A Hope That Never Dies Series

[Hell took a body, and discovered God. When it pull Jesus from the earth, it encountered Heaven. Hell reach out and took what it saw, and Hell was overcome by what it did not see.]

"A living hope" means that the believer's hope is sure, certain, and real, as opposed to the deceptive, empty, false hopes that the world offers.

[When Jerome Groopman diagnosed patients with serious diseases, the Harvard Medical School professor discovered that all of them were "looking for a sense of genuine hope—and indeed, that hope was as important to them as anything he might prescribe as a physician."

After writing a book called "The Anatomy of Hope," Groopman was asked for his definition of hope. He replied: "Basically, I think hope is the ability to see a path to the future. You are facing dire circumstances, and you need to know everything that's blocking or threatening you. And then you see a path, or a potential path, to get to where you want to be. Once you see that, there's a tremendous emotional uplift that occurs."

The doctor confessed, "I think hope has been, is, and always will be the heart of medicine and healing. We could not live without hope." Even with all the medical technology available to us now, "we still come back to this profound human need to believe that there is a possibility to reach a future that is better than the one in the present."]

IN CONCLUSION

Peter, who is also called "the apostle of hope," encouraged his readers to trust in Jesus, live faithfully even in hard circumstances, and keep our hope fixed on God's ultimate salvation and our heavenly reward.

The difference for Christian believers is that we have a living hope because Jesus is alive. Our hope is based on the solid evidence of Jesus' resurrection. The Apostle Paul tells us that over 500 people witnessed the resurrected Christ, including the disciples, and Paul himself. Seeing the resurrect Christ changed their lives and gave them a living hope. Has He changed your life? Do you have a hope that never dies?

My question this morning is very simply this, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, are you experiencing the new birth and living hope Jesus came to give you?

You may be wondering, "HOW CAN I OBTAIN THIS ‘HOPE THAT NEVER DIES?'" You must be born again by entrusting yourself to Jesus and committing yourself to the truth of His death, burial and resurrection!

Do you have this hope? If not, would you like to have it?

God the Father offers you a living hope that you can have and maintain by faith. He has done all the impossible part so that all you must do is surrender your life to Him. If you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, just pray this prayer from your heart. "Lord Jesus, I believe in my heart that you were raised from the dead and that this guarantees that your death was sufficient to pay for all my sins and therefore God is for me and not against me. You yourself are alive today and with me to help forever. And I pray that you will help me now to hope fully in your promises so that I might have a Living Hope, a Future Hope & a Present Hope. In Jesus Name, Amen.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - who according to his great mercy has begotten us anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."