To what degree do you desire God? What are the different desires you have? Are these desires greater or less than your desire for God? Do you have the desire to desire God?

We have many desires in this life. But no desire is greater than our desire for God, because in God all our other desires find their place.

The Psalmist wrote, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.” (Psalm 73:25, ESV).

All our desires fall short of God’s perfect fulfillment of all our heart’s longings. All our desires find their perfect contentment in God.

What does all of creation say about our God who created all things?

God’s good creation speaks of God. All of creation is glorious as it declares the glory of our God who made it.

The Psalmist writes, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." (Psalm 19:1).

The visible created world speaks of God and his invisible qualities and attributes. God reveals himself in his creation so we can know him and be in relationship with him.

What is the importance of a renewed life? How does renewal occur in your life?

There is the old life, and then there is the new life God has in store for you.

We cannot experience renewal of life if we are holding relentlessly to the old life.

Renewal of life is something that God does as we yield our wills to God’s will. A renewed life occurs as we lay down our former way of life and apprehend the life God has for us.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Ephesus encouraging them to “Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24, ESV).

What are your worries and anxieties? What value do your worries and anxieties add to your life? Are you happy with them?

Worries and anxieties are an unwelcome part of life. They are a reality, but they do not add value or significance. Worries and anxieties rob us of God’s best for our lives.

Jesus asked this question about our worries, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:27, NIV).

There is no value in our worries or in our anxieties—they do not add value to our lives.

What kind of good fruit is your life producing? If someone looked at your life and the fruit you produce, what kind of plant would you be?

As people of God, we are to live fruitful lives towards one another in this world. Our lives are to produce kingdom fruit. We are to be good trees—bearing an abundance of good fruit.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew’s gospel: “You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:16, ESV).

The world will recognize us by the fruit we produce.

What hope do you have that you hold on to in order to endure this life?

In the face of trials and difficulties, we have a true and living hope that we can cling to so that we might endure and press through.

The Prophet Jeremiah wrote, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'" (Lamentations 3:22-24, ESV).

God’s love never stops. God’s mercy never runs out. God’s love and mercy are renewed daily. God’s faithfulness towards us is astounding. God has all we need and more. Our hope to endure is in the Lord.

What level of sacrifice is required to truly serve another? What do sacrifice and service have in common—how do they relate to one another?

Selfless service requires self-sacrifice. Service and sacrifice go hand in hand. We can make a sacrifice without serving, but we can seldom serve well without sacrifice.

In John’s gospel account, Jesus said it this way, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, ESV).

Is the church a place you go to or a people you belong to? Is the church an organization or is it a living organism?

As followers of Jesus, we are the body of Christ. We are the people of God in the world. As the church, we are to embody Christ to one another and to the world. We are the church.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Corinth assuring them that they are the church. Paul said, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

In his letter to the Romans, Paul proclaimed, “For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” (Romans 12:4-5).

How big is your faith? Have you ever struggled to have faith? How much faith in God is impactful for us and for our world?

A little faith goes a long way.

It may be true that we have more faith than we realize in our little faith.

If we are lacking in faith, we can seek God in prayer and ask God to increase our faith.

Our seeking God for faith is an act of faith. This little act of faith can uproot and plant.

How do you hold grief? How to you move through life when saddled with grief?

With loss comes grief. We all encounter loss and grief in different times and to various degrees in our lives.

Grief and loss are inevitable for those of us who live and love in family and in community—in this broken, sinful, and fallen world.

Grief is natural and should be expected when we loose someone we love and care about.

Everyone grieves and processes loss in their own way and in their own time. While there is no prescribed way to grieve, we should not go at it alone and God’s word gives us sound counsel concerning our griefs and sorrows.

How will we know when Jesus will come again? What should we anticipate at his return?

Just like we discern the seasons and can discern the patterns of the weather, we can anticipate the second coming of Jesus. We can discern the end of this age and the soon and coming Kingdom of God.

When Jesus returns, he will come in his perfect and discernible timing. Jesus himself told the Parable of the Fig Tree to encourage his followers in how to be watchful for his return.

LIn Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus said, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates.” (Matthew 24:32-33, ESV).

Will those who have died and gone to be with Jesus miss out when Jesus comes again?

When Jesus comes again, no one will miss out on his glorious return. Not only will Jesus return and bring with him the great cloud of witnesses—all the saints who previously died, he will also give them their resurrected bodies and they will join the meeting in the air and return with Jesus to usher in his Kingdom.

Paul told the Thessalonians: “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16, ESV).

What hope do we have in the face of death? How is our hope informed? What is the basis for our hope at the end of this life?

Death is assured in this broken life—in this sin ravaged body—in this sin laden world. We grieve death and we anticipate our own death with feelings of disheartened grief. We grieve. However, we do not grieve without hope.

Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, we have hope in him for our own resurrection from death. We also have hope that Jesus will bring with him all the saints who have died and gone before us when he comes again.

The Apostle Paul wrote the church in Thessalonica, saying, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, ESV).

When we await Jesus’ return, what is it that we are truly waiting for? What can we anticipate with the return of Jesus at his second coming?

Jesus came to die for our sins—once and for all. When we face judgement at the end of days, the verdict will be ‘not guilty’, because Jesus sacrificed himself to do away with our sin and guilt. And when Jesus returns, he will rescue those who are eagerly waiting for him.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Jesus has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:26-28, ESV).

What do the people in power need from the powerful people of a powerful God?

People in power need the fervent prayers of God’s people.

God gives authority to those who govern us and God gives us the privilege and power of prayer and intercession for those in power to do God’s work and God’s will in this world.

The Apostle Paul wrote to his disciple , Timothy, saying, “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2, ESV).

What are we looking forward to? When we consider all who we have lost this side of eternity, how much more are we looking forward to meeting them again?

Death brings such sudden departure of those we love and long for. We yearn for reunion with those we love and miss who have died and gone before us. We look forward to the day of restoration and reunification with those we love and cherish. We long for resurrection.

God gave the Apostle John a reunion Revelation. John wrote, “I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9-10, ESV).

Have you ever felt lonely and experienced isolation? Have you ever experienced intimacy with another—so close you felt perfectly at peace and one with that person?

We were never meant to be alone or to feel lonely. Because God is always with us, we have never been alone. God desires for us to experience his presence and oneness with him.

The Psalmist writes, “For the LORD will not forsake his people, nor abandon his inheritance.” (Psalm 94:14).

God will never leave us, abandon us or forsake us. God is with us and for us. We are not alone.

What do you do to keep going when you feel like you cannot move forward? When hardships hit you, how do you find the strength to push through and to endure?

Life can be challenging and difficulties and hardships can arise. This broken world can stifle us and can be depressive. Troubles can leave us in a state of discouragement and paralysis and it can be hard to move ahead.

In the face of hardships, when we feel like we cannot go on, we can find the encouragement we need to endure in the word of God and in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who endured all things so that we would be able to endure and to keep going.

What kinds of people does Jesus call to follow him? When Jesus chose his disciples, what does their character say about him?

Jesus calls all kinds of people to follow him. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them prayerfully and intentionally.

Jesus called hot-headed fishermen, someone who would deny him, the unknown, devout Jews, siblings, a hated tax collector, doubters, the well known, religious Zealots, people from good families, and even a betrayer to follow him as his Apostles.

The Gospel of Luke tells us, “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (Luke 6:12–16, ESV)

What is your work? Where do you find purpose in your life? What brings you great joy and pleasure in life?

Our work is supposed to give us purpose, joy, and pleasure in our lives. Our work is supposed to be meaningful. Our work is supposed to be joyful and pleasurable.

Because of the fall of humanity and the brokenness of this world, our work is not always meaningful, purposeful, joyful, or pleasurable. However, it is God’s good design for our work to flourish and to be meaningful.

The wise preacher, most likely wise King Solomon, wrote, “I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12-13, ESV).