God With Us: Hope In A Hopeless Time

Angel Casillas

1 Peter 1: 3-9

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:13-16

13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

I. There is a Living Hope in Christ.

A. We can reflect on our , but we must dwell on our .

B. We have hope not because of who we are, or what we have or haven't accomplished but because of who He is and what He has done.

C. Hope isn't thinking, it’s a expectation (1 Peter 1:13-16)

II. Our is a response to what God has done.

A. The is in the mind.

B. We are to hope fully in Him (1 Peter 1:6-9)

III. There is in the midst of pain (1 Peter 4:12-13)

A. We don’t rejoice because of suffering; we rejoice in suffering.

B. God is worth praising because of your inheritance.

IV. We become of hope in a hopeless world.

A. Our hope in Him not only affects us internally, it affects those around us.

Our hope doesn’t change our , it changes us, our hearts, and our response and this culture.