Topic: focus2023

Title: Wrestling with God
Series: Hearts On Fire – Focus Series 2
Text: Genesis 32:22-32

God is inviting us to wrestle with Him because He desires for us to have a deeper dependence on Him and to fulfill His purposes for us.

General Questions:

  1. Have you seen people wrestling before? Describe it, what can it tell us about the process of wrestling with God?

  2. Who is Jacob? What kind of person is he? What part does he play in God’s redemptive story shared in the Bible?

Perspective Questions:

  1. Before Jacob wrestled with God, he was anxious at the thought of Esau coming to meet him although he had made plans to stave off Esau’s attack (Gen 32:7-8, 13-21). His great need led him to pray (Gen 32:9-12), remembering God’s promises and goodness to him, and asking God to save him. This was where God wanted Jacob – uncertain, helpless, and vulnerable; so that Jacob would realise that relying on God was the only way out. When were the times when you felt like you had done everything you could but you were still afraid or uncertain, and you could only look to God for help? 

  2. It took many hours of wrestling and a broken hip to make Jacob yield to God (Gen 32:24-26). What would it take for us to trust God and submit to His purpose for our lives? God had to break Jacob’s hip – what would God have to “break” in us to make us realise that He is our only recourse and surrender to Him in trust?  

Application Questions:

  1. We “win” in our wrestle with God when we choose to “lose” by surrendering to God and letting His purpose control our lives. In our walk with God, how can we “lose” to Him more? What are some truths from the Bible we can remind ourselves with that would help us to surrender to God in trust? 

  2. Feeling fearful and vulnerable is no fun. However, recognising our fear and vulnerability may be necessary to recognising our need for God. Therefore, we should not neglect negative emotions, but deal with them. How can the LG be a place where people feel safe to confront their unpleasant feelings? 

  3. With a broken hip, Jacob limped into his calling as the father of Israel. Likewise, God might have to break us before He could use us for His purposes, so that we learn to always rely on Him. How can we deepen our dependence on God as we live out His purposes for our lives? 

Title: Walking In The Light
Series: Hearts On Fire – Focus Series 2
Text: 1 John 1:5-10

Walking with God is really a commitment to follow a righteous God. This commitment comes with expectations to walk in the light as God is in the light. What does God ask of those who desire to walk with Him?

Perspective Questions:

  1. What is your understanding of what it means to walk with God? How does the apostle John define it?

  2. Why do some people not want to walk in the light (see John 3:19-21) or lie about walking in the light? 

Application Questions:

  1. What are possible ways people can downplay their sins? How can we properly deal with our sins?

  2. A benefit of walking with God in the light is we get to enjoy true fellowship with other believers. How can we place the sacrifice of Jesus at the centre of our relationships with one another?

  3. How can the LG help one another to walk in the light?

God, in His mercy and righteousness, has provided a way for us to continue walking with Him. But sin often trips us up and hinders us from being all we can be in Christ. How then, should we respond to God when we stumble?

With revival comes a fervent longing to live for God and a deep concern for the souls of others. In this 7-part series, discover how we can allow God to search, purify, and ignite our hearts.

Title: Focus 2023
Text: Various

What is the focus of Hope Singapore this year? How does it impact us?

Perspective Questions:

  1. The Holy Spirit is a refining fire – calling out sins, setting us free, and transforming us to be like Christ.  Share one area that the Holy Spirit has started working in your life in 2022. How would you say you have grown since last year?

  2. This year, our focus is “Hearts on Fire.” We want to see revival in the hearts of individuals. What does revival within a person look like to you? What are some signs that a person has been revived by God? 

Application Questions:

  1. Reflect on the Spirit’s refining work in your life. What is one way you can yield to the Spirit more?

  2. People who are eager for revival are desperate for God to work deeply within them. How can you prepare yourself for God’s deep work in you this year?

  3. Consider God’s heart for the youth in Singapore and for believers in other parts of the world. How do you see yourself participating in His ministry among these people groups?

In February 2022, we received a prophetic vision of the Holy Spirit dropping dollops of salt upon each of our tongues to induce an insatiable thirst for more of God.

Come thirsty to receive what God has in store for our church and personal lives as we move forward in 2023.