Worship - Aug. 23, 2026 10am - "Practicing Hope Together - UMC + Me Week 1

Romans five, chapter five, three through five, teaches that Christian believers can find joy in troubles because hard times build patience, patience builds character, and character builds a strong hope in God’s love. Practicing hope, then, is not wishful thinking or a church slogan. Faith gives hope its real ground, because true hope cannot stand without faith underneath it.

The church’s identity now stands on unfamiliar ground. The question of congregation becomes urgent when people do not congregate like they used to, and when confidence in institutions has gone thin across the culture. The old sturdy vessel image names what many churches inherited: build it big, keep it central, keep the ship running, and assume people will come aboard. The shipwreck image names what many churches now feel as attendance shifts, old models struggle, Wednesday nights grow less alive, and the vessel that once seemed to hold begins to break apart.

Paul’s shipwreck on Malta shows that the broken vessel was not wasted. Malta was not the end of the story, but the beginning of a whole new chapter of ministry. The new shore may not mean God has abandoned the church. The new shore may mean God is inviting the church onto new ground.

The rise of the nuns, the people with no religious affiliation, changes the way the church must see the world around it. Gen Z nuns often did not leave church in anger, because many were never raised in church at all. Their spiritual curiosity is real, but their cultural language is different. The clock exercise shows that what a person sees is conditioned by where that person sits. A shifted position can make the same motion look completely different.

The church’s calling is not to force people onto the old ship. God is the ultimate innovator, and the church’s job is to partner with God’s ongoing innovation through a thousand little experiments. A thousand little experiments looks like small boats instead of one giant battleship. Dunkirk becomes the picture: little boats, fishing vessels, lifeboats, and small launches reaching shallow waters where big ships cannot go.

Church as community space, living space, nourishment space, working space, and growing space shows how faith can move out into the world. The small experiments do not have to save the church by themselves. The question, “is this really church?” meets the resurrection reminder that even Jesus’ closest followers did not recognize him at first glance. A resurrected church may look different from the vessel people grew up with, but different does not mean broken. Faith is where hope begins, and practicing hope means lowering the boats, changing perspective, and meeting people right where they are.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Hope stands on living faith Romans five roots hope in a process God forms through trouble, patience, and character. Hope is not optimism with religious language added to it. Hope becomes strong because faith trusts the love of God while the hard thing is still hard. [41:07]
• 2. Shipwreck may become new ground The breaking of the old vessel does not have to mean abandonment. Paul’s shipwreck on Malta shows that God can use what falls apart to carry people into the next chapter of ministry. The strange shore may be the place where God begins something that the old ship could never reach. [43:54]
• 3. Perspective changes what is seen The clock exercise shows that the same motion can look different when the viewing position changes. The church cannot assume that people raised outside the church see faith from the same angle. Love requires moving toward their side of the clock, not demanding that they first learn the old vantage point. [46:05]
• 4. Small boats reach shallow waters The Dunkirk image gives dignity to small, nimble acts of faithfulness. Big vessels can do big things, but small boats can move into places where large institutions cannot go. A thousand little experiments lets the church practice hope without pretending that one program must save everything. [47:38]
• 5. Resurrection may look unfamiliar The first followers of Jesus did not recognize the risen Christ immediately, which means new life can appear strange at first. A resurrected church may not look like the vessel people remember from childhood. Difference is not the same as brokenness when God is the one making life rise again.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:05] - Practicing Hope Introduced
• [41:07] - Romans Five And Hope
• [41:23] - Hope Cannot Stand Without Faith
• [42:25] - What Is Church Identity?
• [42:59] - The Old Sturdy Vessel
• [43:54] - Shipwreck And Malta
• [44:43] - The Rise Of The Nuns
• [46:05] - The Clock Perspective Exercise
• [47:11] - God The Ultimate Innovator
• [47:38] - Dunkirk And Small Boats
• [48:16] - A Thousand Little Experiments
• [49:57] - Is This Really Church?
• [50:49] - Lower The Boats
• [66:43] - Closing Amen

Bible Reading

Romans 5:3-5
“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.” [41:07]

Acts 28:1-10
“Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, ‘This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.’ But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.” [43:54]

Luke 24:13-35
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him. He asked them, ‘What are you discussing together as you walk along?’ They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, ‘Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘About Jesus of Nazareth,’ they replied. ‘He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.’ He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. But they urged him strongly, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.” [50:17]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 5:3-5, what is the sequence Paul gives from suffering to hope, and what does he say God has poured into believers’ hearts?
2. In Acts 28:1-10, what happened after Paul and the others reached Malta, and what kinds of ministry took place on that unfamiliar shore? [44:10]
3. In the clock exercise, what changed: the motion itself, or the position of the person watching it? What point does that make about perception? [46:05]
4. What are some of the “small boats” or “little experiments” named here for bringing faith out into the world? [48:16]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 5 says suffering can lead to hope. How does that differ from pretending hardship is good, and what does it suggest about the kind of hope Christians are meant to practice? [41:23]
2. Paul’s shipwreck became the beginning of ministry on Malta. What might that say about seasons when old church patterns feel like they are breaking apart? [43:54]
3. Many people today did not leave church angrily; they simply were never formed by it. How should that change the way Christians interpret spiritual curiosity in people around them? [45:31]
4. Jesus’ followers did not recognize him at first after the resurrection. How does that help a group think about new forms of church life that feel unfamiliar at first glance? [50:15]

Application questions

1. Where is life feeling hard right now, and how might God be forming perseverance, character, and hope in that very place instead of only after it passes? [41:07]
2. Has there been a moment when something that felt like shipwreck later became new ground? What helped faith hold on long enough to see that? [44:18]
3. Who in everyday life may be “looking at the clock from a different side” than church people often do? What would it look like to move closer to that person’s point of view without giving up the gospel? [46:51]
4. Which kind of small boat feels most natural in this season: making community space, living space, nourishment space, working space, or growing space? Why does that one stand out? [48:41]
5. What is one small, nimble experiment that could be tried in the next month to love people directly, vulnerably, and authentically? [49:49]
6. Has “Is this really church?” ever risen up in the heart when ministry looked different than expected? What fears or hopes might be underneath that question? [50:08]
7. Faith is where hope begins. What practice right now would help that hope become more active and visible: listening better, showing hospitality, trying something small, or going toward someone who would never step onto the old ship? [50:49]