The Second Sunday in Advent – December 7, 2025

Grace to you and peace from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The word hope occurs four times in our epistle from Romans chapter 15.

Romans 15 · chapter mention

Verse 4 reads, Through the endurance

and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.

Then verse 12 reads, In Christ will the Gentiles hope.

Then verse 13 reads, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in

believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

So this morning, I want to talk with you about the word hope.

After all, Advent is a season of hope. The first Advent candle symbolizes hope.

Jesus came in the past he was born

in Bethlehem he died upon the cross for our

sins he rose from the dead he comes to

us today by means of the gospel and sacraments

and he will come in the future therefore we having a living hope in Christ today

we have it today and tomorrow and we look forward to Christ second coming with

hope and joy and not fear.

But what does the word hope mean? How do you define it?

In our everyday language, it is oftentimes used as a wish or a want for something in the future.

I wish may or may not happen.

So for example, I hope you feel better today. I hope you feel better tomorrow.

So you may or may not feel better tomorrow. We don't know. Or here's another one.

Hopefully we will all make it home safely. We don't know.

We may or may not make it home safely. We hope to.

So again, a hope is a wish of an uncertainty or something unsure.

But there's a difference between how we commonly use the word hope and how the

scriptures use the word hope and how the scriptures define it.

Scripture uses hope to mean a confident trust in something that will certainly

happen. Let me say it again. A confident trust in something that will certainly happen.

For example, God makes a promise, and we trust in this promise,

and we hope in the sure expectation that God will give us what he's promised.

Scripture never defines hope as an uncertainty or a wishful thinking,

but a confident trust in God's promises for the future.

Faith and hope go together. Faith and hope go together. You cannot have one without the other.

First, God gives a promise. Let's say he cares for us. He promises to care for us.

He promises to forgive our sins in Christ.

He promises that heaven stands open for you and me and for all who believe.

Faith then believes in these promises. Therefore, our future is hopeful because

of God's word and promise.

My mom and dad made a promise that when they passed away, everything they owned

would be equally distributed between the therefore children.

I trusted in their word, I believed them, and I looked forward to a future inheritance.

In the same way, hope is looking forward with confidence to a promised inheritance in heaven.

We have faith in Christ's birth in Bethlehem, in his death, in the cross for

our sins, and in his resurrection.

We have faith that in Christ our sins are forgiven.

We have faith that God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble.

Therefore, faith in Christ gives you a hope, a certainty of eternal life.

Faith believes that you have the gift of heaven now, and hope looks forward to it in the future.

Hebrews chapter 11 reads, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

the evidence of things not seen.

In Romans chapter 15, verse 4, epistle lesson for today reads,

Romans 15:4

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instructions.

Why were the scriptures written? They were written for our instruction.

The scriptures are not merely an owner's manual in how to live the prosperous life here on this earth.

Yes, they teach us how to live as sons and daughters, as husbands and wives,

as workers and as citizens under the governing authorities.

They tell us what to do and what not to do, and we are to have faith in God

and love toward one another.

Yet, because of our sinful nature, our life in this world will never be perfect.

We sin. Even living a hopeless life of despair without faith is sin.

The scriptures reveal our sin and they declare us guilty.

But far, far more importantly, the scriptures proclaim Jesus who fulfilled the

law for us and in our place.

They show us our Savior who died upon the cross for our sins and rose for our

justification. In Christ, you are forgiven.

And this promise, this precious gospel, then gives you hope,

a living hope, for today, tomorrow, and even for our life to come in heaven.

Jesus said in our Holy Gospel for today that my words will never pass away.

Christ's words endure forever. They are our light and our salvation.

They are our source of eternal life. God's word brought forth creation.

God's word became incarnate in the second person of the Trinity.

Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus spoke words of eternal life.

God's word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path,

pointing us to Christ, our one and only Savior.

God's word of absolution was spoken this morning, removing our sins as far as

the east is from the west.

And God's word is now being preached into your ears.

And this morning, God's word will be joined to bread and wine to give you the

body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Therefore, always hold the scriptures in high regard and honor them as God's word.

Hear the word of God preached every Sunday.

Study the scriptures in Bible study or home devotions individually or with a family.

Romans chapter 15 verse 4 goes on to say.

Romans 15:4

That through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope.

God's word gives us both an encouragement

and an endurance and an encouragement so that we may have hope.

The scriptures help us to endure in the sin-filled fallen world.

They help us to endure various trials and tribulations. They also encouraged

to persevere on our journey to heaven.

In Romans chapter 5, we learn that suffering produces endurance.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Endurance produces character. And what does character produce? Hope.

It produces hope, a living hope that looks forward to the rest of today,

to tomorrow, and our life forever in heaven.

Romans chapter 4 verse 18 says.

Romans 4:18

In other words, in hope, Abraham trusted in God's promise that he and Sarah will have a son.

And sure enough, God gave them Isaac. and in hope,

Abraham believed in God's promise that a Savior will be born from his line and

that Savior was Jesus born in Bethlehem.

Trials and tribulations tempt us to doubt God's word and promises.

It's easy to place our human reason over and above God's word,

but just as God strengthened Abraham's faith,

so also he will strengthen your faith in Christ and will assure you of his promises,

that he cares for you and loves you.

Has there ever been a time in your life when things just didn't seem to go your way?

Perhaps you suffered from an accident or faced a certain kind of illness.

In these moments, everything seemed to look hopeless.

In the midst of trial and tribulation, it's easy to see life in a hopeless situation,

to throw in the towel, to give up in life, or even to curse and turn away from God.

But Christ is your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

He hears your prayers. He cares about you.

He gives you faith to trust in his many promises, and he gives you a certain

hope, a hope to make it through today, tomorrow, and our life forever in heaven.

Titus chapter 3 verse 7 reads, So that being justified by his grace,

Titus 3:7

we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Notice, faith first trusts in Christ Jesus our Lord, and then hope looks forward

to the gift of eternal life.

Peter chapter 1 verse 3 says

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ According to his great

mercy He caused us to be born again To a living hope Through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead Our faith in Christ is not dead But alive.

Likewise, our hope Grounded in

the resurrection of our Lord Is alive we have a living hope and so in holy baptism

you were born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ

from the dead and through water and the word God gave you saving faith in Christ.

He connected you to Christ's death and his resurrection, and he clothed you

with a robe of Christ's righteousness.

Faith believes the promises that God gave you in your baptism,

and hope looks forward to the rest of the day, tomorrow, and our life in heaven forever.

In the same way, faith believes in the body and blood of Christ here in the Lord's Supper,

and hope looks forward to that marriage feast of the Lamb and His kingdom that will have no end.

Christ came in the past.

He comes today by word and sacrament and He will come again on the last day.

Titus chapter 2 verse 13 reads, For we are waiting for our blessed hope,

Titus 2:13

the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

What kind of hope? A blessed hope.

We hope with a confidence that Christ will come again someday.

And on that day, he will come with all the clouds and the trumpet will sound and all will see him.

But for those who have rejected the gospel, this day will be a day of fear.

They will see Christ as their

judge they will try to hide their

faces but for you who believe

in Christ the last day will

be a glorious day you will stand up straight you will raise your head and you

will look at Jesus as your savior and redeemer for this day will be a day of joy, not fear.

It will be a day we have been hoping for with confidence.

While you remain here on this earth, may God's word help you to persevere in

all trials and tribulations.

May the gospel encourage you to press on toward heaven on your journey to heaven.

And let me close with the words of Romans 15 verse 13.

Romans 15:13

It's Paul's prayer, not only for the saints in Rome, but also for us as well.

He writes, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace so that by the

power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope. Who is God?

He is the source of our hope and he gives us faith and hope.

He gives us faith in Christ and he gives us a living hope to make it through

the rest of today tomorrow and forevermore thanks be to God Amen.