We Crave Hope
November 1, 2009
Pastor Jon Hand
Philippians 1:12-26
Listen to Sermon: We Crave Hope
Look, part of being human beings means we have longings and cravings and desires that if filled we think make life worth living. These longings are good, but they can have a dark side when we try and satisfy those desires on things that ultimately leave us empty. Engage is starting a series called CRAVE. We crave experiences and meaning and value and hope yet we don’t always find fulfillment of those cravings in the one source or person who satisfies our soul. So how do we deal with the stuff and disappointments of life in light of our cravings? We are spending the month of November actually going through the book of Philippians. The book reveals that things aren’t going too well for Paul. In fact, he writes the book while incarcerated in a disease infested sewer system known as Mamertine Prison in ancient Rome. Yet somehow, even though life is not what he expected it to be, there is something to look forward to. Rotting in jail, Paul finds hope in someone beyond his circumstances. His hope stems from the promise of another world beyond this life that is better than we expect. The promise of hope gives us motivation to be a different kind of person even in circumstances we don’t want to be in.
We try earning hope.
Most of what we hope in fades with time.
Ultimately, lasting hope can only be found in knowing God.
Books: In a Pitt with A Lion on A Snowy Day: How To Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars - Mark Batterson. The hardest part of your life in the present or the most painful part of your past are opportunities that can become the most hopeful part of your future. This book will help you understand how to see the painful events of your present or past as crowning glories of hope for your future when we find ourselves pursuing Christ who turns pain into opportunities of hope. Read this book.
