It's Time For Hope

Intro its time for HOPE, JOY, AND FINALY, LOVE

DOUG CHOOSING HOPE AND KAY’S FUNERAL,

There are two QUOTES from the 1994 movie Shawshank Redemption that come fo mind....”we can either get busy living or Get busy dying”

Doug has chosen to get busy living, becuase dying takes care of itself.

Then there is this quote that is equally as true...

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. --Andy Dufresne— Character from Shawshank Redemption

It seems that many are tempted to give up on Hope today. You may know someone or maybe you too have been tempted to give in to a Nihilistic view of the world.

The First Sunday of Advent reminds us that the words of --Andy Dufrense-- Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Luke paints a picture in our passage today that reminds us that Hope is a powerful motivator in the midst of unbearable circumstance.

Luke 21:25–36 NLT

25 “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” 29 Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. 30 When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. 32 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. 34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”

Early on in this passage does not seem to scream hope…in fact we see that Luke paints a dire picture of the future.

Nature will do wild things

There will be turmoil

People will be afraid

Everything that we count on will be put to the test.

But then Luke gives us reason to hope…in the midst of these circumstance we see Jesus returning with power.

Then to further drive home his point Luke reminds them and us that these times are not signs of God’s absence but are signs of God’s presence…

When the trees begin to sprout their leaves we know that summer is coming soon…That is what these things are signs of God’s ability to bring something beautiful from what seems like destruction and Chaos.

When we stop hoping in the faithfulness of God we see impossibilities instead of opportunities to overcome.

I know this sounds a bit over the top I mean we have had so many opportunities to overcome that we maybe wondering if we will ever see victory…

However I am convinced that Losing hope is more dangerous than impossibilities because without hope everything is impossible.

In order to maintain hope we must refuse to allow the world to lull us into losing heart...

We do this by taking time to pray intently with our minds and hearts entirely transfixed on the strength that come from the Hope of God’s eminent return presence of God.

We do this in a variety of ways but during this holiday season I want to encourage you to look for space to do this one thing....

Find a Time and Space to Rest in Christ

The World Calls us into a hustle and bustle during this time of year. But Advent calls us to slow down and contemplate the Hope we have in Jesus.

It is interesting to me that some are claiming the supply chain issues are going to destroy Christmas…kids will not receive the newest toys, the hottest fashions will not be easily available to us…and so on.

What if this is an opportunity to change our focus…to finally slow down and focus of Jesus the Hope of the world?…Take more time to decorated the tree, skip the mall and break out UNO, Turn off your devices and live in this moment with God and those closest to you.

Hope lives in the resting presence of Jesus not in more activity.

Most of us are more tired than we realize on the soul level which may be leading us to the brink of exhaustion physically.

Solitude Give rest to the spirit…If we do not rest our spirit then we will never be able to live fully in the vibrant hope of the fulfilled promise of Messiah.

Create a space to rest

Select a time to be in that space.

Communion