Hope is not something to be taken lightly. Imagine for a moment a world without hope. Imagine for a moment your personal world without hope—hope for your next breath, your next meal, your next encounter with a good friend. Our lives are built upon hope, one hopeful thought to the next. Hope is real. Hope can be found in a glorious sight that shares the testimony of beauty and goodness in the world. Hope can be found in the taste of homemade bread, baked in your mother’s kitchen or given to you by a friend. Hope can be felt in the handshake of a trusted colleague or a hug from someone close to you.
Hope—it is what life is made of. Little stones of hope that lead us from one side of the rough waters of life to the other side of eternal joy.
Upon successful completion of this discussion, you will be able to:
· Describe what it means to have been given hope.
· Experience the joy of giving hope to another person.
· Share what the experience of giving hope is like for you.
Background Information
The following five passages of scripture pertain to hope. Read all of them and then choose the one that best fits your life right now. After choosing the verse that you like the best, decide how you can use that verse to bring hope to another person. How would you share this message of hope with someone else? Would you simply share the scripture passage? Act in a kind way that brings hope to someone? Share a burden that is weighing heavily on another so that hope can be brought to those who are suffering?
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. (1 John 5:13–14)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:3–6)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8–10)
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13–14)
Instructions
1. Review the rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
2. Experiential Devotional: Read the Background Information section and follow the instructions there. Experience the joy of giving hope to another person.
3. Navigate to the threaded discussion below and respond to the following:
a. Describe what it means to have been given hope.
b. Share what the experience of giving hope was like for you.
4. Your postings should also:
a. Be well developed by providing clear answers with evidence of critical thinking.
b. Add greater depth to the discussion by introducing new ideas.