Advent: Hope

For us this morning, we've talked about hope, and we can read hope in scriptures, but there's so many people around us who have no hope.

! Their life circumstances and their life experiences are so heavy and so burdensome that they can't see through it and see out of it.

So this morning, let's talk a little bit about hope.

A good definition that I found is hope is a confident expectation.

Confident expectation.

So something's going to happen, and you're sure it's going to happen, and you place your trust in that.

G.K. Chesterton says, hope means hoping when there is no hope.

Otherwise, it is no virtue at all.

In the Old Testament, hope was displayed in God's deliverance, God's provision, God being God, and providing for His people, and doing what He said He was going to do.

That was hope displayed.

In Psalm 130, verse 7 and 8, we can wait with hopefulness.

Psalms 130:7

Israel can wait with hopefulness for redemption and for rescue because God has done it over and over and over for them.

In the New Testament, hope is wrapped up in one person and one name, and that's the name of Jesus.

1 Timothy 1.1 says, Jesus, Christ Jesus, our hope.

We can trust in Jesus.

We can be confident in Jesus.

That is where hope is found.

So this morning, I want to look at hope.

I want to look at a story that may not seem very hopeful.

I want to share with you some of the things I've learned about hope in the almost three years that we've been in Memphis.

Some may seem obvious to you, and I apologize, but I'm a slow learner.

And then let's see what the Spirit does this morning together.

So Acts 3.

Nathan's daughter read it, but I'm going to read it one more time.

Verses 1-10.

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate,

to ask alms or money of those entering the temple.

Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.

And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us.

And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.

But Peter said, I have no silver and gold.

But what I do have, I give to you.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up.

And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.

And leaping up, he stood and began to walk.

And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God.

And recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple, asking for alms.

And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

I don't need to retell the story.

You guys are familiar with the story.

Nathan just told the story to the kids and answered some questions.

But quickly, a couple of things I want to point out before we dig into what I've learned.

This man was carried every day, daily to this spot, to ask for alms, to ask for money.

And he was carried by friends or family.

Who knows who they were?

But they carried him and brought him there so that he can make a living, so to speak.

That was his situation.

That was his circumstances.

Because his body did not work.

His legs did not work.

And he couldn't take himself there.

It's important to note that that was as far as he could go.

He couldn't go any further.

And we'll touch on that here in just a few minutes.

But daily, these people brought him there and he asked for money because he thought,

I assume he thought that that's where his satisfaction was going to be, was in that money.

So here's the first thing I learned.

The first thing I've learned about hope is hope is not about me.

Hope is not about me.

Verse 1 says,

Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

Placing myself in this story, I could say, well, I'm kind of Peter, I guess.

I'm not an apostle, but sure, I'd be going up and walking to the temple.

Verse 2,

Peter and John could have just walked and continued their path.

They were going to the temple, the hour of prayer.

That was their destination.

And they see this man.

Verse 4 tells us,

They see him and they turn their gaze on him as he's asking for money.

They could have ignored him.

This man would have been used to being ignored.

We see the story that Jesus tells about the priest and the Pharisees who see a man in need

and they walk on the other side of the street.

This man has probably looked people in the eyes and watched them immediately turn their eyes away.

We have beggars all the time.

I have homeless people walking up and down our streets.

We see beggars everywhere.

We can't run away from them, whether it's on the street corner or the front of Kroger or the front of the mall.

They're everywhere.

You can't ignore them.

And Peter and John choose not to ignore them because they understand that the hope that they have,

that they've received, isn't about them.

So let's back up a little bit.

In Acts chapter 1,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

the apostles are all together.

Jesus says in verse 8,

speaking to the apostles right before he ascends into heaven,

he says,

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you

and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in all Judea,

Samaria,

and to the end of the earth.

It echoes the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

It says,

go and make disciples

to all nations,

baptizing them in the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Spirit.

This power,

this is the same power

that raised Jesus from the dead.

This is the same power that

later in chapter 2,

Pentecost,

the Spirit comes down to Pentecost

and it appears that fire is on their head.

This is the same Spirit

that moves at Pentecost

where thousands of people's lives

are changed by Jesus.

This is the same Spirit

that later empowers them

to do bold things for the Gospel.

This is the same power that lives

inside of you and inside of me.

This is the same power from the Holy Spirit,

again,

that raised Jesus from the dead.

That He was dead

and He is alive.

And this power is in Peter and John

and leading Peter and John

as they're walking to the temple

and they see this man

and they turn their gaze on this man.

See, hope's not about me.

I wasn't created to sit

and bask in the glorious news

of having hope

and just let it flood me

and just sit under it

and be like,

this is so great.

That's not what I was created to do

and you weren't created to do that either.

We were created

to make disciples

and to proclaim the good news of Jesus

and to glorify His name.

All of that wrapped up into one.

Hope is not about me

and it's not about you.

We read Scriptures

and we get comforted.

I'm going to read some this morning

and you'll probably go,

that's one of my favorites.

But let's be honest,

it's not what you were created to do.

It's just to read it.

What about those people

who are far from God?

What about those people

who are living without hope?

What about the teenage girl

who was pregnant

who's raising a child?

Where's the hope in that?

The circumstances are too tough.

She can't go to school with a baby.

How does she make it happen?

What about her?

What about this man?

Broken.

Wednesday,

a week ago Wednesday,

we had our missional community,

which is like your community outreach groups,

we had a Thanksgiving dinner.

And we had,

I went out Tuesday

and bought a honey-baked ham

for 30 people.

Now if you know honey-baked ham,

that's not cheap.

In fact,

I had to talk myself

into buying it at the register.

The lady said,

it's going to be $80.

And I was like,

what?

I cannot do this.

But I talked myself into it

because I thought,

I'm going to love

my missional community.

I'm going to love

the people in our MC

and they're going to eat well.

We're going to celebrate well

because Jesus is good

and He provides for us

and that's what we're going to do.

So the night,

Wednesday night,

it's about 5.45,

maybe close to 6.

I look outside

and there are kids

just coming to our house.

Neighborhood kids.

I don't know most of them.

I don't know.

I certainly don't know their names.

I know maybe 20% of the names.

And I'm looking

and I'm just getting

bigger and bigger eyes.

this is not good.

I'm getting angry

because I bought this ham

for our missional community,

for our family

to celebrate together

and to eat well.

No,

this isn't what your plan is,

God,

because I had a plan

and this isn't it.

So I'm looking at Jamie.

I'm looking at my wife

and she's looking at me

with the same big eyes

and we're like having this pep talk

in the middle of the living room.

I'm like,

it's okay

because God is good

and He's called us to do this

and these kids need Jesus

and we're talking to each other

and we had enough food

for everyone.

We had over 30 kids in our house,

over 20 adults.

Our house is maybe 1,500 square feet.

It's not a big house.

Three little bedrooms.

Everybody was spread everywhere.

Nothing got broken,

I don't think.

Haven't found it yet if it did.

But everybody ate well.

There's hope in my life

and maybe,

just maybe we gave them

a fragrance of hope

on that evening

because hope isn't about me.

Peter and John saw this man,

turned their gaze on him

and they spoke to him

and as we'll see in just a minute,

they help him.

Second thing I've learned

is hope is not circumstantial.

Hope is not dependent

on your circumstances

or how much money you have

in a bank account.

Hope is a confident expectation

and you can't put confident expectation

on anything that is temporal.

Anything that is temporary.

dust and wind.

The lame beggar was asking

for all he knew

and what he thought he needed.

What he thought maybe

would help his situation

if I just had some money.

He was brought there

every day at the same place.

So much so that at the end

of this text,

the people said,

that's the guy who's been

sitting there,

the last whatever many years.

That's the guy we've seen

over and over.

We know him.

That's the guy who sits

outside that temple.

Over and over,

this guy is there.

He didn't think money

would heal him.

How could he?

But he thought that money

would help his situation,

would help his life.

Maybe just make it

a little better.

Maybe I could eat

a honey-baked ham

instead of a Kroger ham.

It's almost as if

his identity

was rooted in

receiving those alms,

right?

Because that's what he was.

He was a beggar.

Every day he was there.

I can't emphasize enough.

He was there every day

begging.

So this is his identity.

This is what he's known as.

So he's living out

his identity

as a beggar

asking for money.

If I can get

this amount,

if I can

beg enough

and maybe get $10,

then my life

will have meaning

or whatever the amount is.

His identity also

was not to be able

to enter the temple.

I don't know if you guys

knew this,

but in Leviticus 21,

it says that

a lame person

was not allowed

to enter the temple

because they saw him

as unclean

or saw her as unclean.

So he wasn't even able.

That's as far as he could go

is to that gate.

He wasn't allowed.

So his identity

was not just begging,

but his identity

was as a lame person

who couldn't even go

where everybody else could.

hope is not in our circumstances

though.

When we find our identity

in our circumstances,

when we're an athlete

or a preacher

or a teacher

or whatever it is,

and we find our identity

in that,

there is no hope in that.

There is no hope.

All around us,

people are looking

to things or circumstances

for their identity.

They're looking for

the next pair of Jordans

or the next deposit

in their bank account

or their tax return.

They're waiting

for their tax return

so that they can then

live for the next six months.

They're looking

for the next thing

to fulfill them

and find their identity

in when they can't.

It's impossible

to find hope

in those things.

Circumstances

do not make you

who you are.

That's the teenage pregnant

girl who was pregnant.

She's now a mom.

Sure, her identity title

has changed,

but it doesn't change

who she is

in the eyes of God.

And your circumstances.

You could have had

an abusive past

or you could have had

whatever it is,

but your circumstances

don't change.

Or your circumstances

may change,

but that doesn't

change your identity.

It doesn't change

how God views you.

And we can have hope

in that because hope

is not circumstantial.

Your circumstances

right now

may appear hopeless.

It may appear

like you have

nowhere to go,

nothing that can get you

out of what you're in,

but that doesn't change

how God sees you

and it certainly

doesn't change

the hope

that you have

in Christ.

But what about

the people around us?

What about

the people around you?

Now, if you're

a college student

and you live on campus,

you guys are all

kind of on the even

playing field,

so to speak.

You have the same

place to live

and kind of have

the same stuff.

You all have those

milk crates

and crazy plastic

furniture and all

that stuff, right?

Is that what you guys

have?

And maybe a laptop?

I don't know.

You all have

the same kind of stuff.

But if you live

outside of the campus,

you live in a neighborhood,

everybody may appear

the same,

but they're certainly

not the same.

What about those people?

I look around

the people around us

and I feel hopeless.

I get defeated,

negative,

negative.

And here's why.

Because I think,

I think

that they have no hope

because of their

circumstances.

I look at their

circumstances and I say

they're hopeless.

Single mom,

seven kids,

I feel bad for her

and I don't know

how to help her.

I feel helpless.

I feel hopeless

when I look at people

and I think that

I can fix them

because they're my project

and I can try to

give them what they need

and then that will

make the big difference.

Hey, they need Jesus.

They don't need me.

I'm not Jesus.

They don't need me

to fix them.

I feel hopeless

when I'm frozen

by fear

because we don't

look the same

or we don't

have the same mannerisms.

We don't wear

the same clothes.

There was a,

in our neighborhood,

there was this picnic,

a get-together.

This lady,

old lady who's been

there 40 years,

she's been in

the same house.

She had this get-together

to sign petitions

to get a crosswalk

and maybe,

hopefully,

some speed bumps

on our streets

which is a great thing.

We were there

and we pull up

and we were

the only white people there.

And I don't know.

We were extremely nervous.

We actually parked

and we looked at each other.

We talked soft enough

so our kids didn't hear

this conversation

and we said,

should we go?

I don't know.

I mean,

it's a good thing

but that looks,

I don't,

we weren't scared

for our life.

It was just going to be,

it was going to be,

we were going to feel awkward

and,

but we went.

We went because

it was the right thing to do.

We can't let the circumstances

around us

or the circumstances

in other people's lives

or the way that they look

freeze us,

free us,

or freeze us

from doing

and being

a fragrance of hope

to those around us.

This man's circumstances

were bad.

But he still had,

as we'll see,

he still had the opportunity

to have hope.

not only is hope

not circumstantial,

and here's the,

you guys are going to go,

yeah,

of course,

unless you've already done that

and that's cool too.

Hope is only found

in Jesus.

1 Timothy 1.1

says that Jesus,

our hope,

hope is only found

in Jesus.

Jesus.

Look at verse 4-8.

Jesus isn't mentioned here.

Except by the name of Jesus,

but he is all in these

scriptures

and in this story.

And Peter directed

his gaze at him

as did John

and said,

look at us.

And he fixed his attention

on them,

expecting Peter,

expecting to receive

something from them.

But Peter said,

I have no silver and gold.

In other words,

I don't have

what you're asking for.

I'm sorry,

my pockets are empty.

I don't have the item

that you are looking for.

However,

but what I do have

I give to you

in the name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth,

rise up and walk.

And he took him

by the right hand,

raised him up,

and immediately

his feet and ankles

were made strong.

And leaping up,

he stood and began

to walk

and entered the temple

with him,

walking and leaping

and praising God.

Jesus heals him.

The Holy Spirit of God

heals this man.

There's only hope

in Jesus alone.

Now for us,

healings in the Bible

are mostly pictures

of the spiritual healing

that takes place

when Jesus changes our lives,

when he saves us.

So this picture of healing

is a picture of those

who are dead and broken

that God makes whole

in Jesus Christ.

In the name of Jesus Christ

of Nazareth,

rise up and walk.

There's no other name.

Acts 4 verse 12 says,

Acts 4:12

no other name,

no other name above

the name of Jesus.

There's no other name

that could have saved,

that could have healed him.

There's no other name

that could have saved him.

There's no other name

that could have helped

or can help the people

around you

who have no hope.

Only Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1 says,

in Him we set our hope.

So here's the rubber

meets the road for us.

Now we can sit

and we can read this.

I can tell you

all the things

I've learned about hope.

And I can do nothing about it.

And I can say,

that's great

and take great notes

and have this nice outline

laid out

and do nothing about it.

And care nothing

about the people around us.

It's possible for me

to do that.

And it's possible

for you to do that.

But Jesus is

the only hope

that people have.

So as we sit here

and sing about Jesus,

as we sit here

and sing in Christ alone,

as we sit here

and sing about

the glorious name

of Jesus,

what are we going

to do about it?

Peter and John

were not intending

to meet this guy.

But the Spirit

put this guy

in front of them

in their path

and they were obedient

to do

what they knew

what to do.

I praise God

for Christ's family church.

I praise God

for the words

that are preached

and the gospel

that is proclaimed.

But if Christ's family church

is not reaching

the people around them,

then what is the point?

You want me to repeat that, Evie?

What's the point?

If I'm studying Scripture

and I'm preparing

for a sermon to preach

here this morning

and I don't live this out,

what is the point?

There is no point.

Because Jesus

is where hope is found.

People need to know that.

That doesn't mean

that the teenager

who is pregnant

who's having this child

and you say,

Jesus will fix your problems.

No!

Jesus isn't going to

change her circumstances.

Jesus isn't going to

fix that she's trying

to figure out

how to be in school

and figure out

who's going to watch

her child.

That's not what that means.

But Jesus is going

to make her whole.

That broken heart

is going to be made whole.

She's going to have hope

in Jesus.

Jesus is going to have

to be made whole.

We can celebrate

the Advent

and we can talk

about the long-awaited

Savior who's going

to come back.

But what about

the people around you?

Nitschke,

I don't know,

in the 1800s

and 1900s,

he was a philosopher

and who knows

what else he did.

He claimed that

Christianity made

people cowards.

Cowards.

Because it taught

that whatever happened

was God's will.

And if God wills it,

then it will happen.

Thus,

discouraging efforts

to change

the world.

Hope

changes

the world.

Jesus

changes

the world.

Not,

doesn't leave

us a room

to sit

and do

nothing.

We just went

to that picnic.

The only white

people there.

People looked

at us funny.

We didn't talk

about Jesus,

but we made

our presence

known and hopefully

someday down the road

that will build

relationships where

we can then talk

about Jesus

with people.

It doesn't change

our neighborhood.

It doesn't fix

anything.

It doesn't fix

the homeless

problem or the

poverty problem.

Hope is found

in Jesus,

but also hope

requires action

and I've already

talked about it.

Hope requires action.

Look at Peter

and John.

What do they do?

So they talk to him

and they say,

I don't have

what you're asking

for,

but what I do

have I give to you

in the name of

Jesus Christ of

Nazareth.

Rise and walk.

And Peter reaches

down with his right

hand and grabs him

and he stands

that he's never

stood before.

Like he's been

lame from birth.

He's never stood

before.

He's doing

something new

and his legs

work immediately.

Just like you

and just like me.

and just like

you and me,

your heart

that was not

working correctly

works correctly

now because of

Jesus.

You now can

honor Jesus

and you can

glorify Jesus

and you can

glory in his

goodness and you

can do all these

things that you

originally couldn't

do because of

sin.

And this man

is able to

walk and his

body works

because Peter

and John

were obedient

to the

spirit's

leading and

they did

something.

There are

people around

you who

need you to

reach down

and grab

them.

There are

people around

you that

need you to

reach down

with your

right hand

or your

left and

grab them

and help

them.

Hope is

like the

Christmas

presents on

Christmas

morning under

the Christmas

tree.

Now most of

y'all in here

are young

enough that

you can

remember the

anticipation,

you can

remember the

feelings that

you had,

you can

remember getting

up at three

or four in

the morning

because you

couldn't sleep

anymore.

And if you

lived upstairs,

you'd run

downstairs to the

Christmas tree and

you'd look at it

and go, oh my

gosh, it's so

great.

And you'd run

upstairs and you'd

wake up your

siblings and then

you'd run back

downstairs and then

you'd figure out

how to wake

everybody up on

accident and then

you'd get

everybody up and

hope though is

like the

Christmas presents.

You know they're

going to be there.

You may not know

exactly what they

are, but you know

they're going to be

there and you want

to tell everybody

in that house about

those presents.

They're here.

You and I,

hope is like those

presents.

We may not know

exactly how it

plays out.

We know that

Jesus is going

to come back

and we know

we have the

details, but we

don't know

exactly when and

there's some

things we're

missing about it,

but we have

this anticipation

or we should

have this

anticipation that

Jesus is coming

back.

That Jesus is

coming back and

it's going to be

so good and we

need to wake up

everyone and get

them to be part

of it.

we should be

waking up our

future family

members.

That's not our

job to save.

That's the

Spirit's job.

That's God's job.

But we certainly

should wake them

up and let them

know that there

are presents under

the tree for them.

Finally, hope

changes everything.

Hope changes

everything.

Our circumstances

can be so dim,

there can

appear to be no

hope out of our

situations and yet

there is hope

because of Jesus.

Our circumstances

can tear us

down.

Things can be

ripped from us,

but Jesus is

still there.

He'll never be

ripped from you.

And we know

through the Bible

that sin no

longer has a

hold on us.

Sin no longer

has victory

over you and

me in Christ

Jesus.

Death no longer

has a hold

on you or me.

We die,

we're with

Jesus.

That's hopeful

thinking.

This lame beggar,

his life was

changed.

He now can

enter the temple

and worship

God.

Because his

body is

fixed.

Because Jesus

has healed

him.

There's a story

in the Old

Testament in

2 Samuel

by the name

of Mephibosheth.

I don't know

if you know

Mephibosheth.

Mephibosheth is a

descendant of

Jonathan who is

the son of

Saul.

Saul and

Jonathan are

long gone.

David wants

to bless the

lineage of

Saul as

David does.

He's a man

after God's

own heart.

And David

asks a servant,

he says,

is there anybody

left in the

line of Saul

that I can

bless?

And the man

says,

yes,

there is one.

Go get him

please.

So he goes

and gets him

and brings him

and of course

Mephibosheth is

a little scared

because David

was the one

by God's hand

who wiped

down his

father and

his grandfather

and was part

of that.

Now David

is king.

Mephibosheth

was crippled

at the age

of five.

He had

nothing to do

with it.

His maidservant

or whoever it

was actually

dropped him

and he became

crippled and

his legs didn't

work anymore.

And David

seeks him

out and he

comes in

and he sees

that he's

crippled and

David says,

fear not

for I want

to bless you.

Long story

short,

he tells the

servant who

worked for

Saul's family,

whatever Saul

had,

he has it

all back.

His riches

are his.

And I want

you and all

his servants

to work for

Mephibosheth

because I

want him

to have food

to eat

and have

a living.

And David

says,

but Mephibosheth

is going to

sit with me

at my table.

That's what

Jesus does.

Jesus says,

you are mine

and you are

mine and you

are mine and

you are mine

and you are

glorifying my

name on earth

and you are

working your

tails off for

me and you

will sit

at my table

with me.

He has

opened his

table up to

you and to

me.

You are

going to

celebrate and

participate in

the Lord's

Supper in a

few minutes

and Nathan

is going to

lead that

and that

is Jesus

inviting you

to his

table.

You have

been invited

to join

him and the

people around

you have

been invited

to sit

with the

king.

But they

need to know,

they need to

hear,

they need

to see

the hope

that you

and you

and all

of us

have in

this room

who are

in Christ

Jesus.

Hope

changes

everything.

Mephibosheth's

life has been

changed.

Circumstances

are still the

same.

He's still

crippled.

He still

wobbles.

He's dependent

on other

people.

But David

said,

you will sit

with me

until you

die.

You will

sit with

the king.

And hope

changes

everything.

Today,

Jamie joked

around with

me about

this and

I'm going

to mention

it.

Today marks

23 years

ago on

this day

that we

had our

first date.

Took her

to a pizza

place.

Got her

the,

yeah,

big time.

Play ya.

Took her,

picked out

the wrong

thing to

drink for

her,

winter.

She is

the light

in my

sky.

She is

by rock

a lot of

times here

on earth.

And I've

asked her

to come

and share

a story

that she'll

do a way

better job

than me

about some

of the

things that's

going on

that we're

a part

of in

Memphis.

Let me

just say

it would

take hours

to tell

you all

the things

that God

has done

or is

doing.

The way

that he's

provided for

us,

the people

he's given

us favor

with,

the way

the Spirit

has moved

and led

us to do

certain things

that didn't

make any

sense.

But she's

going to

share,

and then I'm

going to

pray,

and then I

think Nathan's

coming up

after that.

Good morning.

He makes

me teary

before I even

get up here.

Those of

you who

know me

well know

I'm a

crier,

so forgive

me.

When Chris

asked me to

share one

story, I

thought that

wasn't very

fair.

How do

you choose

one story

when all

that is

happening

around us

is woven

into this

beautiful

tapestry

that's organic

and it's

alive and it

can't be

compartmentalized?

So when we

come back to

visit you and

you say,

how is it

going?

I know

you're

earnest in

asking,

and we

say it's

good.

It's

good.

We say

it with

such vagueness

because how

do you?

How do you,

apart from

hours and

hours of

sitting together

and recounting

all the

stories and

all the

details and

all the

things,

it'd be

like if I

asked you

what's new.

You say

one or two

tidbits,

but apart

from having

that deep

conversation,

it's hard

to just

recount one

story.

So it's

a bit

unfair.

So forgive

me for,

and Chris,

also,

for only

being able

to serve

you just

a small

sliver of

the Memphis

pie.

But I'll

try.

The family

I'll tell you

about today,

they literally

walked into

our lives

this past

summer.

Two of

the boys

from the

Coleman family

came strolling

into our

yard.

We were

outside hanging

out with

other neighborhood

kids.

A lot of

you heard

this summer

when I

came about

the favor

we gained

in our

neighborhood

that we

were having

20-plus

children at

our house

every day.

They wanted

to know

if we

would donate

to their

basketball

team.

The scheme

later got

them busted

by the

police.

I didn't

give them

money.

I wasn't

foolish enough

to do

that.

I told

them that I

had to be

loyal to

some of the

other boys

who hang

out with us

and are on

a team.

But we

talked for a

while and I

asked lots of

questions,

of course,

and got to

know them a

little bit

better.

Where are you

coming from?

Where are you

going?

over the

next several

weeks,

they continued

to come

back,

bringing

slowly more

and more

of their

family to

meet us.

Eventually,

they brought

their mom

and she

sat on our

couch.

She explained

her mental

illness.

She expressed

her wonder

at the fact

that the

Department of

Family and

Children's

Services

has never

caught up

with them.

She groaned

about not

having clothes

for her

seven children.

They had

all been

thrown out

during the

most recent

eviction.

There are

seven children.

There are

nine people

total in

a one-bedroom

house.

It sits

about a

quarter mile

from us

on the

busy main

road.

We're just

slightly off

that road.

So, you

know, anybody

who comes

down that

road can

see our

house.

It sits

next to a

gas station

that can

only be

described as

sketch for

the illegal

things that

happen there.

The house

looks uninhabitable.

As you can

imagine, these

kids don't hang

out at their

own house because

how do you

hang out at a

house where

there's nowhere

to actually

hang?

They often

roam around in

sort of a

pack with

other kids

whose situations

and homes are

similar.

This pack of

children, as they

roam around the

neighborhood, they

lie, they

manipulate, they

steal.

They generally

create an

interesting wake

of havoc wherever

they go.

School?

Well, we

couldn't get them

enrolled until the

school had already

been in for a

couple of weeks.

kids.

By week three,

the middle

schoolers were

banned from the

bus for

stabbing another

child.

By week 12, it

was clear that

after multiple

suspensions, the

two of the boys

that were at our

neighborhood school

wouldn't be able

to stay.

They are now

headed to an

alternative school.

One of the

biggest problems,

mom is too

tired, she's too

apathetic to walk

her younger kids

to and from

school.

She isn't

willing to

intercede for

them and she

isn't willing to

fight for them

and so they

fight all the

way there and

all the way back

home.

What else do you

do when you're

bullied?

If I can connect

with them before

school, I'm

talking the

oldest down off

of whatever

anger ledge

he's sitting on.

He usually

shows up, fists

bald, tears

flowing out of

his face.

I'm helping he

and his brother

tuck stained

shirts and fix

ill-fitting

belts and

pants and

usually carefully

piecing together

their shoes so

that they won't

cause too much

embarrassment during

the day.

We fix the

little sister, we

wipe the crust

from her eyes

and nobody's

eaten yet so

there aren't

milk stains

and things.

They depend on

the school for

their breakfast

and their lunch

and usually are

not fed at

dinner or on

the weekends.

We try to get

her to smile

erasing the

perpetual void

look that

usually fills

her eyes.

lots of

talking before

they go into

the school

because they're

already mad.

You can do

this.

Do your best

today.

Don't worry

about what

other people

say.

I love you.

We hug

them big, long

I care for

you type of

hugs.

If we connect

after school

we'll walk

together for a

little while

until our paths

diverge.

They might have

some small

like tattletale

type things to

report but they

aren't like our

children where

they're talking

about anything

they learned or

they did in

school or that

they're excited

about the upcoming

field trips.

Nothing like

that.

They're usually

just the same

questions.

Number one,

can we have a

ride home?

Number two,

can we get some

food to eat?

Number three,

can we play at

your house?

And number four,

are we having

the shill community

this week?

Forgive me for

not being able to

fully describe the

overwhelming

desperation.

Their jaded

spirits.

Their smell.

And their

hardness.

Here's the

thing.

The Coleman

family is a

norm on our

side of the

neighborhood.

They're the

norm in the

urban school

where I teach.

In fact,

their story is

not the worst,

most seemingly

hopeless story I

could have

shared.

I, however,

refuse to view

them as a

statistic.

You know,

the old pipeline

to prison.

elementary schools

are a pipeline

to prison is

very true

where we live.

You can look at

these children and

already see how

if there is not

intervention,

that's exactly

where they're

headed.

I know the

only hope for

them is Christ.

So,

can we clean

them up enough

and make them

smell great and

get them a better

house and maybe a

better car and

better medicine and

make them act more

like us all in the

hope that Christ

will save them?

Was that your

experience when

Christ sought you

out?

No.

We were all the

Coleman's.

We were dead in

our sin.

You weren't born

more privileged

to know Christ.

You weren't chosen

for Christ because

of the color of

your skin.

You weren't chosen

for Christ because

you smelled good.

You weren't chosen

for Christ because

of the family you

grew up in, the

schools you attended,

your natural

intelligence.

He sought you

out.

And if you

believe anything

different, shame

on you.

And so, I

choose to believe

that Patrice, the

mom, and Kayla,

Chris, Martavius,

Quentin, Tyler,

Nalia, and Joseph

are all loved by

God and are

gently being wooed

by his spirit.

I feel honored that

we get to be people

who are intentionally

loving them, many

more like them in

our neighborhood.

My hope is not that

the Lord will save

them to then make

them look, smell,

and be like us.

My hope is that the

Lord will save them

to look, smell, and

be like him.

I want them to be

image bearers of

Christ.

I want them to be

part of his body,

adopted sons and

daughters.

Will you join us in

praying big prayers

for the families in

our neighborhood?

Will you begin to

look for the

Coleman's around you?

You won't have to

look far.

We've lived in

Dahlonega.

We know the

Coleman's that live

in this area.

Will you dream big

dreams for those

people around you

who can't dream

dreams for

themselves?

As we walk out

this beautiful

mess, whether in

Memphis or North

Georgia or wherever

you may live, may

our hope be

unwavering, a

confident expectation

that the Lord is

doing great things.