieve for situations of devastation and apparent hopelessness, and hold onto hope?
• What work are you doing now that is taking time, and seems small in comparison to the need? How do you have hope for this work? What does it mean to be faithful in this context?
• Do you measure hope by apparent success?
• How do you know God is faithful?

Prayer

Pray, focusing on your hope in your own work and asking God to help you be faithful as he is faithful.