LEADER GUIDE 

Breakout Discussion 
Hope Is Born  How does this passage anchor you in your true identity in Christ? 

Micah 7:18–20 • Christ Church • December 2, 2018  Our true identity is in Christ—not in our past sins and failures. Those things have 
been cast “into the depths of the sea” (19). In Christ, God loves us and has 
compassion on us. 
Big Idea: 
Eternal hope for sinful humanity is secured forever in the Christmas story.  When do you find it most difficult to believe that your sins are forgiven (pardoned, 
passed over, cast into the depths of the sea)? How does this passage minister to you? 
Because Jesus was born… 
What would change if the steadfast love of God toward you was the thing that was 
1. God’s pardon is now my privilege (18).  most real to you? 
2. God’s delight is now my distinction (18). 
How might hope be seen through your life tomorrow? 
3. God’s victory is now my vantage point (19). 
4. God’s faithfulness is now my foundation (20).  Consider how the hope we have in the gospel affects things like: our thought life, 
our plans for the future, our home life, our mundane moments, our unfulfilled 
dreams, our lost opportunities, our moments of failure, etc. 
Group Discussion  Question to take home: Are people asking you “for a reason for the hope that is in you” 
(1 Peter 3:15)? If not, why not? If so, are you ready to give the reason? 
What does this passage have to do with Christmas? 

The gospel promises of this passage are fulfilled in the manger! Only in Christ can 
our iniquity be pardoned, our transgressions passed over, our sins cast into the 
Related Passages 
depths of the sea.  Isaiah 53:4–6 “​ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we 
esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our 
What is the rhetorical question at the beginning of verse 18 meant to  transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that 
communicate about God? How does this affect your worship of God?  brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone 
astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the 
The question underscores the peerless nature of God. There is none like him. No 
iniquity of us all.” 
God pardons like our God. Only God can solve our greatest problem—sin. 
Romans 5:8 “​ God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died 
When the hope of this passage runs through our veins, how does it affect our  for us.” 
lives? What changes when we live with hope that is rooted in God’s steadfast love 
through Jesus?  2 Corinthians 1:20​ “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is 
through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” 
What are some ways this passage invigorates you as a witness for Christ? How 
does this passage motivate you to continue on mission?  2 Corinthians 5:21​ “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in 
him we might become the righteousness of God.” 
Every week at the close of our services we say, “You are loved.” How does this 
passage fill in your understanding of those words so that they’re never a mere  1 Peter 3:15​ “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared 
platitude?  to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” 

When we say, “You are loved,” we’re communicating more than just a 
sentimentality. Behind those words are profound gospel truths concerning God’s  Prayer Points 
steadfast love for his people. We can know that God loves us. He proved it by 
sending his Son to bear our sins upon the cross and open the way for all sinners  ● Praise God for being a God who pardons iniquity. “Who is a God like 
to come to him by faith. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still  you?” 
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  ● Pray that God’s steadfast love for you, and the hope that you have in 
him, would be more real to you now than ever before. 
● Ask God to help you to “always being prepared to make a defense to 
anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”