Hope for Today

Advent Reading by Women’s Groups

(WOMAN 1) A reading from the book of John chapter 1 verses 1 through 5: John 1:1–5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

The Word of God for the people of God (Thanks be to God)

(WOMAN 2) The first Sunday of Advent celebrates the Hope we find in Jesus. This scripture reveals Jesus as the hope of all of creation. Hope is not wishful thinking— Hope is the person, Jesus Christ. Hope is the steady trust that God is already at work in every situation through His work on the cross. Even when we can’t see the outcome, we keep our eyes on Jesus and find hope. Advent reminds us that the same Jesus who was with God in the beginning, through whom all things were made, is still the life and light of all mankind today.

Today, on this first Sunday of Advent we light the first candle which symbolizes our hope in Christ. (LIGHT THE PURPLE CANDLE)

(WOMAN 1) This candle of hope reminds us that the promises of God delivered in the past are the same for today and for always. When we place our hope in His eternal light, we can be confident that the darkness has not, will not and cannot overcome it.

Let’s Pray as we pause to remember our Hope for Today is in Jesus. At the end of each Advent prayer, we are going to participate in the call and response you’ll see on the screen.

SLIDE: Call: “Our hope is in you, Lord”

Response: “We wait on you with expectant hearts.”

(WOMAN 2) Lord, in a world that often feels uncertain, anchor us in Your promises. When the battle gets hard, remind us that our help comes from the one who created all things. Let Your light guide our steps and renew our hope each day. Our hope is in you, Lord; (We wait on you with expectant hearts). Amen.

Women return to their seats

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Intro

Yes Lord, we wait on You with expectant hearts… What are you expecting in your life? Are you expecting good things coming? Is your expectation full of joy? As believers in Christ, we should all be joyfully expecting good things! That’s called hope, and according to the scriptures, all our hope... yesterday, today and forever is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

To those of you just joining us online, welcome, we are glad you’ve found us on Facebook this morning @crosscreekfl, if you’re planning to watch this later please follow our YouTube channel, @crosscreekflorida for all of the past sermons. My name is Amanda Stiles, and I’m thankful to be serving here as the Lead Elder of Cross Creek Community Church, I do hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with those you love.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, we just lit the first purple candle on our advent wreath celebrating the prophetic hope of Jesus Christ. This prophetic hope occurs in the Old Testament before His arrival, in the New Testament during His ministry on earth, and through the Holy Spirit to the church, we too have the expectant joyful prophetic hope for Christ’s return.

In Jesus’ coming, the past present and future of the Kingdom of God were integrated into one person - Emmanuel, God with us. God sent His Son to earth to be the perfect example of a life lived in communion with Him. He went through every trial and circumstance known to tempt our flesh, shake our faith, break our bodies, and turn us away from God. But unlike the first Adam, Jesus overcame every one of them.

We know in our hearts that all our hope rests on Him, but a state of joyful expectation is not easy to maintain in all circumstances. When we can’t see the light, it’s so hard to hope in it’s existence. Today, I’d like to look at the hope of Jesus found in God’s Word, and bring it into the present day to apply it to our daily lives. Jesus is Hope for Today.

(Pray)

Lord God, thank you for all the promises in your Word. For the promises given, the promises fulfilled, and the promises we’ve yet to realize. May our hearts be open to embrace your hope for us today, and may our spirits seek to be instructed by your Father’s heart. May we never be the same again, in Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Old Testament Prophetic Hope

Today’s Advent scripture reading was from John chapter 1, and it explains how hope was present even in the beginning of all things. In fact, one might consider that when God said, “let there be light” that that light was, in itself, the hope of all creation. The expectant joy of God the Father is found entirely in the Son. The hope of the nations and the light of life to all mankind was spoken into creation on that very first day. God’s plan for us has always been hope, peace, joy, and love. His plan for us has always been Jesus.

Prophecy is a combination of faith in God, trust in His goodness, and the hope in His promises. Prophecy is the joyful expectation that He is the same yesterday, today and forever and that God’s promises will be fulfilled according to who He is. The prophets of the Old Testament spoke regularly about God’s plan for us and the hope of the Messiah long before he was born to a virgin in the little town of Bethlehem. Prophets are deeply knowledgeable of God’s purposes according to the scriptures, and acutely aware of the social patters of His people during their time in history.

Prophets are not merely predictors of future events - there is no mysticism or hocus pocus involved in their calling. They are ministers enabled by the Holy Spirit to connect specific historical moments with God’s abiding intentions. Prophets are excellent “readers” of society who are in tune with the living Word of God, deeply understanding of His promises and His nature, and able to connect the two by revelation of His Spirit.

Remarkably, the most powerful prophetic promises often emerge during times of great hopelessness - such as during the sixth century displacement of Jerusalem. The Babylonian conquest of Judah in 586 BCE led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the exodus of its inhabitants, known as the Babylonian exile. During this time, the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel among others, spoke of a New Covenant, a new heart, and a new spirit, pointing to a future hope and restoration through the Messiah. These prophecies demonstrate how hope resonates even louder when spoken in the midst of despair.

It only takes a pinpoint of light to cut through the darkest reality. The prophets often used this analogy of light in darkness as the metaphor of hope which was to come through the Messiah. Jesus even said that the entire Old Testament - from the Law to the Prophets to the Psalms - was prophetic of Him. He said in John 8:12 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

As we read during the lighting of our hope candle this morning: John 1:1–5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This hope was established by God from the beginning, not only for Israel, but for all nations as we read the words of the prophet Isaiah which were written almost 800 years earlier: “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7)

While the Old Testament is full of these promises, they didn’t make any sense until they begin to be fulfilled in the New Testament with the life of Christ. Most scholars would agree that over 300 specific Old Testament prophecies were directly fulfilled by Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection. Others, taking a broader view could count more than 2,900 prophetic connections. This alone should anchor our hope firmly on the rock of our salvation - the Lord Jesus.

Early Christians Prophetic Hope

Jesus embodied and completed the divine promises that had been anticpated about Him throughout Israel’s history written in the Old Testament. The New Testament gives us the written testimony eye witnesses to their fulfillment, the apostles and the believers of the early Christian church. The Old Testament is all about what Jesus will do, the New Testament is all about what Jesus has done.

The gospel of Matthew particularly highlights ten or eleven points how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies. Matthew 1:22–23 quotes Isaiah 7:14, stating that the virgin will conceive and bear a son, named Emmanuel. Matthew 2:5-6 connects Jesus’ birth to Micah 5:2 which mentions Bethlehem as the birthplace of the ruler who will be king over Israel. Matthew 2:14-15 references Hosea 11:1, indicating that Jesus was called out of Egypt. His ministry in Galilee, triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, and on and on, were all prophetically foretold in the Old Testament.

Once Jesus had been baptized by John and then tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He continued fulfilling prophecy after prophecy, spreading His light to the world, Matthew 4:13–17 “Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

This was another fulfillment of prophecy from Isaiah 9:1–3 “Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan— The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

And from that time on, it says, Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Wherever he went, Jesus explicitly claimed to be the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets, the bringer of the Kingdom of heaven to earth for all people. He told the apostles that “everything written of the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished” (Luke 4:16-21), and acknowledged during his arrest that the events were unfolding [so] “that the scripture of the prophets might be fulfilled” (Matthew 26:54)

Hope for Today Fulfilled by Jesus

If Jesus was the prophesied hope of the Old Testament, and the fulfillment of that hope in the New Testament, we can be sure that the prophecies which have yet to be fulfilled are our hope for today. The Word of God confirms that in Jesus Christ, all of God’s promises are true. The very thing the angel Gabriel spoke to Jesus’ mother, Mary in Luke 1:37 “For no word from God will ever fail.” It is the Word of God which conceived the Lord, and the Word of God who came to earth embodied in the man. His very birth professes the Word of God has been delivered to mankind. Jesus is the our pivotal focus of hope who guarantees that every singe divine promise of God was, is and will be fulfilled.

We believe that Jesus fulfills every word from God, and the Bible contains numerous prophecies that have yet to be fully known to us. These prophecies often involve significant events that are expected to occur in the future, such as the Second Coming, the Rapture, and the physical establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. God has already set all these things into motion, we are simply waiting in joyful expectation of their reality. With our hope firmly established in Christ, we can be sure the rest is yet to come.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, representing eternal hope for our future and serving as the “Alpha and Omega,” the beginning and the end through whom the Father will complete His redemptive plan. Jesus is the light of hope, the light of life, and the image of the future of all mankind. 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”

Father God, speaks with an eternal voice… His Word is the same yesterday, today and forever. “Let there be light” is an ongoing creative command. “Let there be” is not just for the inception of hope, but for the fulfillment, and the continuation of hope in every dark place that exists. That hope is displayed for us in the face of Christ. It is Jesus who was with God in the beginning, and Jesus who stepped down to be with us in the fulfillment of God’s plan for redemption. It is Jesus who allowed His life to be lifted up on the cross, making a way for us to be reconciled to God, and it is Jesus who will take us to be with Him when He returns. Jesus is not just a fulfillment of prophetic hope, but the very lens through which we understand the eternal hope of God’s redemptive work.

Every time we face temptation, every test of faith, attack on our health, every doubt or fear that creeps in to turn us away from God, every time we feel weak and unable to face this life on our own… there is Jesus. Just speak His name into your situation and that pinprick of light will begin to chase away the darkness. In the ups and downs, the good days and bad, our hope in Christ is the joyful expectation that we will make it through. The fact that we are human, fragile and fallible brings all the more glory to God when we hope in Christ. It is His light which pierced the darkness of our hearts to save us for His glory.

2 Corinthians 4:7-9 continues by saying… “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” When we choose to face our circumstances with confident hope in Jesus Christ, we overcome despair with joyful expectation, we remember that even though we may be suffering, we still have breath in our lungs and we choose to praise Him in the storm - when we do that, we demonstrate the hope we have in Christ, and that it is in Christ alone we place our hope.

Closing

As I close, and the Intercessors and Communion Stewards come forward, I’d like to leave you with this question. Is there any area of your life that is not full of expectant joy? Where in your life have you given up on good things coming? I want you to take a moment this morning, and really think about that situation, that relationship, that job… look deeply into the dark place it’s become. Then take a deep breath, that’s right, and speak these eternally creative words into that scenario… “Let… there… be… light!”

In your small groups this week, I want you to ignite hope in one another, like the flame of the Advent candle, share your situation with your brothers and sisters, and ask them to pray for what God might be doing through them. How can the hope of Christ be brought into the situation? How can you reflect the face of Jesus, and glorify Him even in your weakness?

Let’s Pray (stand).

Father, God, thank you for the light. Thank you for your Word which continues to speak light into dark places. Thank you for sending the prophets to proclaim your redemptive plan, and thank you for sending your Son, Jesus to fulfill it. We pray that today, we will apply the hope that is in Christ to every situation in our lives. Please continue to lead us in your gentle and gracious way through every difficult circumstance. Our hope is in you, Lord. We wait on you with expectant hearts.

And may the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” make His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

Amen.

Ministry Time

The Intercessors are standing by this morning to pray with you over those situations which lack expectant joy. Let us pray in agreement with you for the hope of Christ to shine on them and to glorify His name in our weakness.

Each week, we also have the opportunity to demonstrate our faith in the Lord of all by offering a tithe of all our income to the work of His ministry.

We bless these tithes and offerings, Lord, the gifts and the givers. We lift them unto you you not out of our abundance, but out of hope and faith in your eternal promises. For when we give generously and without a grudging heart, according to your word, you will bless all the work of our hand. We present these tithes and offerings to You with joyful hearts; may they be pleasing to you and bring glory to your name. Amen

We also bless the elements of our communion with our Lord Jesus, who gave us the bread and the juice as remembrance of Him and the application of His body on our flesh and His blood upon our souls.

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 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.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The table is open, come, pray, give, eat and drink and proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior until He comes again.