During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
As Christians, we have eternal hope that we will live forever with God in heaven. That hope can bring light and hope in our darkest times. But often in the struggles of our daily experiences, we forget that God gives us hope in this life as well. We struggle to get through our difficulties instead of relying on the strength, patience, and encouragement that come from a deep relationship with the Lord. We can never be hopeless when we are connected to the Source of all hope!
Think about a time you felt hopeless. Did you find hope in the One who cares about every detail of your life? Did you seek encouragement from God and His Word? Having a relationship with God can give you hope, even in difficult times, so commit to spending more time with God and resting in His comfort and love. Scripture brings encouragement, so read it, pray it, and share it. Embrace the light that brings hope in this life and the next, and let God’s hope fill every empty, dark place in your life.
Encourage the teens to ask their family members, “What gives you hope?” They can then share that trusting in and obeying God can help us to have unwavering hope that brings joy to our lives.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet students warmly as they arrive. Ask them to describe a funny or interesting dream they have had. Invite them to share their stories with others. When you are ready to begin class, ask the following question of the whole group.
What do you hope for more than anything?
We all have hopes and dreams. There are things we hope we will get or do and things we hope will happen. Let’s play a game to learn a bit more about hope.
Choose 4 different areas in your teaching space. Give each area a number: 1, 2, 3, or 4. Then choose someone to be the caller. Give that person the bottle. Have the rest of the teens choose which of the 4 areas they would like to stand in and quietly gather there. The caller will then spin the bottle. When the bottle stops, the caller will say the number of the area that is closest to the open end of the bottle. All of the students who are in that area will be out of the game. They should sit down.
Repeat the process, having the teens choose numbered areas and choosing a different caller each time. Continue repeating this process until only 1 teen is left. That teen is the winner. If all of the teens are eliminated, the caller wins the game.
If possible, play the game again. Then gather the teens for discussion.
When you were standing in 1 of the numbered areas, what were you thinking?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their thoughts. They will likely say that they were hoping their number would not be called.
Why were you hoping your number would not be called?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their thoughts.
The kind of hope we had during this game is a feeling. It is a desire or expectation that something will happen, but we are not sure it will happen. Today we are going to learn about a different kind of hope—the kind that comes from faith in God. We can have confidence in this kind of hope.
The Bible teaches us that God is trustworthy and always keeps His promises. We do not have to just wish that He will do what He promised. He will. Listen to what the Bible tells us about this kind of hope:
Have a student read Hebrews 11:1 aloud from the Bible. If that is not possible, the verse is printed here for you.
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
What does assurance mean?
Assurance is certainty and confidence about something.
Is this the same kind of hope we had when we were playing the game?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their answers. Then guide them to understand that it is a different kind of hope. The hope in the game was a desire, but there was no assurance it would happen.
Where do you think the hope in this verse comes from?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their answers. Then guide them to understand that it is a result of our faith in God, who is unfailing.
This kind of confident hope is an important part of growing in Christian faith. This type of hope means to expect with confidence. It is based on who God is and what He has said. It does not depend on circumstances or luck like our game did. It helps us to trust God when we experience difficulties. It helps us when we are afraid or doubtful. It helps us when we feel guilty or ashamed. Any time our situations seem hopeless and we feel helpless, we can find hope in God. Listen to what the Bible tells us about growing in faith:
Rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.
1 Timothy 4:7–10
What is the basis for our confident hope?
Allow 2–3 teens to share their answers. Then guide them to understand that it is the knowledge that God will do what He has promised, and He has promised eternal life to those who believe in Him.
This Bible passage tells us that training in godliness, the things we have been learning in the past few lessons, can help us to live in hopeful ways. The more we trust God and in His promises, the more hope we will have. This is because our hope is set on God! We can trust everything He says and does because of what He has already done. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. This gift of grace took away our guilt and shame and restored our relationship with God.
This hope helps us in 2 ways. First, when we accept God’s gift of grace, our lives change forever. We are forgiven and are no longer separated from God. Because of this, someday those of us who love and follow Jesus will live with Him for all of eternity. What is amazing is that this new life that lasts forever begins right away. We are forgiven, and we no longer carry the guilt and shame for our sin. We are made new in Christ! We are also given the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides us as we learn to live in ways that please God. This gives us great hope because we no longer have to depend on ourselves!
Optional: If you are using The NIV Action Study Bible, the teens can read more about Jesus’ second coming and eternal life with Him in the “What About This?” section near Revelation 22.
Sometimes if we are facing difficulties or find ourselves giving in to temptation and sin, we may feel a lack of hope. But the hope God gives helps in this life, too! It reminds us that God has overcome evil. He is more powerful than anything or anyone else. No situation, no temptation is greater than His love and redemption. We may still struggle with our sinful desires, and we are still faced with temptation. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be transformed to become more like Jesus. This changes the ways we think and act. This gives us hope as we learn that we can trust God in every area of our lives.
How can we grow in this kind of hope? Let’s learn what the Bible teaches about developing hope.
Divide the teens into 4 groups. Give each group 1 of the Bible verses from the end of the lesson. Give them 5 minutes to create a short skit to show that verse in action. Then have each group share their verse and skit with the whole class. After each skit, ask the questions following that verse as seen below.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:1
What does this verse teach us about hope?
We can find joy in our hope.
What other attitudes does this verse teach us to have?
We should be patient when we are struggling, and we should pray faithfully.
How could prayer and patience help us to develop hope?
Both prayer and patience help us to develop a more trusting relationship with God, who is the source of our hope.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Romans 5:2–5
Where does this verse tell us that hope comes from?
Suffering produces perseverance, which produces character, which produces hope.
How does suffering help us to develop hope?
In times of suffering, we learn to trust more fully in God, who is the source of our hope.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
Romans 15:4
How does this verse teach us that we can develop hope?
We can develop hope through hearing how God was faithful in the past, enduring in difficult times, and gaining encouragement from Scripture.
How could these things help us to develop hope?
Reading the Bible helps us to understand God’s will and His ways. Hearing testimonies of how God was faithful to others or even to us in the past can encourage us. Endurance through times of difficulty helps us to trust God more as the source of our hope.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23
What does this verse teach us about hope?
We can trust in the hope that comes from God because He is always faithful.
How could hope that does not waver help in difficult times?
We can rely on our hope in God at all times because He is always trustworthy.
When all of the groups have presented their verses and skits, have the students take their regular seats.
Here are some things we have learned about hope:
First, hope in the Lord gives us strength. The world we live in teaches us to be confident in our own abilities and to rely on ourselves for strength. But our strength is not enough to sustain us. God’s strength is endless.
Hope in the Lord teaches us patience. When we face problems that we cannot solve with our own strength, we must learn to pray and wait for God to bring resolution. We can learn to trust in His timing and find peace and comfort in knowing that He loves us and will do what is best for us.
Finally, hope in the Lord brings encouragement. When we face struggles in life, we can be encouraged that God is working for our best. We can also be encouraged that we will be with Him for all of eternity, where there will be no pain, shame, guilt, fear, or evil.
This hope begins as soon as we choose to follow Jesus. But it also grows over time so that we can rejoice even when we are suffering. It is based on our relationship with God. So, as we begin to love and trust God more, our hope in Him grows. Listen to what the apostle Paul said about this:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Philippians 3:12–16
Paul compared growing in faith and obedience to God to a journey. In what ways do you think maturing in faith and developing hope could be a journey?
There are some important instructions in these verses. We are encouraged to continue to grow in faith. We choose to move forward from our past mistakes and poor choices and “press on” toward growth in our relationship with God. We can ask God for guidance as we grow so we know we are growing in the ways He desires for us. Finally, we live up to the hope we have because God, who is the source of our hope, is always good and faithful.
Have a teen read Philippians 3:13–16 aloud.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Philippians 3:12–16
Divide the teens into 4 groups. Have the groups go to the different areas used in the Connecting section of the lesson. Have the teens stand in circles in their groups.
Our spiritual journeys are like pieces of artwork. We have beautiful places of growth and ugly broken places where we may grow even more. As we think of our spiritual journeys, we will work together to create a work of art.
In an earlier lesson, we thought about our journeys of faith. I am going to ask you the same questions again. Think about how your answers may have changed since the first time we did this activity. Then, after each question, we will respond by creating a beautiful mosaic.
Now think of 1 thing you have learned in this lesson or 1 of the other lessons that you would like to use in your own life to help you to grow in faith. Think of 1 practical step you can take to learn to trust in and obey God more and to develop more hope in your life. Share that practical step with the rest of your group.
Optional:
If you have paper and pencils, allow the teens to create mosaics on paper. They can draw symbols and write words to represent the different events in their lives that have helped them to grow closer to God. They should also include symbols or words to indicate what they would like their relationships with God to be like. They can draw their spiritual journeys in the form of a map or a road, if they would like to. Encourage them to write 1 practical step they can take to move forward in their journey of faith.
If you are using the Student Pages, the teens can do the activity on their pages. If you have glue available, allow them to glue their leaves and sticks onto their pages.
End of Option
Close with a blessing based on Romans 15:13:
Blessing: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. May you abound in overflow with hope as you grow in faith and learn to trust and obey God through the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Lead the students in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
