Text: The Psalms of Ascent | Listen to Message

Fighting for Hope in the Midst of Despair

 

We live in a broken and grief-filled world. Even as I sat down to write this week’s message, the news broke that 14 people had been killed by gunfire at a holiday party in San Bernardino, California. And so it goes, day after day, week after week, month after month. We continually experience pain that causes us to ask, “Where is God? And why isn’t He doing something to stop this madness?” We want to believe that someday things will be different, but what reason do we have for hope?

The answer is Jesus. In the midst of our brokenness, the advent of Jesus says loud and clear that God is both with us and for us.

We hope for God’s presence…and in the coming of Jesus, Emmanuel, the eternal God wrapped himself in human flesh and lived among us. In his face, God was seen. In his voice, God was heard. In his hands, God was touched. In his life, the infinite, invisible Creator made himself known.

We hope for God’s goodness…and in the coming of Jesus, the undeserved kindness of God was revealed! Mercy and grace were poured out on sinners, and Jesus proved that nothing – not even execution on an old, rugged cross – could break his steadfast love. He would do whatever it took to redeem his people from sin.

Finally, we hope for God’s greatness…and in the coming of Jesus, the authority and power of God was demonstrated in one paradox after another. Between his birth in a stable and his death on cross, most of his life was lived under a cloak of normalcy. His life began and ended in humility. But make no mistake: in weakness, Jesus was breaking the power of sin, reversing the curse, and destroying death.

Our hope is not found in politics or prosperity. It’s not found in getting our own way. It’s found in a good, great, present God who has come – and is coming again.