Christmas At Bonita – Part 3: Christmas Hope!

Big Idea: God’s hand is always open with the gift of hope we need

3 hope ‘gifts’ from God…

1. Hope…for anyone who needs a

Isaiah 40:1-2 (NLT)

“Comfort, comfort my people,”
    says your God.
² “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
    for all her sins.”

Isaiah 40:3-5 (NLT)

³ Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
    for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
    for our God!
⁴ Fill in the valleys,
    and level the mountains and hills.
Straighten the curves,
    and smooth out the rough places.
⁵ Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

2. Hope…for anyone who feels

Isaiah 40:12-14 (NLT)

¹² Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
¹³ Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?^[a]
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
¹⁴ Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice?

Isaiah 40:25-26 (NLT)

²⁵ “To whom will you compare me?
    Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.

²⁶ Look up into the heavens.
    Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
    calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
    not a single one is missing.

Isaiah 40:27 (NLT)

²⁷ O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
    O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?

Isaiah 40:27 (NIV)

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?”

3. Hope…for anyone who needs strength to keep

Isaiah 40:29-31 (NLT)
²⁹ He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
³⁰ Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.
³¹ But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (AMP)

“But those who wait for the Lord (who expect, look for, and HOPE in) shall change and renew their strength.”

“The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…”

Lamentations 3:21-24 (NLT)

²¹ Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
²³ Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

3 hope ‘gifts’ from God…

1. Hope…for anyone who needs a

2. Hope…for anyone who feels

3. Hope…for anyone who needs strength to keep