Untitled Sermon (9)

What is hope?

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Hope

An expectation or belief in the fulfillment of something desired.

The foundation of hope is the promises of God. Like cinder blocks and cement, the promises of God form the base for the building of faith to rest on.

Hope is NOT a thing- it is not a goal or a means to and end. Hope is a way of being in the world.

Craig Kocher “"Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury its heat in Yule-tide cheer and artificial lights, but like an Advent wreath glowing stronger and brighter each week, this hope pushes its way into the brokenness of the world clearing a path in the wilderness so the true light might burst into the darkness."’

Hope is PERSONAL

At some point hope must move from being “out there” to “in here”

Many people trust that there is hope in the world. That the world, or the human race, or the universe will prevail. However, they have no hope for their personal situation.

implies that we need/have personal hope in the plans of God

Hope is POWERFUL

Josh in battle ()

Hope to move on, hope to press on, hope to have confidence, hope for healing

Hope is like Gas in the tank

There is a story about how the caverns north of Yellowstone National Park were discovered. As the story goes, one of the original explorers was walking along the top of that mountain and fell through a hole, and he dropped down several hundred feet into this cavern and was stuck in almost total darkness for over a week, no food, no water. He cried out every day, "Help me!" hoping that somebody would hear his voice and figure out that he was down there.Sure enough a guy came along and heard this faint sound and looked around and found the hole. They dug him out and that’s how they found this giant cavern. They asked him, "How did you hold on to hope day after day after day in the dark without giving up?" He said, "There was one little pinhole ray of light that was coming through and I just kept focused on that ray of light."

1 Thess 4:13

Sure enough a guy came along and heard this faint sound and looked around and found the hole. They dug him out and that’s how they found this giant cavern. They asked him, "How did you hold on to hope day after day after day in the dark without giving up?" He said, "There was one little pinhole ray of light that was coming through and I just kept focused on that ray of light."

Hope is PURPOSEFUL

The purpose of hope is to connect us back to Jesus