Sometimes I think God has an incredible sense of humor. On second thought, make that an incredible sense of irony! NO, maybe it’s just an incredible sense of timing!
In a week of two funerals, several hospital visits with a terminally ill woman, a member having an accident totaling her car (praise God she wasn’t hurt), and Wednesday night Worship cancelled by a snow and ice; my sermon for this Second Sunday of Lent is “A Genuine Hope.” The title is based on the lectionary Epistle reading for this Sunday from Roman 4 that recounts the faith and hope of Abraham when it seems as though instead of “A Genuine Hope,” Abraham’s wishing was “A Foolish Hope.”
My spirit and my hope in God’s promises soared as I read in verse 18 these words, “Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed” and then reading how that hope turned into a confident faith for him. The question for most of us though is this: How does one know the difference between the faith of “A Genuine Hope” and the wishing of “A Foolish Hope?”
Join us in worship this Second Sunday in Lent and discover the answer. My sermon is titled “A Genuine Hope” based on Romans 4:13-25 and Mark 8:31-38.
Just in case you need a little genuine hope until then, I want to leave you with “A Poem of Hope”
written in 2012 by Catherine Pulsifer:
When life is getting you down, And you need a little hope.
Look deep down inside yourself, And you’ll find the way to cope.
When life is getting you down, And you need a little love.
Go to the person whom you are the closest, As the rest they are above.
When life is getting you down, And all you need is a laugh. Find the friend that makes you smile,
They may even be your staff.
When life is getting you down, Don’t allow it so. Change the way you think of life, And life will be better, you know.
When life is getting you down, Take time to pray Don’t allow yourself to frown
– God will help you see the blessings of the day.
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