What is our only Hope in Life and Death?

Our Hope and Life is Jesus Christ

The Christmas Season

There really is no other time like the Christmas season… The celebrations, the traditions, the yummy food, the joy on kids faces as they anticipate opening presents on Christmas day.. The lights, the Christmas music… it really is the most wonderful season of all…

and yet as wonderful as the season is.. for many of us there are moments of sadness as we remember those loved ones that are no longer with us… my mind goes back to being a teenager when all of my extended family would meet at my grandparents house for a Christmas eve tradition… we would have an incredible dinner together and then open gifts from the grandparents… looking back now, I have no idea how 30 people got to fit in a single wide trailer… it was chaotic… Oh, but i would not trade that experience for anything else… I can remember the men standing around the fire shucking oysters and talking about life… I can still hear my grandfather saying “hey there pasqaullie, how are you”…. After the passing of my grandfather… that tradition slowly faded away..

If you’ve lived long enough then you probably have experienced something along those lines… And what we all can agree on is this… as beautiful as life can be, we are often reminded that we live in a broken and fallen world.

Just this (month a Hebron) week our community was devastated to hear the news of Bowen (3 years old) tragically passing away…

Take a moment of silence and prayer for this family and for all the families who have suffered lose…

Why does God allow evil and suffering… this is the age old question… If God is all powerful and all knowing, then why does He not stop evil and suffering… Some argue… that Since He does not stop evil and suffering then He must not be all-powerful and all-knowing, therefore the God of the Bible could not possibly exist…

There is not enough time to answer this question fully. I want to give you a big picture answer.

This world was not designed to experience death… (it was not apart of the plan) (The fall… sin entered the world and brought death) (only just a little sin???) As sin does it quickly grew from selfish pride to selfish murder with Cain and Abel…

God made a promise to reverse the curse on humanity and we see that promise coming into fulfillment in the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ. And that same Jesus would take on the curse of death for all of humanity.

Deuteronomy 21:23 “23 his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.”

Galatians 3:13–14 “13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

The dilemma? All of humanity suffers in life and death!

What is our only Hope in Life and Death? What is the remedy?

That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior Jesus Christ.

We may not know a lot about why God allows things to happen in this life… but we can know for certain that God loves us. Romans 8:28 “28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

The birth of the Savior Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows was born to die for all mankind.. this points to the great truth that God is intently and intimately involved in His creation and that according to 1 Peter 5:7 he cares for you.”

Isaiah 53:3–5 “3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”

the Hope in this life is that God has made a way for sinners to be forgiven and freed from the power and dominion of sin…

Revelation 21:3–4 “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.””

The Hope in death is that the Christian will be with God forever… where death will be defeated, mourning non-existent, crying gone-forever, no more pain, no more cancer diagnosis’,

My hope this Christmas is that you would take time and cherish your loved ones… enjoy the traditions, and most of all… remember WHO is the reason for the season…

The greatest Gift Of every Christmas is from God. The gift of eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, peace with God and one day home with Him forever…

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 “23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”