Hello, my name is Sandy Fagley and I’m a long-time member of Lima Church.  I’m usually located at the back of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, to bring you the words to hymns and picture slides to help make our worship experience pleasant and hopefully, more meaningful.

 

When Pastor Dorry resigned her position at Lima Church due to very difficult circumstances, some of us were asked to assist during the transition to a new pastor, not yet identified.  I am the first of several Lima members who will be bringing messages to you over the next few weeks.

 

You may recall that last January, at the beginning of 2023, we were asked to pick a “Star Word” to carry with us all through the year.  The idea was to allow us to focus on our word and to contemplate meanings of the word.  This was a voluntary exercise and I was intrigued by the idea.  Where might it lead us?  Were there any things I didn’t already know?

 

The word I chose was HOPE.  It was clear to me almost immediately that that was the word for me (Pastor Dorry called this a “shimmering word”), and nothing else was tugging at my brain.  I wrote my word on a paper STAR Pastor Dorry provided and posted it on the cork board in the Narthex; I also made one for my work area at home and one for the Tech Booth in the sanctuary so that I couldn’t possibly lose track of my ‘Star Word.”

 

The first Sunday after we chose our words was the 15th of January, and there it was:  HOPE jumping out at me – in our Opening Prayer and one of the hymns we sang.  Wow, I thought, no searching required here!  I’ll just keep my eyes open and maybe it’ll be easy to spot “hope” in our worship services.

 

Well, there was barely a week during 2023 that didn’t have a reference to Hope.  And I started thinking that not only are we the Easter people, we are also the people of hope.  Hope was everywhere.

 

Hope is a powerful and uplifting concept that holds significant meaning in our lives. It gives us the strength to persevere during challenging times and provides a sense of optimism for the future.

 

It’s mentioned in the New Testament of the NIV (New International Version) 129 times.  The actual count for “h-o-p-e” varies among translations because some may

use alternative terms like “trust” or “confidence” instead of specifically mentioning ‘hope.’

 

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul often speaks about hope in his letters to various churches. He emphasizes that hope is an anchor for the soul, pointing believers towards the eternal promises of God.

 

In the Bible, hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.

As Dorry noted in her Christmas Eve message at the 10:00 pm service, Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes under God’s guidance.

 

Hope is one of the three theological virtues of the Christian religion, alongside faith and love. There are many references to hope in the Old Testament, but I’m highlighting New Testament scripture today.

 

Here are two examples of hope from the Old Testament:

The ultimate source of hope in the Bible is found in Jesus Christ. Through his life, death, and resurrection, he offers the hope of salvation and eternal life to all who believe in him.  The apostle Paul said it all in Romans 8:24: “For in this hope we have been saved.”

Two weeks ago we commemorated the birth of God’s son.  There’s a favorite hymn that just so nicely sums up what we were celebrating on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning: “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”  In the first verse we sing, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

Now we are together on Epiphany Sunday recounting the story of 3 wise men who traveled an amazingly long distance to see the Christ child. No doubt they were harboring a deep hope that they were being led to the savior of the world. And they were!  What a great example of the kind of hopeful outcome expected under God’s guidance.

True hope comes from God. He is the Creator of all things, including hope.

“Hope” is commonly used to mean a wish : its strength is the strength of the person’s desire. But in the Bible, hope is what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.

The clearest example of this basis for hope is 1 Peter 1:3, wherein the author blesses God that ‘we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’.

True hope comes by trusting God even when circumstances are difficult.

 

The apostle Paul speaks about hope in Romans 5:5 where he says,  “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Further along in the same letter to the Romans, Paul said “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.”  (Romans 15:13)

Hope given by the Holy Spirit works together to give us confidence, joy, peace, and love.  That is a true gift!

 

Hoping in God will never lead us into despair, because He has a plan for all of us who look to Him. He has a future that is full of hope.

 

Hope in the New Testament means looking to the future with assurance.  Because we know Jesus, we know we have hope. 1 Peter 1:13 tells us “Therefore prepare your minds for action, discipline yourselves and set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.”

 

Our hope is placed in a gift we simply cannot achieve on our own.  God has given us the gift of hope.  It is as certain and foundational as the fact that he gave us life. Hope provides that even death cannot hold us from God’s great eternal plan, and it takes us through everything the world might hand us to dash our hopes.

 

How does hope help us in difficult times?  Hope gives us strength and resilience to endure challenges, knowing that God is faithful and has a plan for our lives.  This is not easy to remember when you’re experiencing the harshness everyday life can dole out.

 

But Hope enables us to see beyond our current circumstances, focusing on God’s faithfulness and His plans for our future.  How appropriate for the situation Lima Church finds itself in.

 

A thought from one of the articles in the Billy Graham Library suggested we can cultivate and strengthen our hope by spending time in prayer and studying God’s Word.  This will deepen our understanding of His promises and fuel our hope in Him.

 

The Bible reminds us of the significance and power hope holds in our lives and that, even in the darkest of times, there is always a glimmer of light and a reason to hold on.

 

Where are we seeing hope now?  It’s all around us.

At Lima, we have a plan for improving our security, which our Trustees are hard at work implementing.

 

We have a nascent plan for transitioning to a new pastor, interim or permanent, and we know God is watching over us.

 

We are showing kindness to each other, waiting for the light in this time of uncertainty.

 

We are rejoicing in the 2 families who found a home at Eddystone United Methodist Church and are safe from the war in Ukraine.

 

We are witnesses to the hope that UMCOR provides to people around the world in devastating circumstances.

 

We are praying for Dorry and Phil and for our congregation, so that all of us will find peace.

 

Honestly, when I started out in January with my collection of Stars, all broadcasting the word HOPE, I did not realize how much there was to learn about Biblical hope, one of the cornerstones of our faith.

 

Biblical hope is a reality and not a feeling. It carries no doubt. Biblical hope is a sure foundation upon which we base our lives, believing that God always keeps His promises. Hope or that confident assurance can be ours when we trust the words, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:47).

 

The optimism of our daily lives is sometimes a kind of worldly hope, but hope in God is a hope that will never disappoint. Now that I have researched and understand the foundational nature of hope, my eyes are opened a little wider to God’s love and I’m so glad hope was the Star word laid on my heart.

 

In closing, I want to share one more quote from the apostle Paul in Romans 12:12,  “Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, and persevere in prayer.”

 

And all God’s people said:  AMEN!

 

 

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Benediction:

Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.