Viewing entries tagged
hope
Ever feel stuck, directionless, and worried about the future? That's life in the wilderness and it can be brutal and long-lasting. But there's hope for you! At Christmas, we celebrate the birth of the promised son of Judah. In Him, we have a conqueror, and king, and source of blessing that can not only lead us out of the wilderness but make sure we never end up there again!
We all want easy lives full of easy circumstances. But Jesus sometimes denies us ‘easy’ in order to give us something greater. This message looks at how Jesus works in the midst of the painful tragedies of our lives to bless us.
Life is often hard and each of us eventually feels its pain in different ways. What we hope in dramatically impacts how we face that pain, however. This message looks at the incredible hope the Bible holds out for us to lay hold of in suffering and the help that the Spirit gives us as we do.
Stress, isolation and uncertainty have led many Christians to pull back from Christian fellowship during the pandemic. In the first century, Jewish Christians faced the temptation because of persecution. This message looks at the reasons they were given to persevere and how they can help us finish the race in our day.
Different people look to different things to reassure them and give them hope. Some look to a spouse or a parent or grandparent for confidence and strength. Others find hope in their goals and dreams. But what do you do when your symbol of hope dies? This short Christmas Eve message looks at a period in Israel’s history when that happened and helps us find our way forward when we don’t feel like we can go on.
The songs and movies we hear this time of year tend to equate Christmas with the promise of romance, family, or tradition. The Christmas promises of the Bible are far more enduring. This message looks at the promise of a royal priest and how Jesus can give us hope for the year ahead.
In a world full of violence, injustice, sickness, and death, it can be easy to fall into feelings of hopelessness. Recognizing this, the Apostle John in Revelation 7 described a vision of hope that comforted the persecuted early church and should still comfort us today.
When something goes wrong, we’re quick to blame ourselves or others or God. We assume that trials must be punishments and we try to evaluate them to see whether they’re fair. Jesus shows us that punishment often isn’t the purpose at all. He points to God’s good purposes even in tragedy and shows us how to understand God’s working in our lives.
Our ability to cope with difficult and painful circumstances will be tested over the course of this pandemic. We’ll likely face times when our strength seems to fail and the answers to prayer that we had hoped for don’t come. This message looks at some practical steps we can take when it feels like the world is against us.
People keep describing the COVID-19 pandemic as unprecedented. While our times are unprecedented in one sense, you don’t have to look far back in history to see examples of people who have faced similar situations. This psalm looks at a person who dealt with the pain of isolation and it gives some warning signs to look for as well as some steps that we can take to cope with quarantine.
Sometimes life can feel as if it’s cursed. We look around at how easy things come for other people and it feels as if we’re being left behind. We’re on the B team, forever sitting on the bench, never able to play. The Bible presents a prayer of someone who was made to feel like he was on the B team. And God’s answer to that prayer gives us hope for what God could do in our lives.
When we depict the Christmas story in carols and cards, we remember the angels, shepherds, manger and wise men. But the birth of Jesus took place under the threat of a king intent on killing Him and in the shadow of the unspeakable loss that the king’s paranoia and rage brought about. This message looks at what has been called Herod’s, “slaughter of the innocents,” and how it speaks hope into the despair that can often accompany the holidays.
Matthew 2:13-23 // [outline]
People often wait until they hit rock bottom before they change. But at that point, the loss is great and some of the damage irreversible. This message looks at a group of people who were desperate enough to start over and some of the things that helped them when it seemed that there was no way forward.
It seems that every few years, another person is making another prediction about the end of the world or the return of Jesus. What does the Bible really teach about Jesus’ return and why is there so much confusion? This message looks at what God wants us to know about the end and how to prepare for it.
The death of a loved one is one of life’s most painful experiences. And facing the reality of our own mortality can bring out fears and concerns. But the Bible declares a certain hope rooted in Jesus’ own death and resurrection. This message looks at the Christian hope and clears up confusion about Jesus’ return and popular theories about the rapture.
As people take steps in the Christian life, they can be tempted to think that ‘the secret’ is in some new teaching or experience. But growth in the Christian life comes by returning to the starting point and deepening our understanding and response to the foundation. This message looks at that foundation and the most common ways people misunderstand and stray from it.
Life can seem awfully dark at times. But Jesus claimed to be the light of the world. This message looks at the hope that He offers and the things that keep us from entering into the light that He seeks to shine into our lives.
God offers hope to people who feel abandoned by Him and strength to those who wait on Him. This message shows the wonder of Christmas to people battling discouragement.
We need strength and love to cope with life, but often we look for it in the wrong places. The good news of Christmas is that God’s might is revealed in the tenderness of a shepherd who gently leads His sheep.
Sometimes our circumstances are too bitter for us to hope that things will ever be different. This message shows how God provides for our comfort and how we can welcome His involvement in our lives.
