At-Home Family Devotion 2

Week Two Devotion

Gracious Heavenly Father, you are making all things new. Renew us in true hope, that we might look forward to the day when you will wipe away every tear from our eyes. A day where there will be no more weeping or mourning or crying or pain. Give us patience as we look forward to that day. Through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen.

2. Read Scripture

• Recall the theme text together: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” –Matthew 5:4
• Read the illustrative text together: Romans 8:18-25
• Theme Connection: One of the more interesting “changes” from the first beatitude to the second is the switch from present to future tense. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs IS the kingdom of heaven → Blessed are those who mourn for they SHALL BE COMFORTED. Future hope (shall be comforted), but still with a present blessing (blessed are…). This shift simultaneously recognizes the brokenness that still exists in us and in the world, while also solidly rooting the believer in the present hope that drives us to our future. Romans 8 captures this reality with the word “groan,” which expresses the almost guttural sense of a beatitude-type mourner. They can’t help but be grieved when they look at the world around them, which is so obviously riddled with sin and evil, and so they long for the day when he comes to make all things new. The good news? Hope exists now. And hope in what we do not see produces patience (a word, which, in Greek means: “the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty with synonyms like: patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance). Why is “patient hope” better than “hope that is seen?” Because it forces us to realize that there is something better than what we see. If hope were seen, it would mean that the brokenness we see is “as good as it gets.” And so, we are blessed, because we hope in patience for the things unseen; things which are not even worth comparing our present broken reality to… 

3. Connect, Reflect and Discuss

• Parents: Start by sharing something in life that ended up being far better than you imagined. Something that, to some extent, “wasn’t even worth comparing” to the idea of what you anticipated in your head.
• Students (or everyone): Share some examples of things that cause the type of groaning mentioned in the reading from Romans 8.
• Everyone: Share something you are hoping for, and why you are looking forward to it.

4. Dig Deeper
(Use these prompts as discussion starters to help guide conversation.)

Watch this video, then discuss the questions below:

• Share examples of God’s faithfulness that help you look forward in hope
• The video mentions “living hope,” which points us to the resurrected Jesus. In what ways is your hope rooted in the truth that Jesus is alive?
• Share words of encouragement with each other that point past our present sufferings and to the hope we have in Christ.
• If you’d like to read and discuss more Scripture related to these ideas of mourning in hope, read 2 Corinthians 4-5

5. Close with a Prayer

Jesus, you have won hope for the nations. Help us to experience the hope you have given to us, and increase our faith to continually return our hearts to you, o hope of our salvation. Amen.