The Thrill of Hope
Notes
Transcript
Intro: Robinson
Intro: Robinson
Last year Christmas eve was on a Sunday
Many churches just did morning services
One of my wife’s students had a big issue with that
It was ruining his hope
His family had a tradition of going to church then going home for a special dinner followed by getting into their Xmas PJ’s and opening one gift
He loved all of the pomp and anticipation leading up to Xmas
Not going to church in the evening was ruining all of his joy
He begged his parents to find a church that had an evening service
That is hope in a bottle there
Christmas is a season of hope
We even sing about in the song “O Holy Night”
A thrill of hope a weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a glorious morn
Hope is something that God has given us
Do you still have the thrill of that hope
I want to share three reasons we
Hope Brings Us Love
Hope Brings Us Love
We can have hope tonight because it brings us love
Paul has a great passage in his letter to the Romans that explains this
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
When we put our faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit pours God’s love into our hearts
This is a perfect love that loved you before you even knew about it
It is given in the amounts that overflows your heart
We can have hope today knowing that we are loved
Hope Brings Us Joy
Hope Brings Us Joy
We can have hope tonight because hope brings us joy
Joy is deeper and lasts longer than happiness
Joy is the deep feeling of contentment and is not fazed by our circumstances but is embedded in who Jesus is
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
Rejoice is enacting that joy inside of you
Joy is looking at our struggles and looking forward to the growth it will produce in us
Struggles produces endurance, which in turn molds and shapes our character and that produces hope
You are not a lost cause
Hope Brings Us Peace
Hope Brings Us Peace
Finally, hope brings us peace
Our belief in Jesus Christ fills us with peace
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace with God is restored because our sins are removed by Jesus’ work on the cross
Peace resides in our hearts because the guilt and shame of our sin is removed
All of that is triggered by us putting our hope and faith in Jesus
Jesus is Our Hope
Jesus is Our Hope
Love, Joy, & Peace are available to us because Jesus is our hope
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Jesus is our source of hope, joy, peace, & love
We are celebrating Christmas because he arrived to earth to bring us Hope
