Advent series “HOPE” (Nov 30th, 2025)

Hope is not wishful thinking; it is a steady assurance anchored in God’s promise. Like expectant parents who prepare in anticipation, we live this Advent season looking back to the promised Child and forward to the day when He returns. In Genesis 3, the serpent twisted God’s words and cast a shadow on His character, convincing Adam and Eve that God was holding out on them. We still feel that pull when we’re tempted to lie or bend the rules because it seems like obedience will make us miss out. Yet even in judgment, God gave a glimmer of grace—the first gospel promise that a child would come to crush the serpent.

That promise widens through Abraham and Sarah. Against all odds, Isaac is born, and then Abraham is asked to offer him up. Abraham climbs the mountain believing that God can even raise the dead. God stayed his hand and provided a substitute—an image of what God Himself would do in giving His only Son. The Christmas story completes those threads: a miraculous conception, a silent Savior led to sacrifice, three days in the tomb, and a substitute who bears our place. Jesus is the serpent-crusher and the hope of the world.

Still, we live in the tension: the curse is broken but not yet fully reversed. Death remains, yet for those in Christ it has become a doorway to life. Our times feel like birth pains, just as Jesus said—wars, deception, cold love—but birth pains signal that the Child is surely coming. So we don’t cave to despair; we practice hope.

What does that look like? First, confess sin with eager hope in forgiveness and restoration. Let God do the covering, and seek reconciliation without excuse. Second, live as light in ordinary places—at the gas station, on your commute, and especially at home, where it’s easiest to hide our light. Third, share the good news urgently so that your love doesn’t grow cold; joy matures as it is given away. Our Lord held nothing back. So we wait, we work, and we witness, expecting the day when all that is sad comes untrue.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Hope rests on God’s promise Hope doesn’t lean on circumstances; it leans on the character of the One who speaks. The serpent’s strategy was to distort God’s goodness so disobedience would feel reasonable. God answered with a promise of a Child who would crush evil’s head, even as His own heel was bruised. When God’s promise is the anchor, obedience becomes an act of trust rather than a wager on outcomes. [09:03]
• 2. Faith obeys when it costs Abraham’s obedience on Moriah was not blind; it was resurrection-shaped. He moved forward believing God would keep His word even if it meant raising Isaac from the dead. Costly obedience often reveals what we actually believe about God’s reliability. Hope grows when we act on God’s promises before we see how He will provide. [15:39]
• 3. Jesus is our given substitute The ram in the thicket foreshadows the Son lifted up for us. Jesus, the miracle Child, endured the three-days path through death and rose, turning judgment into mercy for all who trust Him. He is the serpent-crusher and the sacrifice, the promise and its fulfillment. Christmas is not sentiment; it is substitution and salvation. [21:13]
• 4. Practice hope with embodied habits Hope is not passive; it takes shape in confession, in shining as light, and in sharing the gospel. These practices resist the drift toward numbness and keep our love from growing cold. When we carry hope into ordinary rooms—our kitchens, offices, and neighborhoods—we live as people of the day amid the birth pains of night. Perseverance is learned by doing what hope believes. [26:52]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:54] - Advent series and expectancy
• [01:53] - Hope centered in Jesus
• [03:27] - Fall and the serpent’s twist
• [09:03] - Proto-gospel: hope promised
• [11:40] - Why pain isn’t “natural”
• [14:12] - God’s faithfulness: Isaac’s birth
• [18:30] - The test: Isaac and the ram
• [20:48] - Parallels pointing to the cross
• [22:48] - Curse broken, not yet reversed
• [24:11] - Birth pains before His return
• [26:52] - Persevering practices for hope
• [32:39] - Living as light at home and beyond
• [35:37] - Urgent witness so love won’t grow cold
• [37:42] - Closing call to live in hope

Bible Reading

- Genesis 3:14–15 — 14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” - Genesis 22:1–14 1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. 9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” - Matthew 24:6–14 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Observation Questions

1. What promise and judgment appear together in Genesis 3:14–15, and who are the parties mentioned (serpent, woman, offspring)? How does the passage balance curse and hope? [09:03]
2. In Genesis 22:1–14, what concrete events show Abraham’s willingness to obey, and what detail points to God’s provision? (Name timing, actions, and the substitute provided.) [15:39]
3. Which signs and “birth pains” does Jesus list in Matthew 24:6–8 and 11–12, and how does he summarize the outcome for those who endure? [25:12]
4. Where in the sermon does the pastor connect the Old Testament promise to Jesus as the “serpent-crusher,” and what scriptural parallels does he point to between Isaac and Jesus? [21:13]

Interpretation Questions

1. How does Genesis 3:15 function theologically as both judgment and promise for humanity, and in what ways does that shape the church’s expectation for the coming Deliverer? [09:03]
2. What does Abraham’s response on Mount Moriah reveal about the kind of faith that “believes God can even raise the dead,” and how does that prepare the hearer to see Isaac as a foreshadowing of Christ? [15:39]
3. When the pastor says “the curse is broken but not yet fully reversed,” what theological tension is being described about present suffering and future hope? What biblical evidence in the readings supports that tension? [22:13]
4. In Matthew 24, Jesus warns that “the love of many will grow cold.” How should that warning influence the church’s priorities in mission and community life? [24:49]

Application Questions

1. Confession and restoration: Is there a specific sin or broken relationship you have been avoiding that needs confession to God and a concrete step toward reconciliation with the person you hurt? What would you say, and when will you do it this week? [27:07]
2. Resurrection-shaped obedience: Name one promise of God you are tempted to treat like a wager rather than a certainty (for example, provision, guidance, a change in a relationship). What is one obedient step you can take this week that trusts God’s promise even before you see how He will provide? [15:39]
3. Be a light at home: What routine or attitude do you most often “turn off” when you come through your front door (fatigue, scrolling, irritation)? Choose one specific change (e.g., put the phone away for 30 minutes, initiate a 10-minute family check-in, speak one encouraging sentence to your spouse/child) and commit to doing it every evening this week. [33:41]
4. Everyday witness: Identify one person in your daily life (barista, coworker, neighbor) whom you can intentionally serve or talk with this week. How will you start a spiritual conversation or show gospel love without forcing it? Set a time and one sentence you can use to begin. [35:37]
5. Persevere in the birth pains: Looking at Matthew 24’s list of troubles, which of those “birth pains” most tempts you toward fear or despair (e.g., false teaching, hostility, lawlessness)? What concrete spiritual habit will you practice this month to cultivate hope instead of fear (daily Scripture reading, praying for one persecuted believer, joining a prayer group)? [25:12]
6. Keep love from growing cold: What is one measurable way your love feels cold (fewer acts of service, less time listening, more sarcasm)? Pick one small action to change it (write a short note of appreciation, serve without being asked, fast and pray for that person) and report back to the group next week. [24:49]
7. Share the good news urgently: If you believe Jesus could return and some people you know do not yet trust Him, who are two persons you will intentionally invite to hear the gospel or to a church event in the next month? What specific steps will you take to make that invitation natural and relational? [35:37]