25/12/2025
Here is the reading and message I shared at our Christmas Day service today - Happy Blessed Christmas
Hope at Christmas
Roman 15 NIV
15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: โThe insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.โ[a] 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[b] on behalf of Godโs truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
AND
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
WORD
There are three words that really stand out in that amazing verse at the end โ hope, joy, and peace.
Not just hope, in fact, but abounding hope. I think that every single one of us would agree, weโd like to experience more joy in our lives. Weโd like to experience more peace, and we certainly need more hope.
This is where weโre headed as we think about Christmas. Weโre headed hopefully to a place filled with abundant hope, amazing deep joy, and great peace.
When the Bible talks about joy, itโs not talking about a fleeting pleasure, but something deep and heartfelt that is eternal, a joy that really is experienced in our hearts.
In Luke 2:10 we read โBut the angel said to them, โDo not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.โ
And when the Bible talks about peace, the Bible is talking about a freedom from conflict and a freedom from anxiety.
Now, there are all kinds of hope, such as โI hope I win the lottery,โ or โI hope Aunt Mae doesnโt tell us the same story at Christmas dinner for the umpteenth time.โ
But those examples arenโt really about hope. Are they? Theyโre more like wishing. Not real hope.
Hope is defined as a positive or optimistic expectation. And this expectation is often about a circumstance or an event that usually has some kind of impact on your life.
That definition fits nicely with the birth of Jesus.
But when the Bible talks about hope, itโs hope in God. Itโs not misplaced hope, but itโs hope in something that is sure and will surely deliver.
Long before Jesus was born, the prophet, Isaiah, offered the words we read earlier together.
โFor to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and his name shall be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.โ
So, 700 years before Jesus was even born, God spoke supernaturally, prophetically through Isaiah about the very first Christmas. Thatโs what he really wanted for us for Christmas.
At Christmas time, a child is born, a son is given as a gift to us. God gives this gift to his people, a son, a person, and his name, the son that was born, the child that was born is Jesus.
But actually, heโs got lots of names, heโs not just called Jesus.
Heโs also called wonderful, counsellor.
Heโs called Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
But perhaps the most interesting name that Isaiah gives to Jesus is mighty God.
This baby that was born, this son that was given is called Mighty God. He is God come to Earth in human flesh.
This is the great glory and the great mystery of Christmas that God Himself would come to Earth and be born as a baby on that very first Christmas Day.
And in Luke 1:32-33 we read โHe will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacobโs descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.โ
Jesus is the hope for the world. That hope is that we continue to exist after death. Through Christ, God has given us hope of an eternal life. Without Jesusโs birth, that hope simply would not exist for us Christians today.
Imagine what the world would be like without hope. But today, we have great hope! This is the day Jesus was born. Itโs the day God gave his only begotten son, Jesus, the Christ, to wash away our sins.
And in Matthew 1:21 We read โShe will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.โ
Jesusโs birth signifies our journey back to God, our creator. Jesus restores hope to the world. He paved the way for us. When we believe in Christ, we accept the message of hope proclaimed on Christmas morning that the Christ child was born.
This birth of hope makes Christmas so much more than carols, Christmas trees, presents, and turkey dinners. It is this sacrifice by God and then his son, Jesus, that delivered hope to the world. The hope of eternal life for all who believe.
So, this Christmas, letโs make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Let us give to others in the same spirit of the Christ child.
Let us love one another. And, most importantly, let us give thanks for the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ and the Christmas hope he gifted us.
