Reflection & Discussion Questions
These questions are provided to guide your reflections and discussions after each session and can be used in a small group or family setting.
If you are participating on your own and not able to join in discussion with others, try writing your reflections down in a journal to share with someone later.
A printable version of these questions can be found on pages 14-16 of the Steubenville Live Resource Guide.
Friday Session | Jesus Our Hope
- Invite your small group to spend a few minutes with their eyes closed, imagining the scene of the Gospel story and themselves as one of the apostles on the boat. Read it first to remind them what they heard in the talk. What did you see, smell, hear, taste, and/or touch? What was the sea like? What was the boat like? How did you feel? What did you do? What did Jesus look like? What did Jesus do?
- What two words would you use to describe your relationship with God right now?
- How have you seen Jesus working in your life during the past few months?
- What different types of reactions to stress and anxiety have you seen during the pandemic?
- Describe a “storm” you have experienced in your life. Did you experience Jesus’ presence? How?
- What’s a situation, fear, or anxiety in your life of that you’ll need to let go to be fully present to what God wants to say to you this weekend?
- How would you define hope? What does it mean to say that hope is a gift?
- Have you had an experience of losing hope or being let down by a person or a situation? Did that affect your understanding of God?
- In the Letter to the Hebrews, it says we have hope as an anchor. How does Jesus anchor us during difficult times? Where have you seen Jesus anchor you in your life?
- What is one thing you would like God to do in your life?
Saturday Session 1 | Hope Does Not Disappoint
- What is the difference between the hope the world offers and the hope Jesus offers?
- What are some things, people, situations, etc., in which you have placed your hope? Have you been disappointed?
- What does God promise us?
- How can you relate to Abraham? Have there been situations in your life where you have been called to trust?
- What is one practical thing you want to do to help you grow in trust and hope in God’s faithfulness?
- Is there someone in your life who has been an example of trust in God? How did they exemplify trust?
- What do you think Jesus would say to you when you are confused, uncertain, afraid, etc.?
Saturday Session 2 | Hope in Prayer
- How do you typically like to pray?
- Do you find it hard to pray? Why?
- How can you turn to Jesus in prayer during fears, anxieties, challenging situations, etc.?
- Describe a time when prayer helped you in a difficult or uncertain situation.
- Have you ever experienced peace or rest in your time of prayer? How would you describe that experience? What was it like?
- What was your experience of the prayer time after the talk?
- Did God say anything particular to you? Did anything stick out to you in the time of prayer?
- How can you incorporate what you learned in the talk into your everyday life?
- How do you want to grow in prayer in your daily life?
- How can you pray at home?
Saturday Session 3 | Hope Alive
- Invite your small group to spend a few minutes with their eyes closed, imagining the scene of the Gospel story and themselves as Peter. Read it first to remind them what they heard in the talk.
- What did you see, smell, hear, taste, and/or touch? What was the sea like? What did Jesus look like? How did you feel? What did you do? What did Jesus do?
- What would change in your life if you belonged to Jesus and started living more for him?
- Describe a time in your life where you can relate to Peter stepping out of the boat.
- Why might it be challenging to “step out of the boat” and follow Jesus? How can Jesus help you with those challenges?
- Jesus rebukes Peter for his little faith, yet Peter was the only one who got out of the boat. How do you think the rest of the apostles felt?
- What do you think is the relationship between faith and trust in this story?
- Hope longs for a future good that is difficult to attain. Supernatural hope longs to be united to God for all eternity and is impossible to attain without God’s grace. How does God’s grace work in your own life? How would you define grace and its work?
- Despair is a sin that opposes hope; it is the thought that your sins are greater than God’s mercy. What causes people to lose hope? Why do you think some people fall into despair? What can people do to overcome despair? (Note: We are not talking about depression, but despair.)
- Describe a time in your life when a challenging situation or suffering ended up having a good outcome.
- What did God do in your heart tonight during eucharistic adoration? Did he speak anything specifically to you? (Note: Even if you didn’t feel anything, God is still working in our lives and calling us to an intimate relationship with him.
- Next time you are faced with fear, uncertainty, suffering, and/or anxiety, what will you do? How will you respond?
- What did you hear or experience this weekend that gives you hope?