Sunday Flyer

What are some of the hopes you had for 2021 that took unexpected turns?

Isaiah 7:10-16

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign,whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

2 Kings 16:2-3

² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

Matthew 1:1,9

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham … 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Matthew 1: 21-23

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Help-Me Hope vs. Hard-Won Hope

"Hard-Won Hope is a product of disappointment. We don’t possess it because things went well. We earn it because things did not. Hard-won hope is not dependent on a happy ending. It’s more subversive than that. Instead of hoping for a product, hard-won hope invests in the process. This kind of hope says that even if the worst-conceivable thing happens, I can remain. I can be resilient in chaos. I can be grounded in disorientation. I can even be found in loss. I can get the crap whacked out of me and still defiantly exist. This hope’s prayer is always, I believe; help me in my unbelief."

- Leeana Tankersley, Hope Anyways

REFLECT

Where did you experience the goodness of God this past year?

Who or what are you grateful for?

NEXT STEPS

• Experience hope by practicing Advent.

• Provide hope by participating in our Giving Tree.

• Give hope by making a year end gift to Flood.