The Beginning of Hope Realized

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Beginning of Hope Realized</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id421.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pointing To The Hope"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"The Beginning of Hope Realized"</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, December 7, 2003am</B></div> <bR> <div>      "Apparently, even colors can be insensitive. In St. Paul, Minnesota, county officials have banned the use of red poinsettias from a city hall holiday display. White ones are okay, they say, but the red flowers are associated with Christianity. Also in Minnesota, two Rochester middle school students were disciplined for wearing red and green scarves in a Christmas skit that ended, "We hope you all have a merry Christmas." Maybe they should have said "holiday" instead. That method seems to work at the Wisconsin State capitol where a 40-foot Balsam fir in the rotunda is not a Christmas tree. It's a holiday tree. . . Schools have banned Christmas cards, religious locker decorations, and the reading of Christmas-related stories. One school deleted the word "Christmas" from the calendar. . . In November, the county executive of King County, Washington, sent a memo to businesses encouraging employees to keep any holiday celebration "religion-neutral." According to The Seattle Times, the memo from Ron Sims says: "We at King County want to ensure that any upcoming holiday celebration at the workplace is held in a respectful, inclusive, and sensitive manner that does not favor one religion over another." The letter suggested not having Christmas parties but "holiday" or "winter" celebrations instead. Sims also encouraged wishing co-workers a "happy holiday."" ("December dilemma," Todd Hertz, Christianitytoday.com, 12/19/2001): </div> <div>      Increasingly, in the public square at least, the true meaning of Christmas is being obscured. When you take away the true meaning of Christmas, you take away the hope that Christmas represents. Christmas is not about good feelings of hope and faith in humanity. It is about God's intervention into humanity's affairs. Without his intervention, we would have no hope.</div> <div>      We are in need of hope, because we know the world is not as it should be. We are acquainted with sickness, death, violence, greed, financial troubles, family conflicts, our own sinfulness and the personal messes that make up many of our lives. The real hope of Christmas is the hope of Jesus Christ himself.</div> <bR> <div> <B>I. 2 Messages of Hope (</B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Lk+1:1-38" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>Luke 1:1-38</B></U></A><B>).</B></div> <div> Parallel accounts, both including an announcement by the angel, a statement of significance, and a response.</div> <div> 1. Luke 1:1-25: The coming of John, the forerunner.</div> <div> 2. Luke 1:26-38: The coming of Jesus, the Messiah.</div> <div>      The messages were given to people of faith, people who were waiting with hope. There was no "peace on earth" - they were under the evil reign of Herod. But the end of the Old Testament predicted the coming of the Messiah, along with one who would go before him to prepare the way (Malachi 3:1, 4:5-6). That was their hope, that was what they were waiting for.</div> <bR> <div> <B>II. Three reasons for hope:</B></div> <div> 1. Vss. 15-17 - God is in the business of calling wandering people back to himself. He reconciles people with himself and with each other.</div> <div> 2. Vss. 31-33 - God himself intervened on earth to bring salvation.</div> <div> 3. Vss. 35-37 - God keeps his promises, because nothing is impossible with him.</div> <div>      To this message of hope, offer a willing response of faith, as Mary did (vs. 38). Compare her response to the response of Zechariah (vs. 18). </div> <bR> <div>      "On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. It was not the distance that was the great challenge to her but the bone-chilling waters of the Pacific. To make matters worse, a dense fog enshrouded the entire area, making it impossible to see the land. After she had swum for 15 hours and was within half a mile of her goal, Florence Chadwick gave up. Later she told a newspaper reporter, "If I could have seen land, I might have made it." Not long thereafter she again attempted this same feat. Once again the fog shrouded the coastline and she could not see the shore, but this time she successfully completed her swim because she kept reminding herself that the land was out there, somewhere. With that confidence she bravely swam on and achieved her goal. In fact, she broke the men's record by more than two hours." [Woodrow Kroll, Early in the Morning, email devotional, 3-4-03.] We have to be reminded regularly that hope exists, that we must keep going. Don't give up hope. Our Deliver is coming. The completion of our salvation is still ahead. Keep believing his truth, keep obeying his word, keep serving him with him with all your heart.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2003, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>