Advent: Hope

From Pastor Nick Gainey's message on Isaiah 9 • December 2, 2020

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” -  Isaiah 9:2

In 336 AD, there was a Roman emperor named Constantine who declared that Christmas Day -- the day we celebrate Christ’s birth -- should be on December 25. Scholars speculate that this date was chosen because of its proximity to the winter solstice.



Leading up to Christmas, the days get shorter and darker. This is the time of the year with the least sunlight.


And then… Christmas. The light of the world, dawning.


What a beautiful picture of hope that paints.


Before Jesus’ birth, no one had heard from God in over 400 years. The darkness of the world was tangible; the weariness almost unbearable. Generation after generation lived and died, crying out for a rescue, hearing nothing.


The hope these people clung to was the promise of a rescuer:


“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.”

- Isaiah 9:6-7


In Latin, the word “Advent” (or “adventus”) means “coming”. For Christians, this word has dual meanings: (1) it means we remember the yearning, aching, weariness of these people who lived in darkness. And that true to His word, God sent His son to earth as a baby to shine a light on the whole world!!! And (2) it means we acknowledge our “already, not yet” state of existence where Christ has come, but His work has not been finished yet. We look forward with hope and eager expectation, knowing His promises will come to pass.


In today’s culture, we often use the word “hope” as interchangeable with wishful thinking. True hope -- Christian hope -- has a confidence that God will do what He has promised He will do. If God makes a promise, He keeps His word. There is absolute assurance.


There is an overlap between faith and hope that is important to note. Faith grows through believing and trusting that God is who He says He says based on what He has revealed in His word. Hope is also enriched and strengthened by knowing and remembering the promises of God.


John Calvin said, “Faith believes God to be truthful: hope waits for Him to display His truthfulness at the appropriate time. Faith believes that God is our Father: hope reckons that He will always act as such towards us. Faith believes that eternal life has already been given to us: hope waits for the day when it will be revealed. Faith is the foundation on which hope is built: hope feeds faith and keeps it alive.”


Faith and hope are overlapping realities. You can’t have hope without faith and it’s hard to have faith without hope. Faith is trusting that God is who he says He is in the here and now; hope looks to future promises that God has revealed through His word with absolute certainty.


For us, our hope on this side of the first Advent is on the hope of the second Advent.


In Romans 8, Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God…”


There have been moments of 2020 that have seemed dark and left us wondering when things might turn around. Truth is, no matter how dark things have seemed, they were nowhere near as dark as before the first Advent. (See Lamentations 1:6) Without the proper object of hope, it is very difficult to have faith in the present. We will be greatly disappointed if we fix our hope in the wrong things.


Advent reminds us that God keeps His promises and points us to the one true hope we have: Jesus. 


The light that has come into the darkness.


..


Watch this sermon here.

Arm Yourselves

June 11, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, June 8, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 4:1-6 Prepare to suffer Is. 50:6-8a I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. 7 But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. The martial language indicates that discipline and grit are needed to live the Christian life, particularly in view of the suffering believers encounter. -Thomas R. Schreiner Some people won’t like you if you follow Jesus When a culture abandons biblical standards, when extramarital sex, cohabitation, and birth outside of marriage become normal, people attack the church for its moral snobbery and judgmentalism. Peter warns us that if we do take a stand, we need to expect slander, not applause. -Daniel M. Dorian This is one of the hardest things a new Christian has to face. Your friends liked you because you shared in “the same flood of debauchery.” It seemed great fun at times, but then you came to embrace Christ… But your friends have not… They will be surprised when you say “No.” -Juan Sanchez. Keep an eternal perspective Our outcome is glorious Suffering is good for us Let’s remember that suffering accomplishes God’s purposes. It exposes what or whom we are trusting (1 Peter 1:6–7). - Juan Sanchez Ecc. 7:2 It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Discipleship Questions: Verse 1 tell us to arm ourselves by thinking as Christ did about suffering. How did Christ arm himself for and against sufferings? What does it look like for us to do that? Have you ever lost friendships (or had them change) because you were following Jesus? Do you fear that we (or our kids) will experience greater persecution in the future? If yes, how should we handle that fear?

I Believe That We Will Win

June 3, 2025
Notes from Lance Shumake's sermon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:18-22 Jesus suffered and died in order to bring us to God Jesus conquered death by his resurrection “A wonderful text is this, and a more obscure passage perhaps than any other in the New Testament, so that I do not know for a certainty just what Peter means.” —Martin Luther Problem #1 - he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison —Jesus preached through Noah to those who lived at that time (1 Peter 1:10–12) —Jesus proclaimed His victory to evil angels (see Genesis 6:1-4) Problem #2 - baptism now saves you —Scripture is clear - we are saved by grace not works —baptism pictures our salvation from God’s judgment through the resurrection of Christ “The waters of baptism, like the waters of the flood, demonstrate that destruction is at hand, but believers are rescued from these waters in that they are baptized with Christ, who has also emerged from the waters of death through his resurrection. Just as Noah was delivered through the stormy waters of the flood, believers have been saved through the stormy waters of baptism by virtue of Christ’s triumph over death.” —Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude —in baptism we are appealing to God for a good conscience "This appeal is an act of the heart looking away from itself and from all human instruments and calling on God, appealing to God, for grace to save.” —John Piper —in baptism we are pledging to God to live in a manner worthy of the gospel Jesus ascended to heaven and now reigns over everything “We can face suffering as Christians with confidence rather than panic, and hope rather than despair, because the road marked with Christian suffering is, no matter what its twists and turns are, the road to vindication and glory. The God who vindicated Jesus will vindicate you, and he will sustain your faith until that day.” –Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You Discipleship Questions: How does Jesus’ death and resurrection encourage us when we suffer? Why did we need Jesus to suffer and die to bring us to God? How does Jesus’ victory over death give us eternal hope? What are your thoughts regarding some of the problems in this passage? How does what Peter says about baptism elevate the importance of baptism? When were you baptized and how does this passage inform your understanding of baptism? How does knowing our victory is secured help us with all the things this life throws at us?

Who Can Be Against Us?

May 27, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, May 25, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Nobody can (truly) hurt Christians Psalm 118:6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? The train of thought is as follows: “No one will be able to harm believers on the future day if they are zealous for good” (v. 13). Indeed, even present suffering is not a sign of punishment but of blessing both now and especially in the future, on the day when God rewards his people with eternal life. -Thomas R. Schreiner Honoring Christ Erases Fear Share your faith with strength and gentleness Embrace balance Be prepared to share The truth of the gospel is a public truth that can be defended in the public arena. This does not mean, of course, that every Christian is to be a highly skilled apologist for the faith. It does mean that every believer should grasp the essentials of the faith and should have the ability to explain to others why they think the Christian faith is true. -Thomas R. Schreiner Be prepared to suffer “I’ve spent a number of years in India and Africa where I found much righteous endeavor undertaken by Christians of all denominations; but I never, as it happens, came across a hospital or orphanage run by the Fabian Society [a British socialist organization], or a humanist leper colony.” -Malcolm Muggeridge Be bold! We will likely suffer as Christians in this world, but that suffering is slight and temporary compared to the eternal inheritance that awaits us. The worst thing that can happen to us is that we die and receive our promised inheritance. Can you imagine how emboldened Christians would be if we only believed what Peter is saying? -Juan R. Sanchez Discipleship Questions: Does the fact that nobody can (truly) harm us comfort you? What would change if we lived like we really believe that? Are you a more confident person as someone who knows Christ? Does your security in Christ embolden you to take some risks in life, knowing that the worst that could happen is death? How equipped / prepared are you to give a reason for the hope that you have? What would grow your confidence and competence in that? Have you considered joining Michael Clark one day for evangelism at the harbor? Well….you should….
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