December 2nd, 2025
Hope
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” - Isaiah 9:2
Today (Sunday) the season of Advent begins. This morning in church, we lit the first Advent candle—the candle of hope. Hope is possibly one of the most beautiful words in our language. It is a word that reminds us that rarely if ever is all truly lost. Even when things are at their worst; even when it seems that nothing will ever be good again; even when life seems bitter and bleak, there is almost always hope.
There is actual research in the field known as positive youth development that indicates that the most important component for young people to overcome adversity and thrive as they mature is hope. There is literally nothing more important or more beneficial. The secular approach to this is to use programs and models and so forth to cultivate hope, but of course we know a better way. It has long been a statistical fact that young people who are involved in faith-based activities such as church, Sunday school, youth group, and so on are overall more successful and less likely to end up in serious trouble than their peers who do not have such involvement. To those of us who have been around for a while, especially if we are involved with youth, this comes as no surprise. For thousands of years now, the Church has offered a kind of hope that nothing and no one else can.
This isn’t just true for young people. We all need hope, every single one of us. And real hope, the true hope of the world, lies with Christ and Him alone. There is a reason why the Advent and Christmas season is all about lights—twinkling lights, stars, candles, all the kinds of light we can imagine. It is because Jesus entered into darkness to bring us the Light of the World, the true Light, the light of the gospel of Christ.
Our guest pastor today was asking about “life verses.” I do not love this concept, because what my “life verse” is may well depend upon the day and my current crisis. But when pressed, I will answer with John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” No matter how deep the darkness, it is overcome by even the tiniest spark, the smallest candle, the merest suggestion of light.
In Christ we have far more than that. We have the light that conquers all darkness, that lights every corner of our hearts, that brightens the whole world. The light of hope shines relentlessly wherever we are, and it can never be extinguished. Be blessed today, friends. Walk in light; live in hope.
Amen.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” - Isaiah 9:2
Today (Sunday) the season of Advent begins. This morning in church, we lit the first Advent candle—the candle of hope. Hope is possibly one of the most beautiful words in our language. It is a word that reminds us that rarely if ever is all truly lost. Even when things are at their worst; even when it seems that nothing will ever be good again; even when life seems bitter and bleak, there is almost always hope.
There is actual research in the field known as positive youth development that indicates that the most important component for young people to overcome adversity and thrive as they mature is hope. There is literally nothing more important or more beneficial. The secular approach to this is to use programs and models and so forth to cultivate hope, but of course we know a better way. It has long been a statistical fact that young people who are involved in faith-based activities such as church, Sunday school, youth group, and so on are overall more successful and less likely to end up in serious trouble than their peers who do not have such involvement. To those of us who have been around for a while, especially if we are involved with youth, this comes as no surprise. For thousands of years now, the Church has offered a kind of hope that nothing and no one else can.
This isn’t just true for young people. We all need hope, every single one of us. And real hope, the true hope of the world, lies with Christ and Him alone. There is a reason why the Advent and Christmas season is all about lights—twinkling lights, stars, candles, all the kinds of light we can imagine. It is because Jesus entered into darkness to bring us the Light of the World, the true Light, the light of the gospel of Christ.
Our guest pastor today was asking about “life verses.” I do not love this concept, because what my “life verse” is may well depend upon the day and my current crisis. But when pressed, I will answer with John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.” No matter how deep the darkness, it is overcome by even the tiniest spark, the smallest candle, the merest suggestion of light.
In Christ we have far more than that. We have the light that conquers all darkness, that lights every corner of our hearts, that brightens the whole world. The light of hope shines relentlessly wherever we are, and it can never be extinguished. Be blessed today, friends. Walk in light; live in hope.
Amen.
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