Life on life discipleship often seems dark, difficult and impossible. Yet, God brings hope. In this message, Charlie Marquis (Hope’s Youth Pastor & staff member of Forge Ministries) shares an update on his recent trip to the Hadzabe Tribe in Northern Tanzania. Just as Abraham had “hope against all hope” moments, he – in hope – believed and became a father of…
Sermons from December 2014
King Jesus was born in Bethlehem not Rome. His arrival in this small unnoticed town demonstrates that our king came to shunned places and overlooked people in order to be with and exalt them. Do you ever doubt God’s presence and love? This 4th week of Advent be encouraged, Jesus has come to be with YOU! Do you know someone who is…
In this 3rd week of Advent we consider, “What is it we are waiting for?” In other words, what is God’s vision for the future? Jesus and the whole Bible reveal that God’s vision for the future is a second advent of Christ followed by a renewed cosmos free from destruction, racial division, injustice and everything else that disrupts the harmony that once existed in Eden. Once this picture becomes clearer a second question must be addressed, “In light of this hope, how shall we now live?” This week we hear God’s invitation for us is to participate in making earth look more like Heaven while we anticipate Christ’s 2nd advent after which He will make all things new.
Has life been more difficult than you expected? If so, December may be a tough month as you see others celebrating while you struggle. On this second Sunday of Advent we recall a series of disappointments in Joseph’s life and we discover how these difficulties were used by God in a way that Joseph could have never imagined. His setbacks paved the way for the coming of Christ for the good of the whole world. In his first advent (“coming”), Jesus also modeled bowing in the midst of unexplainable difficulty and He taught His disciples to do the same. Therefore, we bow to our Sovereign God to plead our case, worship in our pain, and trust with full confidence that our difficulties in this damaged world will contribute (most likely in ways that only God currently knows) to God’s glory, our future joy and the restoration of all things.