Eternal Hope
In our last teaching video in our 2024 ‘Surprising Hope’ series, Naomi Wolfe reflects on 2 Corinthians 4:16-28 and the eternal hope we have in Jesus.
A transcript of Belinda Grove's reflection can be downloaded here.
In today’s teaching video Rev Belinda Groves reflects on Psalm 46:1-7 and the hope we find in Jesus amidst the chaos.
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Psalm 46:1-7
Rev Belinda Groves, Team Leader at Canberra Baptist Church, cautions the church against developing faith as a protective bubble that shields us from the world's suffering and challenges. Instead she encourages us to lift our eyes to the ever-present hope we have in Jesus - our Savior who meets us in and is with us in our pain and suffering - and see new ways to live out this hope in our communities and world today.
We invite you to pray and continue reflecting on Belinda Groves' reflection today.
Reflect:
Are there any ways you experience or witness a ‘bubble’ mentality in your life or community?
How can we take action to live outside these bubbles and reveal the hope and ‘very present help in trouble’ we find in God?
We are reminded in this reflection that Jesus – Immanuel – God is with us, does not remove us from all suffering and distress, but ‘is with us’, to bear with us, and for us, all suffering and distress. How have you found hope and encountered the love of Jesus in the midst of suffering? How have you experienced God as your refuge and strength?
Pray:
A prayer by St Boniface (ca.672-754)
Eternal God, the refuge and help of all your children,
we praise you for all you have given us,
for all you have done for us,
for all that you are to us.
In our weakness, you are strength,
in our darkness, you are light,
in our sorrow, you are comfort and peace.
We cannot number your blessings,
we cannot declare your love:
For all your blessings we bless you.
May we live as in your presence,
and love the things that you love,
and serve you in our daily lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Belinda Groves is the Team Leader at Canberra Baptist Church in Ngunnawal Country in the nation’s capital, a church with a rich tradition of thoughtful worship and theological reflection and lived practice of discipleship, hospitality, mercy, and justice. She has been at Canberra Baptist for 15 years and prior to that was at Seaforth Baptist and Northside Baptist. She has one husband, Aron Downey, two dogs, Mischief and Monty, and three children, Miriam, Grace and Zachary.
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