Kids' Praise Sunday -- Hope for the Hopeless

Psalm 10 opens the ache: “Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide in times of trouble?” That cry sets the tone for Psalm 42, where the sons of Korah let lament breathe. Their history remembers Numbers 16, where Korah fell under judgment, yet their lineage does not run from God. Their psalm hungers like a deer for streams, thirsting for the living God, and admits, “My tears have been my food day and night,” while taunts ask, “Where is your God?” The psalm names how it feels, but then it argues with itself. The refrain, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God,” shows a heart preaching to its own storm.

The sons of Korah let the metaphor run: “Deep calls to deep,” “all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” The flood feels like God’s doing, yet faith reaches for what is also God’s doing, “By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me.” The psalm exposes the gap between feeling and fact and then closes the gap by praying truth into the feelings. That move sounds like walking by faith and not by sight.

Mary’s grief in John 11 carries the same tension. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Her calendar is tight, but Jesus’ plan is larger. He weeps, then he says, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Healing on a deathbed would be glory, but resurrection is more. God’s timeline aims at maximum glory.

Ecclesiastes remembers that God makes everything beautiful in its time, and Revelation 21 widens the horizon with a new heaven and new earth, no more sea, no more tears, and God dwelling with his people. That future pulls hope into today like oxygen into starved lungs. Hope is not denial of pain. Hope is sight that borrows heaven’s lenses. Like getting new glasses, the clarity can hurt at first, but the right prescription rescues not always from problems, but from fears. Psalm 34 sings, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.” Matthew 19 adds the big hinge of grace: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” So the psalm leads the heart to do again what it keeps forgetting to do: “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”

Key Takeaways

• 1. Lament tells the truth of feelings Honest prayer names the ache without dressing it up. Psalm 42 does not dodge tears, taunts, or the sense that God feels far away, yet it keeps the conversation with God alive. Naming pain is not unbelief, it is worship with an open wound that God can tend. Truthful lament becomes the doorway where hope walks in. [44:25]
• 2. Hope preaches to a stormed soul The refrain teaches the heart to talk back to itself: “Why are you downcast… Put your hope in God.” That is not denial, it is discipleship of the inner life. Feelings get a seat at the table, but they do not get the gavel. Hope takes the gavel and sets praise as the verdict. [46:18]
• 3. God’s delay aims at greater glory Mary wanted a last-minute healing, and Jesus planned a resurrection. The wait was not neglect, it was purpose. When God seems late, the calendar on his wall is eternity, and the outcome he seeks is glory that unmasks his love and power in fuller color. That kind of glory often arrives on what looked like the wrong day. [55:23]
• 4. Faith borrows heaven’s lenses today New lenses can feel awkward, but they let a person see what was always there. Faith looks through Revelation’s promise of no more tears and lets that future steady today’s steps. God often starts by rescuing from fears before rearranging circumstances, and that inside work is already a miracle of hope. [58:23]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [37:27] - Encouraging the kids and holy nerves
• [37:57] - Eight years at Flewellen
• [39:59] - Hope for the hopeless
• [40:32] - Moody’s “three and a half” salvations
• [41:52] - Psalm 10: When God feels far
• [42:25] - Sons of Korah and Psalm 42
• [44:25] - Tears, taunts, and honest lament
• [46:18] - Preaching to the soul to hope
• [46:54] - Waves, waterfall, yet steadfast love
• [53:18] - The glasses of faith illustration
• [54:44] - Mary, Lazarus, and delayed glory
• [57:23] - Beautiful in its time
• [58:23] - New heaven, no more tears
• [62:26] - Big Bird and parade perspective
• [63:14] - Delivered from fears, not problems
• [64:08] - With God all things are possible
• [65:35] - Invitation to trust God’s timing

1. Psalm 42 uses vivid imagery like "deep calls to deep" and "waves and breakers" to describe turmoil. What other metaphors does the psalmist use to express their emotional state?
2. In John 11, how does Jesus respond to Mary’s grief, and what does His action reveal about His perspective on timing and suffering?
3. Revelation 21:4 promises a future with "no more tears." What specific struggles does this passage say will end in the new creation?

1. The psalmist repeatedly asks, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" and then instructs himself to "hope in God." Why might this internal dialogue be necessary during seasons of despair?
2. Mary says to Jesus, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:32). How does her statement reflect a tension between human expectations and God’s greater purposes?
3. The sermon mentions that "God’s delay aims at greater glory" [55:23]. How does Lazarus’ resurrection demonstrate a "greater glory" than simply healing him before death?

1. When have you felt like the psalmist—thirsting for God’s presence but surrounded by voices (or thoughts) asking, "Where is your God?" How did you navigate that season?
2. The refrain "Put your hope in God" is a call to preach truth to oneself. What specific truths from Scripture could you speak to your heart when feelings of despair or doubt arise?
3. The sermon compares faith to "borrowing heaven’s lenses" [58:23]. What current situation in your life might look different if viewed through the promise of Revelation 21 (e.g., no more pain, God dwelling with us)?
4. Mary’s story shows God’s timing often exceeds our deadlines. Is there a prayer or longing where you’ve been tempted to doubt God’s care because He hasn’t answered yet? How can you actively choose hope while waiting?
5. Psalm 34:4 says God "delivered me from all my fears." What fears (internal struggles) might God be rescuing you from now, even if external circumstances haven’t changed?