The Hope of Glory. The Glory of Hope.

Scripture References

1.  Romans 8:17-27
2.  John 1:1-14

Small Group Questions (Download PDF)

1. What is the Gospel, the good news of Jesus? (Hint: the last two sermons tell us the why and how).

2. There are three ‘building blocks’ for the Gospel, and we have considered the first two in the last two sermons. The technical terms are Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. In your own words, what
do the first two mean for you?

3. Read Romans 8:17-27. In Romans 8:17, Paul is talking of Roman adoption practices where the child receives all of the possible inheritance. Using that analogy, what does it mean for a follower of Jesus to be an “heir of God’s glory”? Why are suffering and glory connected?

4. In verses 19-22, creation is highlighted as frustrated, decaying, and in pain, all the while waiting with eager hope. What does this tell us about nature and our relationship to it?

5. In verses 18-23, what does the writer Paul tell us is in store for us as adopted children of God? What assurance does Paul provide that we have a future? He speaks a lot of “glorification” (in the present and future-tense, the third gospel building block). As glorification is the completion of the saving work that
God began through Jesus when he called us to himself, what does glory look like?

6. Stephen Smallman (The Walk, p. 142) tells us “This is the time when we wait, but with a hope as real as the resurrection of Jesus. And while we wait, we serve Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit, who deepens our relationship to the Father” (Romans 8:26-27). What are we waiting for? How do we serve Jesus? What does a deeper relationship with God look like?