True Story: Embracing Hope and Unconditional Love

### Bible Study Discussion Guide

#### Bible Reading
1. **Luke 2:25-38 (NIV)**
> "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.' The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.' There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem."

2. **Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)**
> "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

3. **Romans 5:8 (NIV)**
> "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

#### Observation Questions
1. What was Simeon waiting for, and how did he recognize Jesus as the Messiah? (Luke 2:25-32)
2. How did Anna respond when she saw Jesus, and what did she do afterward? (Luke 2:36-38)
3. According to Proverbs 13:12, what happens when hope is deferred?
4. How does Romans 5:8 describe God's love for us, and what does it say about our condition when Christ died for us?

#### Interpretation Questions
1. What does Simeon's and Anna's recognition of Jesus as the Messiah teach us about the nature of hope and faith? (Luke 2:25-38)
2. How does the pastor's comparison of Santa Claus and Jesus highlight the difference between conditional and unconditional love? [34:38]
3. In what ways does the story of Simeon and Anna encourage believers to remain faithful and hopeful, even when God's promises seem delayed? [29:25]
4. How does the pastor's story from the Franco-Prussian War illustrate the importance of hope in the human spirit? [21:49]

#### Application Questions
1. Reflect on a time when you felt your hope was deferred. How did it affect you, and what helped you to hold on to hope? (Proverbs 13:12)
2. The pastor mentioned that Jesus came to show love to those who did not deserve it. How can you demonstrate unconditional love to someone in your life this week? [34:38]
3. Simeon and Anna were faithful and hopeful for many years. What is something you are still hoping for and have not given up on? How can you remain steadfast in your faith during this waiting period? [29:25]
4. The pastor asked the congregation what they were still hoping for and had not given up on. What is one specific promise from God that you are holding onto, and how can you remind yourself of His faithfulness? [22:51]
5. The pastor invited those who had never invited Christ into their hearts to pray and accept Him. If you have already accepted Christ, how can you support and celebrate new believers in your community? [39:58]
6. How can you create an environment in your church or small group that welcomes and cherishes the involvement of children, seeing their presence as a blessing? [07:47]
7. The pastor emphasized that no place is too common, no person too hardened, and no distance too far for God's love to reach. How can you extend God's love to someone who might feel unreachable or undeserving? [37:23]

Day 1: Unearned Love, Unconditional Grace
God's love is a gift, not a reward for our deeds. It is a radical grace that embraces us despite our unworthiness, offering freedom and redemption. This love is the bedrock of faith, challenging the notion that favor with God can be earned. [32:20]

Titus 3:4-5 - "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit."
Reflection: How does understanding God's unconditional love change the way you view your relationship with Him and with others?

Day 2: The Blessing of Youthful Presence
The sounds of children in a church are not distractions but manifestations of life and growth. Their presence is a testament to a thriving community and the potential for a future rich in faith. [05:25]

Psalm 127:3-4 - "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth."
Reflection: In what ways can you contribute to nurturing the faith and involvement of the younger generation in your church community?

Day 3: Hope Anchored in Divine Promises
Christian hope is a steadfast expectation rooted in the promises of God. It is not mere wishful thinking but a trust in God's unwavering faithfulness and His power to accomplish the extraordinary. [29:18]

Hebrews 6:19 - "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain."
Reflection: What promise of God are you holding onto today, and how does this hope shape your perspective on current challenges?

Day 4: Faithfulness in the Unseen
The stories of Simeon and Anna remind us that recognition of God's work often happens away from the spotlight. Their faith and patience exemplify the reward of steadfast devotion and the importance of every role in God's plan. [26:23]

Luke 2:25-26 - "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah."
Reflection: How can you remain faithful and devoted in your service to God, even when your contributions seem unnoticed or undervalued?

Day 5: Transformation Through Surrender
Surrendering to Christ is a life-altering decision that brings forgiveness, purpose, and a new beginning. It is a moment of joy and the start of a journey supported by a community of believers. [39:34]

2 Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
Reflection: What steps can you take today to deepen your commitment to Christ and to support those who are new in their faith journey?

Nice, good job, good job, awesome, awesome.

I think you were the one who would just stand there. No?

It's great to see you again three times in one day. Wow, we must be Baptist. That's awesome, man.

Come back, come back. We're so honored and blessed that you're here tonight, and we love it when the kids are with us. Did you enjoy the kids? Give them another hand.

Yeah, a lot of good goodies. My favorite is that white chocolate macadamia.

At the end of the service, you can drop your connection card in the buckets as you leave, and if you have a tithe or offering, you can put it in the bucket, or you can use any of the little drop boxes we had on each side, or at the end, but we're just honored, so honored that you are here today.

And I better make up for this morning, you look good. Pastor Ben, I think we better pray.

Wow, what a great time to celebrate the birth of our Savior. You know, that's really what it's all about. And we're just honored again that you would be with us tonight.

And listen, those of you that have children with you, don't get upset if they make noise. This is, we're all in here together. I would rather have kids making noise than have a church where you have no kids. How about that, right?

Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you this morning services for those that surrendered their heart to you, for those that were healed.

And Lord, we come tonight for this time with families to remember again and celebrate you and give you thanks for coming to this earth and rescuing us from ourselves.

We ask you to bless this service tonight and everyone that's here in your name, Jesus, amen.

And would you stand and worship with us as we sing tonight? Merry Christmas.

Well, Merry Christmas to you. It's so good to see you tonight. It's great to have my family with me tonight. Kelly just got back from Greece. Three months over there serving. She'll be sharing her testimony here as we get into the new year.

But we're so thankful. And Matt, I loved your jokes. I think he went that way. But I think Al does better.

Here's just a couple of more that he gave me while I'm trying to work out. You'd think my trainer wouldn't interrupt my workout. But he's always saying, here's another one, here's another one.

So I think this one, Danielle, I think this one was dedicated to you. What is the mother of twins' favorite Christmas song? Silent night.

And I don't know where Simone is, but here's the other one. What is the vegan's favorite Christmas song? Soy to the world.

Sorry, I just it just starts off better. Maybe it gets better in a minute, all right?

Father, we thank you for this great time to just celebrate you. Thank you for these wonderful kids. Thank you for those who work with our kids' ministry, teaching them scripture, teaching them how to worship you.

But Lord, as we come tonight in these final few minutes of just reminding ourselves again as a family of what Christmas is all about, I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would anoint me tonight.

Don't let me say anything I shouldn't say, but let me say everything I should say. Help us to understand the scripture tonight.

And at the end of this teaching, may you be glorified. May the saints be edified and may the devil be terrified in your name, Jesus. Amen.

In the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 on Christmas Eve, true story, a French soldier stood up in the middle of the fight, out of the trench, unarmed, facing the Germans, and he broke out singing the song, "Oh, Holy Night."

Listen to the words of this.

Oh, Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.

And the next line, do you remember the first three words? A thrill, four words, a thrill of hope, a thrill of hope.

The weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

So for just a few minutes tonight, I want to talk about that. The thrill of hope, the thrill of hope.

They say that we can live 40 days without food, three days without water, eight minutes without air, but we can't live a second without hope.

The human spirit needs hope to thrive. Hope is one thing that we need more than anything else.

I was reading this week and one expert, a physician said, since my early years as a physician, I learned that taking away hope is for most people like pronouncing a death sentence.

Their already hard-pressed will to live can become paralyzed, and they may give up and die.

The prophet, wonderful King Solomon, 2500 years earlier said this in Proverbs 13 and 12, hope deferred makes the heart sick.

In other words, hope that you just keep putting off hope and you don't have hope. I like how one translation says it, when hope is crushed, the heart is crushed.

So I'd like to ask you tonight, what is it that you're still waiting for, that you're hoping for, that you haven't given up on?

Anybody here tonight hoping for something, waiting for something, and you have not given up on it, would you proudly raise your hand and say, I've not given up, I'm still full of hope about this?

Maybe it's for your healing, maybe it's for a lost son or daughter, maybe it's for the blessings in your own life.

Maybe you're looking for a husband, you're looking for a wife, as long as you're already not married, okay? As long as you're already not married.

In these days, I have to clarify things, all right?

I want to share with you tonight two people that were part of the backstage crew during our Savior's birth and the phenomenon around that.

They didn't write any books. You won't find them in the Hebrew Hall of Faith because they were ordinary people.

I mean, when we think about the Christmas story, we think about the angels, the wise men, we think about Mary, we think about Joseph, we think about the baby Jesus.

Some of you think about Santa Claus and the reindeer. But these people are the backstage people. They're in the shadows. You never really would think about them.

But the thing that they have is that they have a hope that would not give up, a hope that would wait even if it took years to wait to see the answer for their hope.

Now, how many of you don't raise your hand, but when you go to the movies, you stay for the end credits?

Hardly any of us stay unless you know there's going to be a trailer to the next movie. I don't know many of you that can tell me what the first grip of the second camera was in the last movie that you went to.

I mean, we look at all that and we don't really know who the musical researcher was or who the runner of the second camera was because we came for the movie.

But all of those backstage people that you never see on the movie screen is why that movie is so good.

Now, if you have a son or a daughter that's a grip on one of those movies, I'm sure you stay and wait and take a picture of that.

But Luke introduces us, and you can turn with me into Luke chapter 2 if you want, and we'll also have it up on the Sky Bible, but Luke introduces us to Jesus the Savior who was born.

Then he talks to us about eyewitnesses who saw that. He's a careful historian and he's very fastidious, and he shows us Jesus, eight days old, presented in the temple, and he introduces us to two people, Simeon and Anna.

You never see Simeon and Anna on a Christmas card, but they were the ones when Jesus was brought eight days old to be dedicated, they were the ones that recognized that he was the Messiah.

Here's how the story reads from Dr. Luke, verse 25. At that time, there was at that time when Jesus came to the temple when his parents brought him to be dedicated, at that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon.

He was righteous and devout, and look at this line, read it with me, eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.

The Holy Spirit was on him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

He's probably an old man by now, and I imagine somebody saying, if you keep eating that second helping, you're going to die.

And he says, oh, no, I'm not going to die until I see the Messiah. What a line to have, right?

I mean, as some of us say, you know what, I don't think I'm going to die until I see Jesus coming in the air to take us home.

Could be a lot of you that are here. I'm not sure I'll be around, but I'll be watching you.

The day the Spirit led him to the temple, so when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby, Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there.

He took the child in his arms and he praised God, saying, Sovereign Lord, now you can let your servant die in peace, as you promised.

For I've seen your salvation, which you prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations. He is the glory of the people of Israel.

Jesus's parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, the baby's mother, This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise.

He has been sent as a sign from God and many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your very soul.

And that happened as she watched her son pierced through with the spear on his crucifixion.

Now here's the other, Anna. Anna was a prophet and she was there in the temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher and she was very old.

Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to the age of 84.

She never left the temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God, fasting and praying.

She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

Constantly waiting.

Now you read this and many times I thought, well, Simeon was the high priest that was going to dedicate or the priest that was going to dedicate Jesus.

But we don't read that in the scriptures. He was just a man that believed that the Messiah was coming and he would not give up his hope even though he had watched for years.

He'd watched so many things happening. And here he is. He's on the temple mount, 45 acres the temple mount is, 45 acres, Joseph and Mary are bringing Jesus up to dedicate him.

Simeon and Anna are somewhere on the grounds of that 45 acres.

Now Simeon and Anna have nothing to do with Joseph and Mary. They don't even know each other. And as far as we know, Simeon didn't even really know Anna.

So here they are, 45 acres, hundreds of thousands of people there on that 45 acres for that moment.

But all of a sudden we see that Simeon and Anna are drawn to what they've been hoping for all of their life to see the Messiah.

Someone gave a definition of hope like this. Listen to this. Hope is a confident expectation.

In other words, hope is not a dream. Hope is a confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill the promises he's made for you.

Anybody here tonight has a promise from God that you know without a shadow of a doubt and maybe you haven't seen that yet.

I'm telling you, he's not only faithful, but he's able to do it. We saw it this morning. For with God, nothing is impossible.

In the world we're living in today, people mock those of us that are believers. And they say, oh, you're one of those Bible thumpers.

You know, you mean you believe and you really believe that Jesus came to shed his blood so that you could have salvation for eternity.

You need to live in the real world, dude. That's what they tell us.

My response to them is, listen, I live in the real world. I face the same problems you face. I put my pants on one leg at a time.

I have headaches. I have aches and pains just like you do. I live in the real world.

But the thing about my real world is I know there's another really real world that's beyond this world, and I've already been able to see that.

In the Matrix movie, the whole premise, as best as I can understand, is that we live in a computer virtual reality program.

And very few people actually penetrate beyond the veil to see reality.

In the first movie, Morpheus tells Neo, you take the blue pill and you wake up in your own bed and you believe whatever you want to believe.

But if you take the red pill, you wake up in Wonderland. He said most people take the blue pill and wake up and dictate their own reality.

How many of you have taken the red pill, the blood of Jesus Christ, that helps you see beyond what everybody else sees in the here and now?

And you know, even as we're sitting here, yep, you're right, Knox. You're so true with that one. He's got his hand up. He's there.

And the reality is that we know that there is such a powerful world beyond where we are.

I mean, you can even sense it. Maybe you're even an unchurched person that hasn't been to church in years, or maybe you've never been and somebody bribed you and said, if you'll come tonight, I'll give you a good Christmas present.

Or if you don't, I'll take it away. I don't know why you're here.

But the moment you walked in the door and you came in this auditorium, even as the kids sing, you sensed the presence of God because you know that there's something more real than what is around us.

So I know all the kids are in here tonight. So I'd like for your kids to help me to sing this very religious hymn.

Can we sing it? Let's sing this hymn together, all right?

All right, let's get ready. Let's get ready. What's that song telling us?

It says if you're good, Santa Claus will show up and give you a gift. But if you're bad, you might get a lump of coal or he might just pass over your house.

Every world religion except for Christianity teaches the same thing. If you're good enough, if you're good enough, if you make the journey to the place, if you turn over a leaf and you do good and you work really hard, then maybe, then maybe you'll make it, but not Christianity.

God sent his only son Jesus to find you and to find me, not because we've been good, but because we look at our own life and we say, I need a change, I need help.

How many of you tonight are so thankful that Jesus came and found you?

Everything about Jesus, his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, defies the concept of a Santa Claus.

Jesus didn't come to show his love to those who deserved it. He came to show his love to people who did not deserve his love.

Scripture says, while I was yet a sinner in my sin, Christ died for me. He loved me.

You see, the amazing thing is you can be a believer here tonight, and you've been a believer for 50 years, and you served God all of your life, and God loves you.

But you can also be here tonight and be a rebel running from God, and he loves you just as much.

I mean, that just doesn't fit in my mind, that even while you were so far and so long away from God, he loved you, he kept knocking on your door, he kept showing up in different ways to show that he was the God who loved you and cared for you.

He came to show God's love.

The song said, Santa is coming, be good. God's message is, Christ has come, be free.

See, it doesn't matter who you are, what you have, where you've been, or what you've done.

God can and will accept you and love you when you come to him and say, Jesus, I'm going to transfer my trust.

I've been trying to do it all on my own. I've been trying to be successful. I've been trying to be a great person. I've been trying to do all of that.

But even in the midst of all of that, I know down on the inside of my heart, I'm really not where I need to be.

Scripture said that if a man confesses with his mouth and believes in his heart that Jesus is Lord, that the Lord will save him and redeem him.

Someone once put it this way. Listen to this. I love this.

The moment Mary touched God's face is the moment God made his case. And here's his case.

That there is no place that he will not go. If he's willing to be born in a barnyard, then expect him to be at work anywhere.

In bars, in bedrooms, in boardrooms, in brothels. No place is too common. No person is too hardened. No distance is too far.

And no person cannot be reached. There's no limit to his love.

When Christ was born, so was our hope. My hope is in him.

Would you bow your heads with me?

Lord Jesus, we thank you tonight that our hope is in you.

Lord, in this world, there's a lot of things that cause us to give up hope. We throw up our hands.

But tonight, Lord, we just focus on your love and your hope.

Lord, I believe that there are some that are sitting here tonight and they've been waiting. They've been waiting for a moment like this to surrender their life to you.

To know that their sins are forgiven. That they have a purpose for living. And they have an eternal home.

See, sometimes the devil will lie to you and he'll say, well, if you become a believer, then you can't do this, you can't do that, you can't do this, you can't do that, you can't have any fun.

Well, I think he came a little late to tell me that I can't have fun. How about you?

But I believe there may be some of you that are here tonight. Maybe you've gone to church all of your life, but you've never invited Jesus into your heart and into your life.

That's the greatest Christmas present. How many more Christmases are you going to let pass and not open God's gift to you?

God's gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Let me just ask you this. I would just love to end out this time tonight with praying with you.

The greatest honor that I would have is to pray with you if you've never invited Christ into your heart and into your life.

So if that's you, I promise I will not embarrass you, but I just want to pray with you.

If that's you tonight, you say, Terry, this is the night for me. This is the night for me that I want to surrender my life.

I know God has been dealing with me. He's been speaking to me. He's been showing his love.

And tonight is the night that I want to say yes to him. I want to open up that present of Christmas.

If that's you, would you raise your hand and make eye contact with me and say, that's me.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you in the back. Thank you. Others, that's me. That's me. That's me.

Thank you. Others today. Just go ahead and raise your hand. Thank you in the back. Thank you. Others today.

Just boldly. I'm ready. Thank you over here. Thank you. Hands going up all over on this Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow will be the greatest day of your life because you know what Christmas is all about.

Let me lead us in a prayer. Would you pray this prayer with me? Everybody pray it together.

Father God, thank you for sending your son Jesus. I ask you to forgive me of my sins.

Come into my life. Be my Savior. Fill me with your Spirit.

As best I know how, I want to serve you all the days of my life in Jesus' name. Amen.

Church, would you celebrate with me with those who raised their hands? Come on.

Listen, in just a moment we're going to stand and we're going to worship in a part of another song.

And those of you who raised your hand and prayed with me, over here there's a place that's called the First Step.

And over here is the First Step. They have some materials and some books that I have to help you on your journey, on this journey that you have.

And I want to say to you parents, thank you for sitting here nervously during this service. Thank you for worrying about your kids.

They didn't bother me one bit. They're all right. We love those kids.

And as you leave tonight, I think there may be some goody bags backed up if you didn't eat everything in before you came.

Grab a bag, take it with you. Hope you come back and be with us next Sunday.

And again, let's stand. Let's worship, part of this song. And those of you who prayed that prayer, be sure to go to the First Step.

"I would rather have kids making noise than have a church where you have no kids. How about that, right?" [07:52] (Download)

"When hope is crushed, the heart is crushed. So I'd like to ask you tonight, what is it that you're still waiting for, that you're hoping for, that you haven't given up on?" [23:18] (Download)

"But the thing that they have is that they have a hope that would not give up, a hope that would wait even if it took years to wait to see the answer for their hope." [24:08] (Download)

"Every world religion except for Christianity teaches the same thing. If you're good enough, if you make the journey to the place, if you turn over a leaf and you do good and you work really hard, then maybe you'll make it, but not Christianity." [34:44] (Download)

"Jesus didn't come to show his love to those who deserved it. He came to show his love to people who did not deserve his love. Scripture says, while I was yet a sinner in my sin, Christ died for me. He loved me." [35:53] (Download)

"God's message is, Christ has come, be free. See, it doesn't matter who you are, what you have, where you've been, or what you've done." [35:53] (Download)

"Hope is a confident expectation that God is willing and able to fulfill the promises he's made for you. Anybody here tonight has a promise from God that you know without a shadow of a doubt and maybe you haven't seen that yet. I'm telling you, he's not only faithful, but he's able to do it." [30:13] (Download)

"Eagerly waiting for the messiah to come, eagerly awaiting for the messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was on him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's messiah." [26:23] (Download)

"She never left the temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God, fasting and prayer. She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph and she began praising God." [28:20] (Download)