November 30, 2025

Advent 2025 - The Promise of Hope

Icebreaker
Have you ever experienced a moment when you felt like you were lost, in darkness, or moving blindly through a blizzard?
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Study Questions

1. Isaiah 9:1-7 speaks to people living in “deep darkness.” What forms of darkness were they facing, and how does that help us understand the weight of their hope?
2. In Isaiah 9:6, why is the promise of a child so significant? What does this reveal about how God chooses to bring hope into the world?
3. Isaiah describes the Messiah using four names—Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Which of these titles strikes you most deeply right now, and why?
   1. Wonderful Counselor—the Messiah brings wisdom where there is confusion.
   2. Mighty God—the Messiah provides strength when there is weakness.
   3. Everlasting Father—the Messiah has love that never quits.
   4. Prince of Peace—the Messiah brings calm in the midst of chaos.
4. Pastor Jim is encouraging us all to choose one of these titles or words to focus on for centering our prayers and hope this Advent season. Which one are you choosing?
5. What does it mean that the government rests on His shoulders and not ours or that it's the zeal of the Lord, not ours that accomplishes this? How does that shift the way we think about hope?

Application Questions

1. Where do you feel the greatest “darkness” in your life right now—confusion, weakness, chaos, loneliness, or something else—and what would it look like to invite Jesus into that space?
2. Jesus is the source of wisdom in confusion, strength in weakness, calm in chaos, and love in loneliness. Which of these do you most need this week, and why?
3. Advent calls us to press on in hope. What is one concrete step you can take this week to “fix your eyes on Christ our Light”?
4. Where do you see God still redeeming the world—or your story—even in small ways?

Prayer
As a group, pray for one another by naming specific places of darkness where you need the hope of Christ this week. Ask Jesus, our Light, to shine into those places with wisdom, strength, calm, love, and renewed hope. Then take time to share and pray for one another’s personal requests.