Aquitaine Talks Chaplaincy of Aquitaine

This is the sixth and final episode of the 2023 Lent Course called, “Renewing Hope, what does the bible say?”. In this session the Reverend David Marshall brings the series of Lenten reflections to a close as he explores the statement, “Hope Endures”.  Hoping in God will never lead us into despair, because He has a plan for all of us who look to Him. He has a future that is full of hope. Proverbs 23:18, “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off”. 

In this episode Anne Penfold (Reader, Chaplaincy of Aquitaine) explores the theme of Hope as a gift. A wonderful result of hope is delivered by the Holy Spirit. He gives us the power to hope which is a demonstration of God’s love for us. Hope, given by Him, works together to give us confidence, joy, peace, power and love. That’s a true gift! Romans 5:5, “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”. 

In this episode The Reverend Tony Lomas leads a discussion on the theme: true hope comes from God. He is the creator of all things, including hope therefore, true hope comes from the One who created hope: God. True hope comes by trusting God even when circumstances are difficult. One way to know whether you are trusting God is whether you are obeying His word. Trust produces obedience which produces hope which as a result, gives joy and peace – that is the power of the Holy Spirit. 

In this episode the third member of the team Tina Marshall-Cottam leads a discussion on the theme that we can find rest when we confidently hope in the Lord. Building on the previous session, it can be understood that hope is unseen, but if it is unseen, can we trust it?  There are things we can trust without seeing it, for example, we can trust our insurance company will cover a certain amount of losses or that baking cookies will leave a certain aroma in our kitchen. We are confident in them because theses are legal and natural laws. In the same way, although we can't see it, we can be full of hope - hope assures us that we can be confident in it because it's the law of God. 

In this session the Reverend Tony Lomas explores the theme that Hope is crying out to be heard, seen and experienced. Sometimes it is difficult to see hope in a situation. The  Bible says that true hope is unseen - to explore this the group discuss the promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah who, had 'nothing in hios situation to justify his hope that Sarah would give birth to a son, but because he believed God, he could "in hope" believe against hope' (Romans 4:18).

This year’s Chaplaincy online Lent Course is called: “Renewing Hope – what does the Bible say?”. In this first session the Reverend David Marshall,  who compiled the course,  leads the teaching as the group discuss the different ways hope can be understood.