Worship : Hold to the Hope : June 28, 2026

Hope is not treated like a nice extra. Hope is life. A person can go a while without food, a few days without water, a few minutes without air, but not one second without hope. Yet the real question is not whether hope exists, but where hope is placed and what hope draws from.

Peter names the source plainly. God, by his great mercy, gives new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Death looks like the end, but Jesus shows that there is more beyond death. That living hope comes with an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. The little red Liverpool banner may sparkle for a while, but the sun does its work and the color fades. Peter points to a hope that does not fade like everything else in this life.

The cry from Downtown Denver shows how confused hope can get. The man holding the sign looked like the one who needed help, but the well-dressed man shouting “help me” revealed another kind of poverty. Accumulation, wealth, power, status, laws, salesmen, and politicians all promise deliverance, but those hopes fail. Peter says through Christ, faith and hope are in God.

Hebrews brings that confidence to a “therefore.” Since Jesus has opened the fresh and living way by his blood, and since he is the great priest over the house of God, believers draw near with sincere hearts and full assurance. That hope is not wishful thinking. It rests on the one who made the promise and is trustworthy. Hope may have moments that tremble, but hope does not have to let go.

Hebrews then turns hope outward. Hope produces thoughtfulness about how to spur one another on to love and good works. Gathering is not about checking attendance boxes. The meeting of the church exists to encourage, to push toward love, and to remind tired hearts that there is still time.

Peter shows what hope looks like when it is lived. Harmony, sympathy, affection, compassion, humility, and blessing instead of insult become the shape of a hopeful life. Hope becomes visible in how enemies are treated. The kids at the apartment complex yelling, “The church is here,” had learned that the church brings hope into dark places. Hope is a muscle, built by a thousand small repeated acts of goodness and kindness, so that hope can keep being given tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Hope must be placed rightly. Hope is not mainly a question of having enough optimism. Hope becomes strong or fragile according to the object it rests on. When hope leans on wealth, status, promises, or control, it inherits the weakness of those things. Peter locates lasting hope in God, who raised Jesus from the dead and gave him glory. [34:40]
• 2. Jesus opens confident nearness. Hebrews does not call believers to draw near because they have cleaned themselves up well enough. Confidence comes by the blood of Jesus, the fresh and living way opened through the curtain. The heart comes near because God has acted first, and assurance grows from that mercy rather than from spiritual performance. [35:56]
• 3. Holding hope is not pretending. Unwavering hope does not mean the absence of hard moments or honest questions. It means hope refuses to let go because the one who promised is trustworthy. The believer’s grip is strengthened by God’s faithfulness, not by pretending life has no pressure. [38:30]
• 4. Gathering trains love into action. The church’s meeting is not an attendance chart with religious points attached. Its purpose is to spur love and good works, to give holy pressure in the right direction. Hope grows in a people who keep reminding one another that there is still time to act with courage, mercy, and imagination. [40:13]
• 5. Hope becomes a practiced muscle. Hope strengthens when it is exercised in repeated acts of goodness and kindness. The church becomes a “hope dispenser” when living hope moves toward places where hope has been scarce. Such hope does not quit because the need returns tomorrow, since endurance is part of the muscle being built.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:42] - Gathering in Christ’s Name
• [28:24] - Halfway Through the Year
• [28:43] - The Real Question of Hope
• [29:37] - Peter’s Living Hope
• [30:45] - An Unfading Inheritance
• [32:11] - The Cry of “Help Me”
• [34:18] - Faith and Hope in God
• [35:16] - Hebrews 10 and “Therefore”
• [37:44] - Holding On When Hope Is Tested
• [39:29] - Spurring One Another Toward Love
• [41:45] - Hope Is a Muscle
• [43:07] - Hope Changes How People Treat Others
• [45:30] - “The Church Is Here”
• [47:15] - Becoming Hope Dispensers
• [48:58] - Hope Built on Jesus’ Blood

Bible Reading
1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV)
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV)
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

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Observation questions

1. According to 1 Peter 1:3-4, what specific qualities describe the inheritance believers receive through Christ’s resurrection?
2. In Hebrews 10:24-25, what two actions are believers urged to prioritize when gathering together?
3. The sermon described kids at an apartment complex yelling, “The church is here!” after seeing a group arrive. What did this reaction suggest about how the church had previously engaged that community? [45:30]
4. What contrast did Peter make between earthly hopes (like the faded Liverpool banner) and the hope found in God? [31:22]

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Interpretation questions

1. Why does Peter emphasize that the Christian inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4)? How does this contrast with common sources of hope people rely on?
2. The sermon mentioned a well-dressed man screaming “help me” at someone holding a sign. How does this story illustrate the difference between misplaced hope and true hope in God? [32:11]
3. Hebrews 10:24 says believers should “stir up one another to love and good works.” What might hinder a community from doing this effectively, and how can those barriers be overcome?
4. 1 Peter 3:9 commands believers to “bless” even those who insult them. Why is this kind of response only possible for someone rooted in a “living hope”?

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Application questions

1. The sermon warned against placing hope in wealth, status, or control. What is one area of your life where you’ve been tempted to place hope in something temporary? How could you actively redirect that hope toward God this week?
2. Hebrews 10:25 urges believers not to neglect gathering together. What is one practical way you could help create a church environment that “spurs others on” rather than just fulfills an obligation? [40:13]
3. The kids at the apartment complex recognized the church as a source of hope. What is one “small, repeated act of kindness” you could start doing regularly to visibly embody hope in your neighborhood or workplace? [47:15]
4. How would treating a difficult person with “sympathy, compassion, and humility” (1 Peter 3:8) look different from your default response? What step could you take this week to practice this?
5. The sermon compared hope to a muscle that strengthens through use. What is one situation where you feel your “hope muscle” is weak, and how could you exercise it in that area?