December 2, 2018
Stetson Memorial UMC
First
Sunday of Advent
Sunday
of Hope
Worship
Theme-
Hope
for the world to be turned up-side right again.
Sermon
Series:
“The
“Advent”ure…
Where
Hope Begins”
Psalm
25:1-10
Jeremiah
33:14-16 NIV
Acts
1:10-11; John 14:1-3; John 3:16; Genesis 3:15; Hebrews 6:19a; Isaiah 2:1-4
“A
Hope For All Nations…”
The Lord be with you…
And also with you…
Let us pray…
(Pray for the Spirits
leading as God is heard through me or in spite of me…)
A reading from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah
the prophet…chapter 33, verses 14-16. Listen to and for the promise of hope
found in this prophecy of Jeremiah…
Jeremiah
33:14-16 New International Version (NIV)
14 “‘The days are coming,’
declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people
of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at
that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Good Morning…There seems to be so much despair
and hopelessness in the world. All you have to do is to turn on the T.V., pick up
a paper, or even look in our own neighborhoods and see all the despair and
hopelessness. It is overwhelming when we think of the enormous distance that
humanity has moved from God and into itself. Where is the hope to be found? Is
there any hope for this upside-down world to be turned right side up again?
Today we embark on a most excellent “Advent”ure…as
we will travel to the place where hope begins…the hope of all people… Advent is one of my
favorite seasons only overshadowed by the season of Lent. This is where Lent
began…in a manger. This is where God’s plan of restoration began. Our destination…the
manger…is the pivotal place for God’s first promise to humanity… Which by the way was not after the flood, His
first promise is found in Genesis 3:15…
Genesis
3:15 New International Version (NIV)
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
A for
shadow of Jesus… We have hope because our God is a God who fulfills His
promises…
So, today is the Sunday of Hope. So where is true
Hope found? We at times try to find it in the world. But the problem with that
is that like the world…the hope of the world is ever changing from one moment
to the next…much like sifting sand. No…real
hope is found in the manger that we are traveling to. The hope found in John
3:16…
For
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Not only do we celebrate the hope that came into
the world in Advent…but we also celebrate and anticipate His return and setting
things right-side up again. We have to admit; the world is a little up-side
down. It seems as if the enemy is going to win but because of our hope in God’s
promises and promised One we take courage in knowing the enemy will not have
the last word…
Acts 1:10-11 tells us:
0 They were looking
intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in
white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said,
“why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been
taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go
into heaven.”
Jesus is coming back…and I can assure you that
when He does…there will be a battle where He will be victorious…He already beat
the enemy once…this time it will be once and for all.
If the words of these two men in white do not convince
you…how about this…which Jesus Himself said…
John
14:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus
Comforts His Disciples
14 “Do not let your hearts
be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My
Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that
I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am.
He is coming back…and we have the hope of being
with Him…where He is…
Hebrews
6:19a New International Version (NIV)
19 We have this hope as an
anchor for the soul, firm and secure.
Isaiah tells us that…
Isaiah
2:1-4 New International Version (NIV)
The
Mountain of the Lord
2 This is what Isaiah son
of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 In the last days the
mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3 Many peoples will come
and say “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between
the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Today we begin the Season of Hope…of expectation.
On this first Sunday, the Sunday of Hope, where do you place your hope? Is it
in the world that offers sinking sand or is it in the firm foundation of heavenly
hope? Will you choose the hope that offers stability of peace and assurance or
the hope that is ever changing…rearranging itself to the whims of a broken
world? It is all about choice. Which will you choose?
Amen…
=====================
December 2,
2018
December 2, 2018
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
First Sunday in Advent
Sunday of Hope
Worship Theme -
“Hope for the world to be turned u-side right again”.
Sermon Series:
“The Advent”ure…
Where Hope Begins”
“Hope for things to be turned “Up-Side Right” again…”
Psalm 25:1-10
Acts 1:1-10
John 14:1-3
John 3:16
Genesis 3:15
Hebrews 6:19a
Isaiah 2:1-4
Jeremiah 33:14-16
and sermon, “A Hope
for All Nations”
video
text
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
sermon blog
8AM Live
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
Patten,
ME
December 2,
2018
&
edited
December 1, 2018
the baby
climbed the cross – v2
December 1,
2018
the baby
climbed the cross
day before the
First Sunday of Advent
John 1
12/1/18
Pastor Ruth’s
8AM Live
All
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2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. All rights are reserved. Contact me at
Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)
for usage. See all 48,200 of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
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