The Invitation to Hope

[SLIDE 1] Introduction

New Series; Advent: The Invitation. God invites us to hope that doesn’t disappoint, peace we can’t explain, joy too great for words, and love that never fails.

Hope

[SLIDE 2] Dare to Hope

An expectation or belief in the fulfillment of something desired.

Work Party Krispy Kreme box - open it up and find a vegetable tray.

My 16th birthday - looking for a car in the driveway. No chance.

“How did the speed dating go?”

It would normally take months to have my hopes raised then dashed so many times.”

Life has a way of beating hope out of us, that's why the Advent season is so important. Advent provides us a way to reorient, recalibrate, and reorder our lives to God's greater story - Emmanual, Christ with and among us. Jon Sterns.

Clark Griswold - hopeful for a big work bonus to pay for a pool. God a membership to the jelly of the month club instead.

The holidays…for some - family, joy, hope. Others, it’s tough. 

Being with family raises blood pressure.

Life has a way of beating hope out of us, that's why the Advent season is so important. Advent provides us a way to reorient, recalibrate, and reorder our lives to God's greater story - Emmanual, Christ with and among us. Jon Sterns.

Life has a way of beating hope out of us, that's why the Advent season is so important. Advent provides us a way to reorient, recalibrate, and reorder our lives to God's greater story - Emmanual, Christ with and among us. Jon Sterns.

Hope

Hold onto it or let it go?

Present hurts and uncertainty over what the future holds create the constant need for hope - something better; for the wrongs to be made right, broken things whole.

Need for redemption; new start

It’s been said that Present hurts and uncertainty over what the future holds create the constant need for hope - something better. Worldwide poverty, hunger, disease, and human potential to generate terror and destruction create a longing for something better.

Need for redemption; new start

Longing for hope to be fulfilled - and not disappointed

Need for redemption; new start

Inspiration from seeing Jesus

experience

Disappointments

Waiting expectantly, prayerfully, with spirit-filled anticipation God is revealing his help for our people.

Both experience hope and disappointment, suffering, look with intensity for someone to redeem us; take us out of it.

Both long for wrong things to be made right; broken things made whole, to experience redemption, restoration.

To have one last ______ before we die.

Hope killers

Life situations

Guilt over choices, being reminded of them and their consequences

Inability to and the fear of being alone with ourselves. 

What steals hope

Stress has become a lifestyle

Unchecked, escalates...steals the hope Jesus gives.

Life has a way of beating hope out of us, that's why the Advent season is so important. Advent provides us a way to reorient, recalibrate, and reorder our lives to God's greater story - Emmanual, Christ with and among us. Jon Sterns.

[SLIDE 3-4]

Luke 2:22–26 ESV

And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

hope and disappointment, suffering, look with intensity for someone to redeem us; take us out of it.

[SLIDE 5] The Character of Hope

Simeon

Who was he? We really don't know. Said that he was old but might not have been.

Righteous - treated others well

Devout - careful about his faith practices

Waiting expectantly, prayerfully for God to console his people.

Why a people needs consolation - 9/11.

Waiting - look forward to; receive, accept; welcoming approval (people); anticipate a future event; hopeful expectation of the kingdom of God, the consolation of Israel and redemption.

-Upright man

Why a people needs consolation - 9/11.

Hope is cultivated, nurtured and expressed best in community.

[SLIDE 6] The Focus of Hope

Waiting expectantly, prayerfully, with spirit-filled anticipation God is revealing his help for our people.

The Focus of Hope

Consolation of Israel - looking for the Messiah to come.

Supposed to happen after a time of great suffering; he would bring comfort.

Problem: When things got bad (greater oppression, suffering), they looked more intensely for the deliverer who would solve their problems, be their consolation; a messiah, savior..

Presenting Jesus - ceremony; dedication.

Messiah, consolation

Anticipation of the coming of the Messiah.

Solution: presentation of Jesus at the temple.

A ceremony of dedication

Simeon was inspired when Jesus was brought into the temple.

[SLIDE 7] The Power of Hope

Simeon was inspired when Jesus was brought into the temple.

The spirit

Holy Spirit upon him

In OT - spirit came on people on special occasions;

on him continually; continual presence. continuing presence is rare. This was special.

On him continually; continual presence. continuing presence is rare. This was special.

The spirit indicated to him (how we don't know) that he would see the Messiah before he died.

[SLIDE 8] Invitation to a Hope That Doesn’t Disappoint

The modern world has sought hope in human effort and a belief in the inevitability of progress that assumed everything would naturally get better and better.

It is believed that because people are the source of the world’s problems they can also be the solution.

People will disappoint - get over it. Not meant to provide the relief we want. Stop expecting it.

Hope that doesn’t disappoint is experienced in Jesus

Understand though that the outcome may not be exactly what we think it should or want it to be.

When your horse dies, dismount and saddle another one--old Cavalry motto. Hope doesn't have to die when hopes die. It only needs to be readjusted to fit the new reality that the death on one hope left us with. Call it "hope adjustment.-- getting old hopes in sync with new realities." Lewis Smedes, Standing on the Promises

The new reality is the life Jesus promises - what God will do in the future. At the heart of Christian hope is the resurrection of Jesus - what God did.

Hope in Christ is not looking for a specific event to happen

a dream job

a promotion

An opportunity

Someone to apologize; relationship to get better

A

“When we hope in Christ, we are no longer yearning for a particular event to happen, but rather stand firm in the one who brought about our life by delivering us from the uncertainty of death.” -Caleb Keith

Hope that doesn’t disappoint is best cultivated, nurtured and expressed in the community of Christ followers

I was talking with a friend named Erin who is recovering from an addiction to heroin. She told me that the place she felt most loved and accepted in her life was at her first Narcotics Anonymous meeting. At that meeting the other people touched her, supported her, and loved her for who she was. In that meeting she found hope. Here were other people who would walk with her down a frightening road no matter what happened. She knew that in this place she was safe. After hearing this I was floored and thought, "Why isn't this a description of our experience of church?"

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But there’s a problem that makes hope difficult for us, people we love and the world looking to us: we’re divided.

Race

Socioeconomics

Generation

Conversations about generations.

1920’s - Karl Mannheim essay The Problem of Generations.

Used in Sociology and history.

Generational theory popularized in the 1990’s by William Strauss and Neil Howe. There are recurring cycles in American History.

As with any theory, misapplied. Used by marketers to sell.

Become labels we use to keep separated.

Started in response to a video of an older person criticizing millennials and Gen z for theirs.

Boomer/Millennial battle

OK Boomer - mocking attitudes attributed to the baby boomer generation.

Started in response to a video of an older person criticizing millennials and Gen z for theirs.

BCD

Blame, complain, defend

Millennials blame boomers for and complain about the world their being given - the economy, environment, church.

They complain

Boomers blame millennials for not pulling their weight

I’m an Xer

Boomer parents and Millennial children

Ministry with Millennials most of my ministry life

Paid money to continue to grow and learn about reaching and discipling them.

Published books on helping the church do the same.

Please listen:

What next step does hope demand?

Belief also creates strength of will.

Most say “I can’t."

Some say, “I hope."

What I’m seeing: We have come to believe a lie about ourselves and allowed a false view of ourselves to divide us.

People who believe say, “I will."

Strength of will is not about the commitment to start; it’s about the commitment to continue. It’s about the many recommitments that are necessary to sustain the journey when it gets difficult, tedious, and painful. In other words, when you face the grind, it’s saying “I will” when it gets hard.

Resilience is what enables you to bounce back from adversity. 

1985 - Edwin Friedman, Generation to Generation. How to see ourselves as family: mutually dependent. That’s biblical.

Urban Meyer, Above the Line

These are your grandchildren and your grandparents

1985 - Edwin Friedman, Generation to Generation. How to see ourselves as family.

Spoiler alert: Every Generation has done great things and not so great things. Every generation has their wonderful qualities and their flaws.

Work hard to be family

Understand, appreciate and learn from each others’ attitudes about life. Don’t have to agree

Older gen:

Stop BCD and trying to get them to think like you. You didn’t want to think like your parents, remember? It’s a normal developmental process.

Legacy: What is the one thing you want to pass onto them before you die?

How will you help prepare them for their future rather than try to hold onto your past?

Younger gens:

Stop BCD. Older generations really do love you.

Older generations really do love you.

There is much to learn from older generations. Their ways are not always ancient and outdated.

You have much to offer them.

You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. When we say yes to Jesus, we become family we didn’t necessarily choose - and that’s the beauty of the church.

Where do we experience consolation most? Family.

Where is hope for that nurtured? Family.

The patriarch Abraham is a model of faith and hope. In spite of the realities that surrounded him, “no distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God” (, )

When we work hard at being family we are better able to represent and with the spirit, bring the presence of God who is the hope of the world wherever we are.

We are to show up as advocates who represent and incarnate the presence of God, who is the hope of the world.

Christian hope is securely based upon the words and actions of God. The promises of God have proven to be dependable. The resurrection of Jesus becomes the ultimate basis for hope.

The invitation to a hope that doesn’t disappoint is an invitation to join with Jesus and his church.

We are to show up as advocates who represent and incarnate the presence of God, who is the hope of the world.

Labberton, Called.

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