Sermons

A Living Hope

Hope. When you hear this word, what comes to mind? We can hope in a lot of things. We can hope that we turned the burner off the kitchen stove before we left the house this morning. We can hope that we do well on that 4th period math test that we didn't have enough time to study for last night. We can also hope for things that mean more to us. "I sure hope someone sits with me in the lunchroom today. It's been so lonely sitting by myself." "Money's really tight this month. I sure hope we can pay the mortgage when it's due." "I haven't been to church in three weeks. I sure hope someone cares that I'm missing and reaches out to check up on me." Speaking to scattered, persecuted Christians in and around the Roman Empire over two-thousand years ago, the Apostle Peter wrote these words, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." -1 Peter 1:3-5 Peters words grip us through time and space as he encourages us today to persevere in our faith through all of life's ups and downs as we mature into the people of God that our Lord created us to be. Our identity as followers of Jesus transforms the way we think, behave and act. It shows the watching world around us that, as the old hymn goes, "They'll know we are Christians by our love." Join us on Sunday mornings as Pastor Chrishon and Bryan guide us along this fantastic little letter into a living hope as we are united to Christ. The Lord has been so good to us, and He remains our only living hope as we navigate the travails of this world in the here and now of today, and the promise of life eternal. We hope (pun intended) to see you this fall at Hope (see where we're going with this??) as we continue to grow in our love for Jesus and one another as we continue to pursue God's calling for our lives to holistically, boldly, gently, lovingly live out our faith in our community! All are welcome to join us on this journey we call faith!