From Despair to Hope: Embracing God's Promise
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"We gather to sing songs and to pray and to speak the word among us, to remind us of the Lord. To remind us what we're for and the promise and the hope that we have. And so it's our prayer that anyone, whether your face is one we're very familiar with or whether it's a new one, that this time this morning would be a blessing and encouragement to you. And so we ask that you would bring your heart and your full self to the worship of God today as we think about God's endless mercy and grace and love for each one of us. And may that change us forever." [00:04:56] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Just a mile from this vibrant square, a once abandoned building now stands as a beacon of hope, a refuge for the weary and home to the disciples' church. Our church's partnership began with this faithful community around 2013 in eastern Ukraine. And shortly after our work together began, the conflict with Russia ignited. And as the violence escalated, their church was set ablaze and their leaders threatened. And so many moved, left the country or moved to the west in Lviv. And there, the small remnant planted a new church, faithful to share the good news of Christ in difficult and uncertain times." [00:32:12] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"When Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the impact on that country has been devastating. Cities reduced to rubble. Millions displaced. Thousands killed. The people of Ukraine know what it means to watch the unthinkable happen. To see the unthinkable crumble around them. Centuries-old buildings and monuments, once symbols of endurance, lie in ruins. But you see, the loss goes much deeper than scattered structures. They've lost loved ones to the war, fathers and sons forced to the front line, cities and families devastated and divided by war." [00:34:37] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Amid all that loss, Mark's Gospel is birthed, reminding first century believers of something that Jesus said outside that very Temple, some 40 years earlier. You see, Jesus and the disciples had left that same temple 40 years earlier than they had left the temple. This was the second Temple with its tables and agendas. While the first Temple was a conscienceless Kokomel learning them directly from God, and pious but prideful offerings all upturned. And as they walked away, one of the disciples marveled aloud at the magnificence of the temple. Unimpressed, Jesus replies, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another. All will be thrown down." [00:37:49] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Jesus says in Mark 13, these things are not the end, quite opposite of what we often hear from folks. They are the expected struggle that comes when something new is being born, the struggle of the kingdom of God coming to be in fullness. So don't be alarmed, Jesus said. Don't be led astray by those who say they know the hour and the day. Don't be consumed with when and where and how. How something new is being born." [00:40:38] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Ukrainians, and so many throughout history, have seen cities that once seemed solid reduced to rubble, they've watched as everything they thought would remain forever is suddenly gone. That destruction is real. And yet so is the persistence of hope. And maybe that is a word that you need to hear today. Maybe you sit here among the rubble of things that you thought were unshakable. And like that, you sit here among the rubble of things that you thought were unshakable. Like the disciples, we have our temples, the things that we believe are indestructible, relationships or marriages, accomplishments and bank accounts, our health, systems, institutions, empires, beliefs." [00:42:01] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"From the ashes of the second temple, rose communities of faith that carried the Gospels as exiles all over the vast Roman Empire, spreading the good news. And from the ashes of Russian missiles, the believers in Ukraine refused to let the devastation have the last word. They are midwives of God's kingdom, birthing hope and love and peace amid violence, reminding us that even when life is hard, life crumbles around us. God is at work and the story is far from over." [00:45:12] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"We may not face the bombs of war, but we are called to build hope amid the rubble of despair that is all around us, to serve as sanctuaries for the weary and the exiled, and to proclaim that the end is never the end. And as we labor together, we pray that our lives will echo the faith of those in Lviv who refuse to believe in God. They refuse to give up hope and remind us that the kingdom of God is unshakable." [00:49:18] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"God of resurrection and renewal, when the walls of our lives crumble, we ask that you would remind us that you are one with God, that you are our firm foundation. Help us recognize the temples in which we trust rather than you and surrender them to you so you alone might be our everlasting hope. Stir within us, God, the hope of new beginnings and all the rubble of despair." [00:50:18] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"We offer today the promise that we gather to worship and proclaim every day that God is our sure and firm foundation, that a life lived in him through Christ is one that holds us steady when all other things might pass away. And if you're here today and you want to have a conversation or to pray about Christ and what his hope can mean in your life, we would love to pray with you about that." [00:52:07] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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"Just a mile from this vibrant square, a once abandoned building now stands as a beacon of hope, a refuge for the weary and home to the disciples' church. Our church's partnership began with this faithful community around 2013 in eastern Ukraine. And shortly after our work together began, the conflict with Russia ignited. And as the violence escalated, their church was set ablaze and their leaders threatened. And so many moved, left the country or moved to the west in Lviv. And there, the small remnant planted a new church, faithful to share the good news of Christ in difficult and uncertain times." [00:32:12] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"When Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022, the impact on that country has been devastating. Cities reduced to rubble. Millions displaced. Thousands killed. The people of Ukraine know what it means to watch the unthinkable happen. To see the unthinkable crumble around them. Centuries-old buildings and monuments, once symbols of endurance, lie in ruins. But you see, the loss goes much deeper than scattered structures. They've lost loved ones to the war, fathers and sons forced to the front line, cities and families devastated and divided by war." [00:34:37] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Amid all that loss, Mark's Gospel is birthed, reminding first century believers of something that Jesus said outside that very Temple, some 40 years earlier. You see, Jesus and the disciples had left that same temple 40 years earlier than they had left the temple. This was the second Temple with its tables and agendas. While the first Temple was a conscienceless Kokomel learning them directly from God, and pious but prideful offerings all upturned. And as they walked away, one of the disciples marveled aloud at the magnificence of the temple. Unimpressed, Jesus replies, Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another. All will be thrown down." [00:37:49] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Jesus says in Mark 13, these things are not the end, quite opposite of what we often hear from folks. They are the expected struggle that comes when something new is being born, the struggle of the kingdom of God coming to be in fullness. So don't be alarmed, Jesus said. Don't be led astray by those who say they know the hour and the day. Don't be consumed with when and where and how. How something new is being born." [00:40:38] (42 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"Ukrainians, and so many throughout history, have seen cities that once seemed solid reduced to rubble, they've watched as everything they thought would remain forever is suddenly gone. That destruction is real. And yet so is the persistence of hope. And maybe that is a word that you need to hear today. Maybe you sit here among the rubble of things that you thought were unshakable. And like that, you sit here among the rubble of things that you thought were unshakable. Like the disciples, we have our temples, the things that we believe are indestructible, relationships or marriages, accomplishments and bank accounts, our health, systems, institutions, empires, beliefs." [00:42:01] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"From the ashes of the second temple, rose communities of faith that carried the Gospels as exiles all over the vast Roman Empire, spreading the good news. And from the ashes of Russian missiles, the believers in Ukraine refused to let the devastation have the last word. They are midwives of God's kingdom, birthing hope and love and peace amid violence, reminding us that even when life is hard, life crumbles around us. God is at work and the story is far from over." [00:45:12] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"We may not face the bombs of war, but we are called to build hope amid the rubble of despair that is all around us, to serve as sanctuaries for the weary and the exiled, and to proclaim that the end is never the end. And as we labor together, we pray that our lives will echo the faith of those in Lviv who refuse to believe in God. They refuse to give up hope and remind us that the kingdom of God is unshakable." [00:49:18] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"God of resurrection and renewal, when the walls of our lives crumble, we ask that you would remind us that you are one with God, that you are our firm foundation. Help us recognize the temples in which we trust rather than you and surrender them to you so you alone might be our everlasting hope. Stir within us, God, the hope of new beginnings and all the rubble of despair." [00:50:18] (35 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
"We offer today the promise that we gather to worship and proclaim every day that God is our sure and firm foundation, that a life lived in him through Christ is one that holds us steady when all other things might pass away. And if you're here today and you want to have a conversation or to pray about Christ and what his hope can mean in your life, we would love to pray with you about that." [00:52:07] (25 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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