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.

Freed to Serve

April 28, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:11-17 This is the beginning of a section addressing how God's people now function in this world. It begins with aliens and exiles and continues with servants, wives, husbands, and finally, all of you. 1.) Our identity defines our actions. We are sojourners and exiles (temporary, passing through, not at home) We have a heavenly citizenship Actions We abstain from the passions of the flesh Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable (our conduct is for the benefit of other people) Honorable conduct wins souls… sojourners, exiles, and soul winners “Peter’s point is that believers’ behavior creates a context in which people will listen to God’s word. He is not teaching that ‘good deeds’ in themselves convert unbelievers, but they establish an environment for the Gospel-word to do so.” -Barnett 2.) Our identity defines our expectations (Unbelievers will respond to honorable conduct in 1 of 2 ways) Some will speak evil against us as though we are evildoers Some will see our good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation 3.) Our identity defines our view of authority (Does anyone here ever just want to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it? That’s why laws exist) Be subject to every human institution (for the Lord's sake) This includes governors and emperors (no distinction between good/bad) The will of God... by doing good, we silence the ignorance of foolish people 4.) Our identity defines our view of freedom Don't use freedom as a cover-up for evil We are freed to serve God Honor, Love, and Fear Discipleship Questions: 1.)Why is it so important to understand our identity before talking about our behavior? 2.) How might this reality impact your parenting? For real, what are 3 ways that you can apply that this week? 3.) How is good conduct a form of evangelism? 4.) What do these verses say that we can expect from others? 5.) How can we honor a government that isn't always honorable? Seriously, what are 5 things we should immediately stop doing and 5 things we should immediately start doing? 6.) What are some tangible ways to honor others? Love the brotherhood? Fear God? Honor the Emperor? 7.) Should we fear the Emperor?

Cornerstone

April 22, 2025
Notes from Ky Martin's sermon on Sunday, April 20, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:4-10 Everyone must accept or reject Jesus. He is the cornerstone. We choose to accept Him as the foundation of our lives or toss the truth aside. When we come to Jesus… We become part of His People 1 Pe 2:4-5 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The cornerstone is The New Temple. From this we learn that following Christ entails joining his community, the church…The freelance Christian, who follows Jesus but is too good, too busy, or too self-sufficient for the church, is a walking contradiction. -Daniel M. Doriani We join a royal, holy, priesthood 1 Pet. 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Because of who Jesus makes us. We receive God’s mercy Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms….Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means undergoing a kind of death. Acts 17:30-31 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Discipleship Questions: Why is it impossible to be neutral about Jesus? Why do you believe that Jesus truly is the Son of God? Do you ever have doubts about this? If yes, what are they? According to 1 Peter 2:9, who are we after we come to Christ? Why does Paul say (in 1 Corinthians) that if Christ is not risen, our faith is in vain?

Born Again

April 16, 2025
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 13, 2025. Sermon text: 1 Peter 2:2-3 Why do our souls ache for certainty? We are so eager for certainty that we will look for it in all the wrong places. - Certainty in our Finances [show slide from news] - Certainty in our Jobs [Acts 17:24-27] - Certainty in our Health [Covid] - Certainty in our Abilities [Ecclesiastes 3:11 “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”] “Things that have never happened before are happening every day.” -Morgan Housel In these verses, God gives us what our souls ache for! 1.) You must be born again of imperishable seed - We have all been born of perishable seed o Impure souls o Disobedient to truth o Unloving insincerity toward others o Lack of loving effort o Impure hearts - We are withering grass and falling flowers - The imperishable seed is the living and abiding Word of God o Does not wither o Does not fall o Does not let us down o It remains forever o It MUST BE PREACHED! But still, how can we be certain that we have been born again? 2.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your relationships When your relationship with God changes, God changes your relationships! - Sincere brotherly love - Love earnestly - Put away… o Malice o Deceit o Hypocrisy o Envy o All Slander 3.) If you are born again, hope will be seen in your appetite for God’s Word - Like newborn infants - Long for the pure spiritual milk Discipleship Questions: 1.) Where are some unhealthy places where you look for certainty? 2.) Why do you do that? 3.) What were some evidences of your perishable seed before you came to Christ? Any of that still lingering that needs to be repented from? 4.) Why does Peter call the Word of God the imperishable seed? 5.) In light of the text, how would you describe being "born again" to a 5-year-old? 6.) How has imperishable hope proven itself in your relationships? OR How might it if you lean into loving others earnestly? 7.) Why does Peter tell us that hope will be seen in our appetite for God's Word?
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