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SAMPLE BREAKOUT: Keep Hope Alive
- Bryce Johnson
- Mar 1
- 6 min read
Updated: Mar 13
Romans 12:12 (AMP) "Constantly rejoicing in hope [because of our confidence in Christ]…”
Keep Hope Alive
Thank you so much for joining the Fantasy Football Fellowship this season! We hope that you experience meaningful fellowship and grow deeper in your faith as you compete well in Fantasy!
Here is WEEK ONE's Fantasy concept that relates to life and faith...
To truly enjoy Fantasy Football this year and to keep playing all season, we need to have hope. We hope to have fun, experience camaraderie, draft a Fantasy team that will provide us a chance to win our weekly matchups, make the playoffs, and eventually win the Fantasy Championship!
The definition of hope is "a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen."
As the season kicks off, we hope the players we picked will outperform their predicted stats for this season and be the steals of the draft.
We hope our starting running back doesn't get injured, and we hope our wide receiver has strong chemistry with his quarterback.
We hope we selected the right sleepers and the players who will shine on the field throughout the season.
We hope the rookies we drafted for our Fantasy team will contribute right away and not hit the rookie wall later on.
We hope we make the right roster moves throughout the year as we add and drop players and consider trades with league mates.
We are hopeful that the season will unfold as we have planned.
In many ways, that's the FANTASY!
The reality is that we know the season will not go entirely as planned, and we'll quickly realize all the wrong draft picks we made. We'll make poor lineup decisions along the way, players won't live up to their high expectations, and we'll be frustrated when our key players get injured.
The challenge becomes, how do we keep hope alive even when things don't go as planned? We need hope to keep us going when we are tempted to give up.
As Fantasy Managers, we have to find reasons to remain hopeful. When our players get injured, we can have hope that the backups will step up and replace the production. If we lose a few matchups in a row, we have hope that we'll get back on track.
When we find ourselves in the middle of the standings, we keep hope alive that we can make a run into the playoffs. Even when it appears we'll miss the playoffs, we hold onto hope that we can put together a strong week and pull off a late-season upset against our opponent.
Again, every step of the way, we need hope to keep us going and help us endure a long and sometimes challenging Fantasy Football season! If we become hopeless, we give up in despair.
When it comes to real life, there are plenty of situations where we are filled with hope. We hope to get the new job, we hope to get married, we hope our marriage thrives, we hope to get pregnant, we hope to have well-behaved kids, we hope to get healthy, we hope to get our dream house, we hope to make the team, and we hope to get the promotion.
Just like in Fantasy Football, the challenge becomes, how do we keep hope alive even when things don't go as planned? We don't get the job, marriage is hard, our kids are challenging, and our health isn't good.
In life, the need for hope is even more crucial in keeping us going. If we lose hope, we are unable to endure life's challenges. We not only have to find reasons to remain hopeful, but we must also understand where true, lasting hope comes from.
Thankfully, God sent His Son, Jesus, into our broken world to save us, redeem us, and offer us hope. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again, and He invites us to surrender our lives to Him and place our faith in Him. When we do, we receive His grace, forgiveness, and eternal life. As followers of Jesus, we receive a new kind of hope.
The biblical definition of hope in the New Testament isn't just based on "a feeling of expectation," but instead on a certainty in something not yet realized. It's not just a desire, but a deep confidence that it will happen. This hope is rooted in Jesus and attached to the promises of God.
Without Jesus, life eventually becomes hopeless, leading people to give up in despair. Lasting hope isn't found in ourselves, circumstances, or other people. Instead, we must anchor our hope in Jesus and His unchanging character as revealed in His Word. God is our refuge, and our hope is found in His eternal presence, grace, and faithfulness.
Romans 5:1-2 (AMP) tells us, "Therefore, since we have been justified [that is, acquitted of sin, declared blameless before God] by faith, [let us grasp the fact that] we have peace with God [and the joy of reconciliation with Him] through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed). Through Him, we also have access by faith into this [remarkable state of] grace in which we [firmly and safely and securely] stand. Let us rejoice in our hope and the confident assurance of [experiencing and enjoying] the glory of [our great] God [the manifestation of His excellence and power]."
The footnote says that in the New Testament, "the word 'hope' expresses a cherished desire along with the confident assurance of obtaining that which is longed for."
Of course, we hope for things to happen here on earth, but when we receive Christ, we know we have salvation, eternal life, and access to the God of the universe.
The hope we now have is a confident assurance for our souls, and because of that, we rest in knowing that even when we don't get the job or improved health, we still cling to God's character, His plan, and His promises.
So each of us must determine if our faith and hope are in Jesus, the one who said He would die and rise again, which He did. Are we trying to find hope apart from Him and even hoping to save ourselves, which we can't?
Titus 3:3-7 (CSB) says, "For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. He poured out His Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior so that, having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life."
As followers of Jesus, we have hope of eternal life and know that this current life isn't all there is. We know that we will face hardships, persecution, challenges, and trials, but our hope is found in the One who gets us through.
Even if the hope for our Fantasy Football season eventually disappears as the season unfolds, let's remember that the hope in our souls is firm and secure in Christ, so we can live our lives with joy, confidence, and assurance, regardless of how our circumstances unfold.
There are no promises in Fantasy Football, but God's Word is filled with them. Today, let's place our hope in the One who is worthy of our trust.
Heavenly Father, You are my refuge and my strength. My hope is in You, Lord, and I praise You for the assured confidence You give to my soul. I thank You that my hope for eternity is secure in Your promises. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
What do you hope to experience this year during Fantasy Football Fellowship?
What player on your Fantasy team do you have the most hope in?
What player on your team do you have the least amount of hope in?
Which NFL rookie do you hope will have the best season?
Why is your hope different in life when it's anchored in Jesus?
Why should followers of Jesus remain hopeful during trying times, and what promises can you cling to?
In what ways are you struggling to have hope in life?
In what specific ways are you hoping in God to provide, restore, redeem, and turn around for good?
How would you describe the relationship between faith and hope?
How does having your hope in God and the eternal life you have because of Christ influence your hopes and desires for other things in this life?
Fantasy Football was created in a New York City hotel by Bill Winkenbach (and friends), a former part-owner of the Oakland Raiders, in 1962. They called themselves the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League (GOPPPL).
Ensure your league utilizes a group chat, a Fantasy app, or a Facebook group to facilitate communication during games and throughout the week, allowing you to discuss Fantasy, faith, and life topics between "league meetings." Also, make sure everyone shares contact information so that you can reach out to each other for trades, encouragement, and prayer requests.
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