Sunday's Message - Unwrapping the Gift of Hope

As a kid, unwrapping Christmas presents is one of the highlights of the entire year. Even for adults, the mystery of what’s beneath the paper is still exciting. But we don’t want to forget that not all our gifts can be found under the tree. During the Sundays before Christmas, we’re going to focus on how we might unwrap four other gifts of Christmas that we’ve received from God himself:

• November 30 - Unwrapping the Gift of Hope
• December 7 - Unwrapping the Gift of Peace
• December 14 - Unwrapping the Gift of Joy
• December 21 - Unwrapping the Gift of Love

On Sunday, we began this series by looking at how we can celebrate the gift of hope. Below is a video presentation and the text for the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, as we all know, Thanksgiving 2025 is in the books, which can only mean one thing: Christmas will be here before you know it. I mean, that day about which we’ve been saying for the last month, “O, I’ve got plenty of time,” man, it’s going to be here in 24 days, 13 hours, and about 30 minutes, give or take a minute or two.

Of course, around the church, it also means that we’re entering a season called Advent, because we’re getting ourselves ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Of course, you already know that. Just like you also know that during this time before Christmas we’re going to focus on gifts, but not just the gifts that we give to one another or even to God. You see, we’re going to consider the gifts God has given to us. And even though, if we really thought about it, there’d probably be too many to count, we’re going to zero in on the what each of the four advent candles represent, because in a very real way, each represents a gift that we’ve received from God and that we can understand and actually claim the minute we decide to unwrap it, so to speak. 

And this morning we’re going to start with the gift of hope. As we sang just a little while ago:

The candle of hope we light in this hour
Proclaims that the Lord is coming in power.
We wait for a future,
now hidden from view,
When Christ in his glory will make all things new. [Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, The Candle of Hope, 2015]

You see, during the rest of our time together this morning, we’re going to consider what this hope business is all about and then how this gift might affect our daily living. Now that’s the plan for this first Sunday in Advent.

But like I said, before we can consider its importance, I believe we need a pretty good understanding of exactly what hope is. But that’s certainly not surprising. In fact, I think I’m safe in saying that’s true of any gift we might receive. I mean, if we look in the box and don’t know what it is, we’re probably not going to use it, will we? And I’ll tell you, in my opinion, God’s gift of hope is no exception. And that’s why I think it’s important for us to use the Bible to understand what Christian hope actually is. And you know, when we do, I believe it can be defined by three words. 

For example, first, I believe Christian hope is liberating. In other words, it frees us from something that just might be holding us back and it frees us so that we can become everything God created us to be. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul was getting at when he wrote this to the Romans:

What should we say? Should we keep on sinning, so that God's gift of undeserved grace will show up even better? No, we should not! If we are dead to sin, how can we go on sinning? Don’t you know that all who share in Christ Jesus by being baptized also share in his death? When we were baptized, we died and were buried with Christ. We were baptized, so we would live a new life, as Christ was raised to life by the glory of God the Father.

If we shared in Jesus’ death by being baptized, we will be raised to life with him. We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know sin doesn’t have power over dead people.

As surely as we died with Christ, we believe we will also live with him. [Romans 6:1-8, CEV]

Now that’s what he wrote.

And just think about what it means. Of course, we’ve talked about this before. Through the death of Jesus, we were freed from our bondage to sin. In other words, sin no longer has power over us, because when Jesus was nailed to that cross, so were we. And when he died, we died too. And since, as Paul also wrote to the Romans, “In the same way, you must think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin,” [Romans 6:11a, CEV] I’m telling you, through his death, we’ve been set free from sin. But as most of y’all know, that’s only half the story, isn’t it? You see, just like the crucifixion set us free from sin, because of the resurrection, we’ve been set free to live, and I’m talking about, to live in the way God would have us live and to move forward without all that baggage that can hold us back so that we might become the men and women God has created us to be. It’s like Peter wrote in his first letter: Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is so good, and by raising Jesus from death, he has given us new life and a hope that lives on. [1 Peter 1:3, CEV] You see, first, through Jesus Christ, we have a hope that’s liberating.

But that’s not all, because we also have a hope that’s eternal. In other words, even though we may not be able to see it right now, we can trust, we can believe, man, we can have faith that it’s coming in the future. As a matter of fact, it’s the same kind of thing about which Paul wrote, when he said to his friend Titus,

God has shown us undeserved grace by coming to save all people. He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world. We are filled with hope, as we wait for the glorious return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave himself to rescue us from everything evil and to make our hearts pure. He wanted us to be his own people and to be eager to do right. [Titus 2:11-14, CEV]

You see, no matter how messed up the world seems to be and no matter how difficult our own lives have become, we have reason to hope that all this is temporary. It’s not permanent. It’s going to change. And even though we don’t know when it’s going to happen, we can trust that the time will come when that trumpet will sound and the Son of Man will return and the dead will be raised to new life. It’s like Paul wrote to the Corinthians: These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live forever. [1 Corinthians 14:42b, CEV] I’m telling you, along with being liberating, second, our hope is eternal.

And third, it’s also constant. In other words, even though it’s grounded in the past and looks forward to the future, hope is something we can experience right here and now. It’s like what Paul wrote to the Colossians:

I am glad I can suffer for you. I am pleased also that in my own body I can continue the suffering of Christ for his body, the church. God’s plan was to make me a servant of his church and to send me to preach his complete message to you. For ages and ages this message was kept secret from everyone, but now it has been explained to God’s people. God did this because he wanted you Gentiles to understand his wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God’s glory. [Colossians 1:24-27, CEV]

You see, right here and now, Christ lives in us, something that Paul called a mystery. And that just makes sense. I mean, when you get right down to it, it’s a mystery why, through the crucifixion and resurrection, God set us free from sin and set us free to live. And it’s a mystery why God promised that the time will come when all the nonsense is going to pass away and we’ll be able to enter into eternity. And I’ll tell you, it’s a mystery why God has given us the ability to understand what he has done and what he will do, and that understanding, that truth, that word abides in us. You see, right along with being liberating and eternal, we’ve been given something that’s constant. And for me, that’s what this gift of hope is all about. And you know something, that’s really exciting.

But I’ll tell you something else that’s even more exciting, I believe we can claim this gift, this hope right here and now. In other words, after we unwrap it and after we open the box and after we understand exactly what we have inside, we can use it. Man, we can use the hope we’ve been given. And I’ll tell you, if we do, I believe it’s going to change our lives in three ways, and let me briefly share with you what they are.

You see, first, I think it’s got to change the way we view the past. I mean, instead of dwelling on old mistakes and instead of assuming that we’ll never be more than we are right now and instead of looking backwards as we try to move forward, because of the crucifixion and resurrection, we can turn ourselves around. And we can take advantage of all the opportunities we have to grow and to become. And we can trust that, whether we recognize it or not, the anchor that’s been holding us back, man, the chain has been cut and in the sight of God, those mistakes died on the cross and new possibilities and opportunities have risen just like Christ was raised from the tomb. You see, we’ve been freed from and we’ve been freed to, and that’s got to change how we see the past. And I’ll tell you, I think this was something that happened to Paul. I mean, just listen to what he wrote this to the Philippians:

I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. My friends, I don’t feel I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run toward the goal, so I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. All of us who are mature should think in this same way. And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed. [Philippians 3:12-16, CEV]

And brothers and sisters, that direction isn’t backward. You see, because our hope is liberating, first, our view of the past can change.

And I’ll tell you, so can our view of the future. I mean, for reasons we may never understand, God’s given us a glimpse into eternity, and you know what; we’re in it. And that’s not going to change regardless of the nonsense we see happening all around us. And it’s not going to change even though we might feel genuine fear and real frustrations. Man, it’s not going to change, because in the end, when the roll is called up yonder, it’s not about us: about what we think and about what we feel and about what we want. It’s about God: about what he did and does and will do. Therefore, we can trust that, using the words of Christ, we have “...treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them.” [Matthew 6:20b, CEV] You see, because the promises of God are eternal, we can live with the same sort of vision described by John of Patmos when he wrote this in his revelation:

I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and so had the sea. Then I saw New Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.

I heard a loud voice shout from the throne:

God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. [Revelation 21:1-4, CEV]

You see, because our hope is eternal, second, our view of the future can change.

And finally, so can our view of the present. Now, I don’t think I’m telling you anything you don’t already know, but life can be tough. Accidents happen. Illnesses occur. And death is a reality we all face. That’s just the way it is, and it’s true for Christians just like it is for everybody else. And even though we believe that we’ve been freed from the past and free to live in the present, we still make some of the same stupid mistakes we’ve always made. And even though we trust that God holds our future in his hands, there are times when we still feel discouraged and disappointed and even depressed. I guess that’s just life in the fast lane. But you know, even though life isn’t always frozen peaches and cream, right now we have a presence within us, reminding us that we’re not alone and that regardless of what we do or where we go, man, we’re still loved. Now, we may pay the consequences for our actions, but as Paul reminded the Romans,

The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. But now we groan silently, while we wait for God to show that we are his children. This means that our bodies will also be set free. And this hope is what saves us. But if we already have what we hope for, there is no need to keep on hoping. However, we hope for something we have not yet seen, and we patiently wait for it. [Romans 8:23-25, CEV]

You see, because our hope is constant, third, our view of the present can change. 

Now in the next few weeks, we’ll be unwrapping some of the other gifts given to us by God. As a matter of fact, next week, we’ll consider peace. But before we move forward into this Advent season and before we become overwhelmed by all the stuff we assume we must get done in order for Christmas to be a success, let’s pause for just a minute and remember that God’s given us something that’s liberating and that’s eternal and that’s constant. And because of that, now we have something that can change how we see the past and the future and the present. In other words, as we move into the next 24 days, 13 hours, and about 5 minutes, let’s intentionally unwrap this wonderful gift of hope.