Finding Hope In Our Uncertainties Series

Note: The idea for this series and the title for the sermon came from Outreach.com.

How has 2020 been going for you? It’s been quite a year: a global pandemic, economic recession, unemployment, political division, cultural upheaval, racial tension, record wildfires, floods and Derecho. On top of all this, some have relapsed, and many are struggling with depression, grief, fear and hopelessness.

Do any of these images represent your feelings?

• If 2020 was a slide (a slide that drops at a 90-degree angle)

• If 2020 was a car (held together by duct tape)

• If 2020 was a swing (swings that smash into a wall)

• If 2020 was a pinata (a hornet nest)

• If 2020 was a hula hoop (a roll of barbed wire)

Do you feel like you’ve hit an emotional wall this year? According to a recent survey, 3 in 4 Americans report the constant stream of bad news has taken a tremendous toll on their lives. Not surprisingly, 80% are desperate to be cheered up. If ever there’s a year we need the hope of Christmas, this is it.

One ministry in the QCA put it like this in their newsletter: “This year has been unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and uncertain for many.”

I’ve heard a number of people say, “I’m so glad 2020 is almost over” as if everything will automatically reset on January 1. What if it doesn’t?

We’re kicking off a new series this weekend called, “ReDiscover Christmas: Good News in Troubling Times.” Here’s where we’re headed.

December 12-13 Finding Love in our Differences

December 19-20 Finding Joy in our Discouragements

December 23-24 Finding Peace in our Struggles

Today our focus is on “Finding Hope in our Uncertainties.” BTW, Sheila has put together a hands-on project for families which synchronizes with these same topics. Simply pick up a “Christmas in a Box” out in the lobby or if you’re engaging online, stop by and pick one up during the week. The December Bible Reading Plan also correlates with hope, love, joy and peace this month.

I like the way Ray Pritchard begins his new December devotional: “Christmas is coming just in time. We could use a full helping of good news and great joy at the end of the hardest year we can remember.”

If we were to take a survey, we would discover hope is hard to find right now. Hope is not only hard to find; it’s difficult to define. Some equate hope with an optimistic feeling that all will turn out well. For some, it’s wishful thinking, whether it’s related to the weather: “I hope it’s nice today” or a general feeling that some desire will be fulfilled.

Some of you have lost hope because you feel cratered by COVID and decimated by disappointment. Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” For most of us, our lives are filled with a combination of hope and hopelessness, of promise and problems.

The definition of Christian hope is much more robust than simply being optimistic. Hope has heft to it because its source is our holy God.

In the Old Testament hope means “to bind together, often by twisting.” It refers to the process of making a rope by twisting two strands of material together. Understood in this way, hope means I bring my problems to the Lord as I hold on to the specific promises of God. To hope means to wrap my problems together with God’s promises.

We could say it like this: Hold on to hope when it’s hard to cope. Ecclesiastes 4:12 adds God’s provision to His promises and our problems: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” The third strand is Immanuel, Jesus Christ, born on Christmas, crucified on Good Friday and raised on Easter. He is Heaven’s child, the hope of the world. With Him wrapped around our lives, we are safe and secure.

Let’s put this into an equation:

My problems + God’s promises = God’s provision

Here’s a definition of hope I’ve found helpful: “Hope is wishing for what God has already promised us.” Isaiah 40:31 says strength is renewed for those who hope in the Lord.

The word “hope” is used 52 times in the New Testament and is always grounded in God; that’s enough hope for every week of the year!

Let’s turn now to Luke 2:22-38 so we can find hope in our uncertainties. The setting of this passage takes place after the birth of Jesus when Joseph and Mary bring Him to the temple to present Him for dedication in obedience to Exodus 13:2. We base our practice of child dedications on this example – we’ll be having child dedications next weekend if you’re interested. Also, they were there because Mary needed to be purified after giving birth according to Leviticus 12.