• (Romans 15:13 ESV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Oops! Have we forgotten that our God, the God of the Bible, is a God of hope?

I know that some of us have been lost in the dark tunnel of right-wing gloom and doom for quite some time, and that many seem to have been sucked down the rabbit hole of politico-religious obsession, and that the actual words of God describing who he is and what he is about are but a faint memory.

But God is a God of hope. He truly is. He says so.

But you might be hard pressed to tell that as you listen to us at times. Us as in Christians, people who profess to have been saved by the blood of the Lamb, given eternal life in Jesus Christ. Standing on the promises. But are we standing on the promises?

The Supreme Court of this land rules contrary to our beliefs, and we are shaken, filled with anxiety, anger and fear. Listen to our conversations. From our FB posts to emails to Bible studies to Sunday sermons. It sounds like fear, not faith. We are rattled.

And what an affront to our Sovereign Lord who promises … who promises … joy and peace.

What has happened to … God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. And what has happened to … Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the sea.

Where did that faith go?

Maybe you’ve heard the story about the two churches located a few miles apart on the highway. Drive down the road past the first church and read their sign: “god is dead.” But drive a little farther down the highway to the next church. What does their sign say? “Our God Is Alive, Sorry about Yours!”

Well let me say today … Our God reigns. Sorry about yours.

• Sorry about your god whose purposes can be frustrated by the Supreme Court of this land. Sorry about your god whose power hangs in the balance on whether a Republican or a Democrat sits in the White House. Sorry about your god who allows the events of this world to rob you his worshiper of joy and peace. And very sorry about your impotent deity whose plan and purpose can be thwarted by mere humans.

But of course I’m not really sorry because that god is no god at all. Certainly not the God of the Bible. Our God, the God of the Bible, is a God of hope. He tells us that. And our God delivers on his promises!

• MP3: LESSON 39 : The God of Hope : Romans 15:8-13 : FFC : dave scott : 071215
• WMA: LESSON 39 : The God of Hope : Romans 15:8-13 : FFC : dave scott : 071215