1. What stood out to you from the sermon today?
2. Where are you currently in a “waiting season”? What does waiting feel like for you right now?
3. Read Luke 2:25-32 and Psalm 130:-16. What stands out to you about how Simeon waited for God’s promise?
4. The sermon described Advent as not a story of self-improvement, control, or fixing ourselves, but of God interrupting history. In what ways do we still try to “fix” our waiting instead of inhabiting it? How might this resistance prevent us from experiencing hope?
5. What is one feeling you’ve been hesitant to bring honestly to God? What might change if you named it in prayer this week without trying to fix it?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and being involved in today’s discussion!

These questions are a starting point to help spark reflection and conversation on today’s message. Feel free to adapt or add your own.

1. Can you think of a time when it was hard to keep caring — but you chose to stay kind or patient anyway? What helped you not give up on love, kindness, or grace?

2. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas stayed in prison even after God opened the doors — a surprising choice! Why do you think they stayed when escaping seemed like the obvious answer?
What might this story teach us about how to respond when doors in our lives seem open or closed?

3. Jesus “loved His own to the end” (John 13:1), even when that love was misunderstood or rejected. What’s the difference between love that stays out of compassion and love that stays out of fear or obligation? How can we tell when staying is faithful — and when stepping back might actually be the more loving choice?

4. In Matthew 24, Jesus warned that “the love of many will grow cold.” Where do you see love growing cold today — in the world, the church, or even in your own heart? What helps keep love warm and steady when it’s tested?

5. Think about one relationship or situation in your life that needs “love that stays.” What might it look like to love faithfully in that space this week — through patience, prayer, forgiveness, or presence? How can we as a community help each other keep going when love feels costly?

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and being involved in today’s discussion!