Hope In The Future Series

Series: Hope Beyond

Series Thesis: Someone has wisely stated that if you could convince a man that there is no hope, he would curse the day he was born and then give up. Hope is essential for the mindset of mankind and for vision for the future.

Scripture for series:

I Peter 1:3-6: Praise to God for a Living Hope

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Series Introduction:

The question of "Is there any hope?" is common in our chaotic world today. We hear this question being asked by young, middle aged, and older people today. People look around and see pandemics, political dissension, death, racial tensions, a society ready to explode and numerous deaths. We see and read of shootings, addictions, depression, suicide. We hear so many lies being spun daily on the news and through the media we know somethings going to explode. We experience the pain of others greed. We see leadership breakdown, inflation on the rise. We see more unrest in foreign countries than ever before and we see the borders of our nation in chaos. Our society is calling good evil and evil good. They are celebrating sin and rejecting the ways of God more and more. Our family units are crashing all around us and society is sinking deeper into deception and anti-god ways.

So many are asking is there any hope?

I answer “yes” there is hope in Jesus- yes there is hope in the future and everything we are facing today has been faced by Christians before us just read your Christian History– the world we live in has faced other pandemics, political corruption, economic depression, racial riots and division. It has gone through times of economic collapse and high inflation.

Story from a past Pandemic and hope – the story of the Red Cross – remind them of.

Story from political corruption of the past and a hope – Charles Colson’s story!

Story from racial riots and division of the past and hope – Martin Luther King’s message “I have dream.” Show video of Stone Mt. from One Race.

Story from economic collapse – the great depression and the birth of CHC – this church birthed in the very beginning of the Great Depression on April 19, 1928:

Most people know the Great Depression started with the stock market crash of Sept. 1929, but we often forget it lasted 10 years — until 1939. Not only was there 25% unemployment, but the price of some crops also dropped by 60%. Simultaneously, agriculture was devastated by the Dust Bowl, the result from decades of farming the Great Plains without resting the fields. Many people lost their farms. Some people could no longer care for their children and placed them in orphanages or sent them off to be adopted. Those were long, terrible years. But God saw the church of Jesus thrive and grow in this very same time period.

CHC called back then Christ Church grew? CHC purchased a building in March 1931 in the middle of the Great Depression so did other churches grow in this time period as well! My own college North Central University was started in the middle of the Great Depression in 1935 with many miracles and the purchase of their building in downtown mpls.. Bible camps were purchased and launched during the Great Depression as well.

Note: The Church historically has flourished during war, famine, economic depressions, riots, political corruption, plagues and persecution in history. So in light of looking back through the Bible and Church history I have hope for the future.

What robs people of a future hope? The number one reason is their perception of their failures – yes failure!

Albert Einstein’s story!

Sermon: Hope in the Future!

Scripture:

Jeremiah 29:11: 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Proverbs 24:14: 14Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.