Displaying Christian Sermons by tag: Hope

Charles Stanley (March-04-2023) Daily Devotional: Hope in the Storm.

To receive peace when your world is in chaos, call on Jesus for help.

Matthew 8:23-27 - When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves; but Jesus Himself was asleep. And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, ``Save us, Lord; we are perishing!" He said to them, ``Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?" Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, ``What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

Many people in the world—maybe even you—are facing terrible storms in their life. Broken homes, joblessness, loneliness, loss, financial struggles, and world crises slash at the very fabric of hope. Some may even feel as though they’re lost, adrift at sea in a small boat during a hurricane. And many wonder, How on earth will we be able to reach the shore safely? 

The disciples faced this fear as well. While they were crossing the Sea of Galilee in their boat, the weather took a frightening turn. In desperation, they woke Jesus and cried, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” (Matt. 8:25). He rebuked them for their lack of faith and proceeded to calm the storm, showing Himself to be Lord over all creation. 

This story teaches us where we should turn when storms arise in our own life. Sometimes people interpret challenging events as an indication that God isn’t paying attention. That’s what the disciples thought until Christ calmed the turbulent waters. But even when the world seems out of control, remember that Jesus is in the boat with you, and He’s still Lord of all. 

Charles Stanley (March-03-2023) Daily Devotional: Hope: The Anchor of the Soul.

If you are feeling battered by a storm in your life, remember God's promises cannot fail.

Hebrews 6:9-20 - But, beloved, we are convinced of better things concerning you, and things that accompany salvation, though we are speaking in this way. For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ``I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise. For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

God’s purposes and promises are unchangeable. That’s hard for us to imagine since we live in a world that’s constantly in flux. There doesn’t seem to be much that we can count on to steady our lives. Jobs can be lost, loved ones may die, plans must sometimes be altered, and dreams are often dashed. Yet our souls do have an anchor, which holds fast no matter how many storms we experience. 

A nautical anchor does its work of steadying a ship in the hidden depths of the waters. And that’s sometimes how God’s promises seem to us—blocked from our sight and far away. But as the waves of circumstances rage around us, our anchor of hope holds fast. We haven’t been promised an easy earthly life, free from trouble and suffering, but the eternal hope for our souls is steadfast and sure. 

The reason we have such a hard time remembering our anchor of hope is because our lives are above deck, where the storms rage. To regain our hope, we must regularly peer into the depths of God’s Word to be reminded of the eternal promises that cannot fail. 

A Baptism For The Hopeless - Carter Conlon.  In "A Baptism For The Hopeless", Pastor Carter Conlon preaches out on the hope that Jesus offers to those who try to work away their sin in their hopeless state.

Hey You: Hope For New - Dr. Anita Phillips and Sarah Jakes Roberts.  What are you hoping for in this season? Life presents a plethora of challenges and plot twists, but during this inaugural “Hey You!” hosted by WoMan to Woman x Woman Evolve, we got the push we needed to persevere through our circumstances while remaining hopeful for new!

Dutch Sheets (February 7 2023) Watch Daily Prayer: A Word of Hope | Give Him 15 - Daily Devotional

Sarah Jakes Roberts - Watch Message: Unshakable Hope. Whew, SJR kicks off this 3 part devotional minding all of our business. There is a difference between wishful thinking and having a hope so deep that there is a confidence and even expectation behind it. Are you applying your hope in a way that will allow what you hope for to come to pass? Sarah breaks it all down in episode 1. Spoiler alert: watch until the end for a moment with a special guest!

Joel Osteen (January-11-2023) Daily Devotional: Hope On in Faith - Today's Word

Today's Scripture: Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations. Romans 4:18, NIV

Today's Word: God gave Abraham a promise of a baby son when he was seventy-five years old, but he was one hundred before he saw the fulfilment. Abraham had all kinds of opportunities to quit believing, yet he hoped on in faith. In the face of the impossible circumstances, he stayed focused on how big God is rather than how big the problem was.

You may feel like there’s no reason to have hope in a promise of God. In the natural, it’s not possible, but we serve a supernatural God. When you keep hoping on in faith, you are paving the way for God to do extraordinary things. Some promises take time. While you’re waiting, it’s easy to lose your passion and start believing the lies that the problem is too big. You have to keep your hope stirred up. You’re not moved by what’s not happening. You know what God promised is on the way. You don’t consider your circumstances; you consider your God. Hope on in faith.

Prayer for Today: “Father, thank You that because You are supernatural, I can hope on in faith even when I can find no other reason for hope. Thank You that what You promised me is going to come to pass. I declare that I will not be moved by what’s not happening. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Sarah Jakes Roberts and Serita Jakes - Watch From Trauma to Hope. A night of soul care with you and Jesus.

Sarah Jakes Roberts - Watch Message: From Trauma to Hope. A Night of Soul Care with You and Jesus.

David Jeremiah (December-05-2022) Daily Devotional: Lotta Hope!

The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope. - Romans 15:12, NIV

 Recommended Reading: Romans 15:7-13 - GLORIFY GOD TOGETHER - 7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,And sing to Your name.” 10 And again he says: “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!” 11 And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!Laud Him, all you peoples!” 12 And again, Isaiah says: “There shall be a root of Jesse;And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” 13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 
Earlier this year, the Mega Millions lottery reached a jackpot of over a billion dollars as people everywhere lined up for tickets. Jonathan Cohen is a lottery historian—yes, there is such a thing—and he told reporters the reason is because people need hope. In a time of inflation and economic stress, the fantasy of becoming super rich is driving more than half of American adults to enter a lottery.1

The chance of winning the lottery is one in hundreds of millions. The possibility of finding real hope in Christ is one hundred percent. There is total hope in Him—hope for a confident life and hope for a continual future. It wasn’t random chance but divine design that sent us a Baby whose every heartbeat spells hope.

Without the birth of Christ, we wouldn’t have salvation from sin and the certainty of eternity in heaven with our Heavenly Father. Thank God for the hope Christmas brings, for there’s not a chance of Jesus ever failing!

It’s almost too limiting to say that we “celebrate”… Christmas. We stare dumbstruck, lost in wonder, love, and praise… God being born into our world. - Timothy Keller