In life, disappointment can feel like a constant companion. But what if there was a way to defy this disappointment with hope and trust?
Listen as Pastor Clint begins the Advent season by exploring how we can navigate life's disappointments through the lens of the biblical figures, Ahaz, Isaiah, Mary, and Joseph. Together, we'll journey into the labyrinth of disappointment and emerge with a defiant hope, using lessons from these historical figures and wisdom from Viktor Frankl's experiences. This sermon is a call to become a community of defiant hope, a beacon of light in a world often shrouded in darkness.
Sermon Resources:
1. Study on the myth of progress and upward mobility: https://isr.umich.edu/news-events/news-releases/exceptional-upward-mobility-in-the-u-s-is-a-myth-international-studies-show/#:~:text=Exceptional%20upward%20mobility%20in%20the%20U.S.%20is%20a%20myth%2C%20international%20studies%20show,-September%205%2C%202012&text=ANN%20ARBOR%2C%20Mich.,a%20mansion%20on%20a%20hill
2. "Lost In The Cosmos," by Walker Percy
3. “Cynicism creates a numbness toward life. Cynicism begins with a wry assurance that everyone has an angle. Behind every silver lining is a cloud. The cynic is always observing, critiquing, but never engaging, loving, and hoping. To be cynical is to be distant. While offering a false intimacy of being "in the know," cynicism actually destroys intimacy. It leads to bitterness that can deaden and even destroy the spirit.” -Paul E. Miller, "A Praying Life: Connecting With God In A Distracting World"
4. “Hope is not about the future. Hope is about the present, which obviously has to do with the future. But it is a virtue that is cultivated in the present. It fills the present with energy. It connects the two comings of Jesus so that we are now to participate in them…I don’t know one thing about the future. I don’t know what the next hour will hold. There may be sickness, accident, personal or world catastrophe. Before this day is over I may have to deal with death, pain, loss, rejection. Still, despite my ignorance and my being surrounded by tinny optimists and cowardly pessimists, I say that God will accomplish his will, and I cheerfully persist in living in the hope that nothing will separate me from Christ’s love.” -Eugene Peterson, "God's Message for Each Day: Wisdom from the Word of God"
5. “If a prisoner lost hope in his future, he was doomed…One of my friends in the camp had a dream that the war would end March 30. He was convinced the dream was a revelation, but as the date drew nearer, it became clear from the news reports the war was not ending. On March 29 he began running a temperature. On March 30 he lost consciousness. On March 31 he was dead. His loss of hope had lowered his body’s resistance to all of the diseases in the camp…Life in a concentration camp exposes your soul’s foundation. Only a few of the prisoners were able to keep their full inner liberty and strength. Life only has meaning in any circumstances if we have a hope that neither suffering, circumstances, nor death itself cannot destroy.” -Viktor Frankl, "Man’s Search For Meaning"
