Sermons from Good News: Christmas speaks of hope

Church 12/2/2023

Offertory scripture:

It’s a blessing to celebrate Jesus at Christmas. God’s gift to us is His Son Jesus.

Proverbs 11:25

Give God thanks. Give and God will give into you.

Sermon message:

Thesis: Christmas speaks of hope.

In Genesis 1 & 2, Adam and Eve walked and talked directly with God. There was no division between them.

But in Genesis 3, Satan wanted to ruin man’s enjoyment of God. He caused them to sin which created the division between them and God.

But because of Jesus, hope is still alive for man with God.

As long as God is alive and you are alive, hope is still alive. And of course God is always alive.

Satan wasn’t going to give up. He successfully got Cain to kill Abel. And so on.

But hope is still alive. Adam and Eve had more children.

As the generations passed by, the next generations became more and more evil. The hope was looking dim for a future generation to crush Satan’s head finally.

But hope is still alive. 7 generations down, Noah was born and loved God. And God used him to build an ark to save his family while God flooded the earth.

And on … Abram (Abraham) … Abraham had faith and was the father of faith. Abraham had supernatural hope. He hoped against hope. We cannot rely on merely natural hope. We must rely on supernatural hope (faith).

Between Malachi and Matthew was 400 years. Nothing from God. No prophecies or signs or words of knowledge.

Adam and Eve were waiting a very long time for the One to arrive who would crush Satan’s head, and for them to have their fellowship with God restored.

But Jesus’s birth changed all that.

Luke 2:8-10

This joy is for all believers.

Luke 2:11-14

When Jesus was born, hell started to cry but heaven started to rejoice. And Adam and Eve rejoiced.

John 3:16-18

Point #1: God is a promise keeper.

Point #2: Don’t let hope be taken from you.

Point #3: When mistakes make you feel that hope is gone, refocus.

Point #4: When challenges say there is no hope, refocus.

Point #5: When you lose a battle, refocus.
(It doesn’t mean you lost the war.)

Point #6: This Christmas refocus on Jesus.