Hope Living in a Broken World || Pastor Alan Brumback

John holds out hope in a world that feels sad, empty, and foreboding. The brokenness of the age, the mental health crisis, the darkness people feel on the street, and the hollow answers of a secular world all set the black backdrop where the gospel shines like a beacon of light. The gospel says that life is not finally dystopia, because hopes and fears are met in the person of Jesus Christ.

John gives hope through the security of a believer’s status in Jesus. The phrase “little children” is not just sweet talk. John uses it to remind believers that they are not slaves, employees, enemies, or “a slug and a bug.” God has made them children. The Father has lavished love on people who have nothing impressive to bring him, and the highest title available to a human being is child of God. God is Creator, Judge, King, and Lord, but his children get to call him Dad.

John also makes clear that not everybody is automatically a child of God. God is Creator of all, but he “ain’t the daddy of all.” The only way into the family is new birth. Jesus became the Son of Man so that sinners could become sons and daughters of God. Because Jesus was born, sinners can be born again. New birth brings new behavior, not fake holiness, not religious activity, not a thousand attempts to “ask Jesus in the heart,” but a changed heart that starts changing the life.

John grounds hope also in the certainty of Christ’s coming. Jesus appeared the first time to destroy the works of the devil through weakness. Jesus will appear again as King of kings and Lord of lords, and that coming will either make a person run to him like a child to a father or run to the room trying to throw junk in the closet. The return of Christ gives believers confidence, not panic.

John connects future hope to present purity. Hope is not a “hope so” wish, like hoping for a World Cup win. Biblical hope is certainty. Because Christ is coming, God’s children live uncontaminated by the world, killing what harms communion with God and stirring up what gives life to love for God. This world is a hotel room, not home. The Father’s house is home because Jesus is there, and the Christian’s hope is a hope that money cannot buy and death cannot take away.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Beloved is identity, not performance The word “beloved” does not name a spiritual achievement. The Father’s love rests on the success of Jesus, not the believer’s ability to feel worthy of it. Christian impostor syndrome forgets that a child of God is not a fraud, but forgiven, safe, and dear in the Son. [14:40]
• 2. New birth makes new behavior John does not treat righteousness as the root of salvation, but as the fruit of being born of God. Religious activity can imitate holiness for a while, but a changed heart creates a growing family resemblance. Progressive sanctification means the child slowly starts talking, thinking, wanting, and walking like the Father. [10:43]
• 3. Hope has an outside reference point Biblical hope does not lean on politics, progress, money, or moods. Hope survives because its reference point stands outside the world and beyond the grasp of death. Jesus is the hope that a broken world cannot manufacture and cannot take away. [23:21]
• 4. Abiding means staying closer Abiding in Christ is not “try harder” or “be gooder.” Abiding means staying close enough to behold him, killing what damages fellowship and feeding what stirs affection for God. Mortification and vivification are not cold religious words when they become the daily work of loving Christ more than the world. [25:12]
• 5. Home is where Jesus is Heaven is not finally mansions, gold streets, or pearl gates. Heaven is heaven because Jesus is there, and home is home because God himself fits the deepest longing of his children. A believer does not need to drive the tent peg too deep in a world that will one day be checked out of. [27:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:35] - Is There Any Hope?
• [03:06] - Gospel Light In A Hopeless World
• [04:16] - Hope Through Secure Status
• [05:16] - Called Children Of God
• [08:53] - Born Again Into The Family
• [10:43] - New Birth, New Behavior
• [14:40] - Christian Impostor Syndrome
• [16:10] - The Certainty Of Christ’s Coming
• [19:22] - Hope Purifies Earthly Life
• [25:12] - Abiding By Staying Close
• [27:10] - The Father’s House Is Home
• [31:34] - A World Without Jesus Has No Hope
• [37:22] - The Living Hope Offered

1. What specific phrases in 1 John 3:1-3 emphasize the believer’s identity and future hope?
2. According to the sermon, how does the term “little children” (Greek: teknia) differ from a casual term of endearment? [04:49]
3. What two key reasons does John give for believers to live with confidence and purity?

1. Why does John stress that being called “children of God” is not based on human effort or worthiness? How does this contrast with worldly definitions of identity?
2. The sermon mentions that “new birth makes new behavior” rather than religious activity. How does 1 John 3:3 connect the certainty of Christ’s return to daily choices?
3. The analogy of the world as a “hotel room” suggests temporary living. How does this metaphor challenge common priorities in modern life? [30:57]

1. When do you most struggle to believe your status as a “beloved child of God” is secure? What practical step could remind you of this truth when doubts arise?
2. The sermon warns against “throwing junk in the closet” when Christ returns. What habits, thoughts, or relationships might you need to confront to live “uncontaminated” by the world? [19:56]
3. How would your daily decisions change if you lived with the certainty that Jesus’ return could happen at any moment? Name one area where this hope could reshape your priorities.
4. The sermon compares abiding in Christ to “staying close enough to behold Him.” What distractions or sins tend to pull you away from this closeness? How can you “kill” or “feed” habits to stay near Him? [25:55]
5. If “home is where Jesus is,” how does this redefine your view of success, comfort, or security? What might it look like to “drive the tent peg” less deeply into temporary things? [28:57]
6. Who in your life needs to hear about the “hope that money cannot buy and death cannot take away”? How could you share this hope in a way that addresses their specific fears or emptiness? [36:03]