Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. It’s a time to take a break from work, at least for a few days and spend time with our families. Christmas is a time to think of giving to others. Christmas is a time to be thankful for the good things that God has brought into our lives in the past year. Yet, for some people, Christmas is a difficult time. Perhaps, someone dear to you is no longer around. Maybe this past year had more sorrows and hardships than joys. For many, finances are tight and the cost of gift-giving raises the stress level. Worry of what may happen in 2010 can also put a damper on the holidays.
If Christmas is just a holiday, than it will come and go with little change in our lives. The worries and fears that we carried into Christmas, we will carry right into the New Year of 2010. However, Christmas is more than just a happy holiday. Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. Jesus, God Himself, came to this earth as a baby, ultimately to die for us.
Why did He do it? Jesus came to this earth on that first Christmas night because He loved you. Jesus came to save you from your sins, worries and fears. Jesus came to have an eternal relationship with you that would last forever. Jesus came to bring hope into our lives. On that first Christmas, hope was born into our world.
Matthew 12:21 (NLT) And his name [Jesus] will be the hope of all the world.”
What is hope? Hope is a confidence that something good is going to happen in the future. Hope is the opposite of worry. Worry is the concern that something bad is going to happen in the future. Jesus gives confidence that good will happen to those who put their trust in Him. This Christmas, 2010, God wants to give each person here hope, hope for the New Year. Here’s God’s purpose for you and your family.
Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
God is a God of hope. What goes along with hope? We see in this verse that joy and peace will fill your life when you have hope. We’re going to look at how each person here can overflow with hope. You see, when you overflow with hope, you have so much hope that you can lead others into that same hope from Jesus Christ.
Listen to my December 20, 2009 message “Jesus Brings Hope” (message notes).