Week of 2/8/26: Trusting the Promise
SUMMARY
Formation Theme: Be the Church - Created and CalledWeekly Theme: Be the Church - Trusting the Promise
Sermon Text: Acts 3:1-26
Primary Reading: Acts 25-28
Secondary Reading: Genesis 44-50
Memory Verses (Through February 14th): 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
[26] For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
[27] But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;
[28] God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,
[29] so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
1 | Theme Reflection - “Trusting the Promise”
Faith matures when promises are tested.
From Genesis 44–50 to Acts 25–28, we find the same truth echoing across generations: the promises of God outlast the prisons of man.
Joseph forgives his brothers and declares, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” Paul, shipwrecked and bound, clings to God’s word that he must stand before Caesar. In both stories, circumstances appear hopeless—but God is already weaving salvation through the storm.
To Be the Church - Trusting the Promise is to rest in God’s faithfulness when the horizon disappears. We trust not because we see the outcome, but because we know the One who holds it. Faith doesn’t deny fear; it defies it - believing that God’s promises are more permanent than our pain.
2 | Daily Reading Rhythm
3 | Practice of the Week - Promise Stones
Choose a small stone or object to keep with you this week. Use this as a physical reminder of God’s promises the way God’s people used monuments to remember His provision.
Each morning, hold it and pray: “Faithful God, You keep Your promises."
When worry rises, touch the stone and remember that God’s word is steadier than circumstance.
At week’s end, place it somewhere visible in your home as a reminder: His promises are not fragile - they endure.
4 | Doctrinal Focus - The Doctrine of Providence
Providence is God’s sovereign care over creation - His wise and loving guidance of all things toward His glorious purpose.
Nothing is random; everything is working together to the end that God has decreed.
Even human sin cannot frustrate divine design.
In providence, we learn that God’s promises are not insurance against hardship but assurance within it.
He orders all things - storms, trials, and triumphs - for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Q & A 27 from the Heidelberg Catechism
Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. The almighty and ever-present power of God 1
by which God upholds, as with his hand,
heaven and earth
and all creatures, 2
and so rules them that
leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty—3
all things, in fact,
come to us
not by chance 4
but by his fatherly hand.5
(Click here for Scripture references, scroll down to Q&A 27)
Providence is God’s sovereign care over creation - His wise and loving guidance of all things toward His glorious purpose.
Nothing is random; everything is working together to the end that God has decreed.
Even human sin cannot frustrate divine design.
In providence, we learn that God’s promises are not insurance against hardship but assurance within it.
He orders all things - storms, trials, and triumphs - for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Q & A 27 from the Heidelberg Catechism
Q. What do you understand by the providence of God?
A. The almighty and ever-present power of God 1
by which God upholds, as with his hand,
heaven and earth
and all creatures, 2
and so rules them that
leaf and blade,
rain and drought,
fruitful and lean years,
food and drink,
health and sickness,
prosperity and poverty—3
all things, in fact,
come to us
not by chance 4
but by his fatherly hand.5
(Click here for Scripture references, scroll down to Q&A 27)
5 | Missional Focus - Witness in the Storm
Paul’s courage on the ship wasn’t heroic - it was hopeful. He trusted the promise that God’s Word would prevail.
The same is true for us: when life feels chaotic, steadfast trust becomes a testimony.
This week, share one way God has been faithful through difficulty.
Let someone who doesn’t yet know Christ see how peace can exist even in the storm.
Pray: “Lord, make my confidence in Your promise visible to others, so they may trust You through my trust.”
6 | Community Group Discussion Questions
From the Sermon (Text — Acts 3 : 1 – 26)
- How does Peter’s healing of the lame man demonstrate faith in the promises of Jesus?
- What does Peter’s sermon reveal about God’s faithfulness to fulfill His covenant promises through Christ?
- How does Joseph’s forgiveness in Genesis 50 and Paul’s courage in Acts 27–28 reveal trust in God’s promises?
- What do these stories teach about how God turns trials into testimonies?
- When have you felt “shipwrecked,” and how did God prove faithful through it?
- What promise of God are you holding onto right now, and how can you rest more deeply in it?
- How can our group remind one another of God’s promises during seasons of uncertainty?
- What would it look like for our group to be known as people of unshakable trust?
- What is a promise? Why is it important to keep them?
- How did God keep His promises to Joseph and Paul?
- What does it mean to trust God when you’re afraid?
- Can you name one promise God has made in the Bible?
- How can we remind ourselves that God always keeps His word?
7 | Closing Prayer
Lord, You are ever faithful, ever true.
You have never failed, keeping your covenants with generations.
Christ is our hope - the fulfillment of Your promises to Your people.
May we trust Him more, and may our trust embolden us
To obey Your call to mission that others might know you.
Strengthen us when we forget Your goodness, and
By Your grace, may we be less forgetful.
Amen.