11.27.22 - Advent, Week 1: Ready for Anything (Kenny Camacho)

Revolution Church Annapolis

SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 24:36-44, & Romans 13:11-14

“In light of Jesus’s life, the Kingdom that is still coming can get started now. We can live in it, in anticipation of its full arrival sometime in the future. What it requires from us is hope. Hope is what rises up in us when we hold the mystery of God up against the faithfulness of God in our story. It’s what we feel when we say, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but I still know the ending.’ Our God is always bigger than our theories or our plans or our predictions. The prophets know that! But He is also nearer than we could ever expect Him to be: that’s the heart of what Jesus’s birth means.”

REFLECTION/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Isaiah 2:1-5. Kenny described this “puzzle piece” as a promise. What do you think he meant by that? What is being promised?

2. Read Matthew 24:36-44. Kenny described this “piece” as a paradox. What do you think he meant by that? Why is “hopeless” to think we can be “ready,” based on this story?

3. Read Romans 13:11-14. Kenny described this “piece” as a presence. What do you think he meant by that? Who is being present?

4. How can presence help to answer the riddle created by the first two “pieces?” What might this have to do with “hope”?

5. Hope has much to do with our imagination: it requires us to stay focused on God’s faithfulness, even when it can be hard to see how it is manifested in the world. How does this kind of attention bring “light” into our lives? What gets in the way of that?

6. What patterns or practices can help keep us “hopeful”?

7. Do you feel hopeful today? Why or why not? How might these verses and ideas bring you comfort?

8. At the end of the message, Kenny tied our ability to “carry hope” to the story of Mary and Joseph. What is the connection? How can reflecting on their experiences give us a clearer sense of our own hopes?