12/04 Journey to the Promised Land: Joshua

(Luke 24:13–35, John 20:24–29, Joshua 3)

1.           In Luke 24, the disciples say, “we had hoped…”
What does this phrase reveal about the relationship between hope, disappointment, and disorientation in faith?

2.           The disciples walk with Jesus but do not recognise him.
What might this suggest about how trauma, grief, or shock affects perception—spiritually as well as psychologically?

3.           Thomas insists on seeing and touching before he can believe.
In what ways might this be understood not as doubt, but as a response to loss and the need for safety?

4.           Across both resurrection accounts, Jesus meets people as they are (confused, grieving, doubtful).
What does this reveal about the nature of divine presence and pastoral care?

5.           In Joshua 3, Israel is asked to step into a flooded river before it parts.
What does this tell us about the relationship between trust, action, and uncertainty?

6.           How do the three passages together challenge the idea that faith requires clarity, confidence, or emotional resolution?

7.           The Jordan crossing, the Emmaus Road, and Thomas’s encounter all involve movement—walking, stepping, reaching out.
What might “faith as movement” look like in situations where we feel stuck or unready?

8.           None of these stories erase the past (crucifixion, doubt, slavery), but they move people forward with it.
What might it mean in your own life to carry the past into a new future with God, rather than waiting to be ‘over it’?