Advent 2009:: The Coming HOPE

Each day during the Advent season we will post the day's reading. Be sure to check back daily and interact by posting your thoughts on this blog. Today's reading also includes the introduction.

Introduction::

Thousands of years ago, during the time the Old Testament was written, God spoke to his people through prophets. Prophets were people chosen by God to communicate truth about God, revealing His character and His love to His people. When Jesus was born, these prophets had been silent for more than 400 years.

God’s people had no autonomy and were being ruled by Rome. The people were lost, oppressed and lacked hope. But God’s plan was to send his son to redeem the world. His plan was to bring hope, joy, peace and love to the world. His plan was to demonstrate His love by sending His son to the world as a baby.

This booklet is a study that is written to experience the Christmas season in a deeper way. It is designed to help you connect with THE COMING of Jesus. We will center our study on four concepts that Jesus’ coming brought to the world: hope, joy, peace and love.

This booklet is meant to help you celebrate THE COMING.

Monday Hope::

Hope- The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word that appears in the New Testament that we translate as “hope” is defined as:: confident expectation. Hope is a general term that is more a sense that you have than it is a tangible feeling.

We use the word “hope” in a totally different context. We say things like, “I hope my team wins this game” or “I hope I pass my math test.” There is uncertainty involved in that sort of hope. The hope that Jesus has brought to the world is confident expectation.

Tim Keller wrote,
When September 11th happened and New Yorkers started to suffer, you heard two voices. You heard the conventional moralistic voices saying, “When I see you suffer, it tells me about a judging God. You must not be living right, and so God is judging you.” When they see suffering they see a judgmental God.

The secular voice said, “When I see people suffering, I see God missing.” When they see suffering, they see an absent, indifferent God.

But when we see Jesus Christ dying and suffering on the cross through an act of violence and injustice, what kind of God do we see then? A condemning God? No, we see a God of love paying for sin. Do we see a missing God? Absolutely not! We see a God who is not remote but involved.

You and I live in a world where there is darkness, suffering, pain and confusion. Much of the time God gets the blame for these things. But God sent Jesus into the world to bring hope in the middle of a dark world filled with suffering, pain and confusion. This week we will look at hope and how God sent the gift of hope into the world with this one life.