Hope
Message Summary: Hope, joy, and peace are each an important part of this Christmas season. Today, the focus of the message is hope. We often spend more time thinking of things we don’t have than thinking about things we do have. This is living with the spirit of poverty. When we believe we do not have enough, it begins to affect every area of our life. Negative emotions consume us, such as sadness and depression. We ought to replace this by living with an attitude of gratitude.
Most of the residents of Argyle are wealthier than 99% of the U.S. If you attend church, you are better off than three billion people in the world. We have a lot to be grateful for. Sadly, some of us are going through hard times right now, but we can have hope that our God has a plan for our lives. We can have hope that one day Christ will return, and we are to be ready. To prepare for his return, we should live holy and Godly lives. Live differently, not weird, but as a believer, we should live a different life.
- What does the word hope mean to you?
- What am I putting my hope in today?
- If I knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, how would I live my life today?
- How can I live differently, as a Christian?
- In what ways, can I use the spiritual gifts God has given me?
Isaiah 7:14 (NIV) – Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Romans 15:13 (NIV) – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:3 (NIV) – Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Revelations 21:5-21 (NIV) – He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life…
1 Peter 1:13 (NIV) – Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.
Matthew 24:42-44 (NIV) – Therefore keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
2 Peter 3:10-12 (NIV) – But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with the promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Philippians 2:9-10 (NIV) – Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
