Christmas is a season of hope. Children are hoping that it snows. Adults are hoping that it doesn’t snow. Some people are hoping they’ll get a certain gift. Others are hoping that their relatives won’t fight on Christmas Eve. All kinds of hopes. These kinds of hope are wishes that something good will happen. Sometimes these kinds of hopes come true, sometimes they don’t. These kinds of hope are based on people’s wishes, a very uncertain foundation for hope.
The Bible talks about a different kind of hope, a hope that is not centered within yourself and your situation, but a hope that is centered on God. The hope of the Bible is centered on the person of Jesus Christ NIV Romans 15:12 … Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse [Jesus] will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.” The prophet Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament that a Messiah, a King of Kings, would one day come. This King, who was to rule over the nations, would not be just for the nation of Israel, but the rest of the world. The Gentiles would put their hope in Him.
The kind of hope that is centered in Jesus is not just a wish. The hope that is centered in Jesus is a certainty. Hope in Jesus provides stability for your life and your eternity. This Christmas, what are you hoping for? Perhaps you are hoping that next year will be better than 2006. Perhaps you are hoping that you will get that pay raise. Perhaps you are hoping that someone you love will be healed from a sickness. Most people’s hopes have no object, they are simply hope in hope.
The hope I am going to talk about today is a hope with an object, a hope centered in the person of Jesus Christ. My message today is entitled “Discover Hope For Your Life.” In this message, we are going to be taking a look at the wise men or magi that came to worship Jesus. How can those magi be an example to you and I in our quest for hope? If there are situations in your life that appear hopeless, if there is someone you know who has little hope in life, than this message is for you.
To hear more about this topic, listen to my December 17, 2006 message entitled Discover Hope For Your Life