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Hope can be a word which is used in many different ways depending on who speaks it. For us as Christians, we put our hope in God and the grace and peace that is offered through Jesus’ work on the cross. While we can’t hope to go back to the way things were in any parts of our lives, we can hope in a better future when we trust in God’s goodness. God calls us to put our hope in him day by day going forward, to live into all of life’s new adventures with God’s help.

My family, like millions of others took comfort in the cold month of February by sitting on our couches with blankets over us legs taking in the winter Olympics on television. I really enjoyed every minute of the coverage. Except for the day when the NBC announcers told me they were having trouble with melting snow because it was 52 degrees and sunny and Vancouver. At that moment, our snow wasn’t melting because it was 22 degrees and cloudy in Indiana.

I think we like the Olympics for many reasons -- many of the athletes compete because of the love of the game and the joy of representing their country. We also love the human drama -- who is the best, who can handle the pressure, watching -- borrowing from Jim McKay -- the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

At the same time I have been listening to God’s call on my own life to be humble, to repent for things I’ve messed up, and to forgive and to ask forgiveness of others – places in my own life where I feel defeated.

Even as we have studied repentance and forgiveness, I have been praying this prayer from Psalm 139 from David, “Search me O God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” As God has revealed areas where I have failed, I have gone to him and asked for forgiveness as Chris Malott talked about last week. And I have approached a few friends to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. I have been asking God for forgiveness as well. And God gives it.

From Hebrews 10 verses 17-18 – here this good news:

 "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."

And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.

This last passage is true – because of Jesus.

God says that when we confess our sins God is faithful and will forgive us and purify us. Since we are forgiven, it is time to live with hope.

We have hope – because of Jesus.

Let’s read today’s text in Hebrews 10:19-25.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

What is hope?

The star player is the team's only hope for victory.

There is great hope of economic recovery.

And finally…We keep hoping for spring to come.

But – a biblical hope sounds more promising…

Hope in God represents trust, confidence, refuge in our Creator (Romans 15:13). All creation hopes for redemption (Romans 8:19-25). Jesus Christ is our hope (1 Timothy 1:1). We hope for Eternal life with God. Faith is being sure of what we hope for.

We put our trust and our hope in God alone.

Let us have hope!

• Confidence through Jesus (verse: Hebrews 10:19-20)

Jesus is the one who give us confidence to go to the Father.

For the Jewish Christians who would be reading this letter only about 30-40 years after the time of Christ, they would very much understand that they could not go into the Temple and enter into the Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies, the most sacred spot on earth for the Jews to speak with God. Only the High Priest could go there and only once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Their sins could only be cleansed by sacrifices made by the Priest in special sacrifices which had to happen with regularity. But Jesus changed all that.

He is the great high priest for us, as it says in vs 21.

• Jesus is our great Priest (21)

He ended the need for continual sacrifices with his once and for all time sacrifice of his death on the cross.

And because of Jesus…

• We can enter the Most Holy Place (19)

With his death, it was as if he tore open the large curtain the separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple and made God the Father accessible to everyone. He did this with his own body and blood. We no longer need a priest or anyone else to speak to God for us. You don’t need a pastor to pray for you or to relate to God for you – you can do that on your own.

There is a legendary story of a Union soldier during the Civil War who while stationed in Washington, DC, went to see President Lincoln. He went to see if he could get a leave from duty to go home and help with the harvest on the family farm. But he couldn’t get past the guards to get into the White House. A little boy saw him outside the gates of the White House and heard his story and said follow me. They soldier did follow as this little boy walked right past the guards, into the White House doors up the stairs and walked straight into the President’s office, and said, “Father this soldier needs to speak with you.” It was the president’s son, Tad who gave access to that average soldier to see the President. The president listened to the soldier and granted his request.

We can go one better.

Because of Jesus…We have access each and every day to God the Father, by the son leading the way, by his sacrifice, opening up the curtain, to go the Most Holy Place – to meet with God. Let’s take advantage of that.

You don’t have to go to a Temple or a Most Holy Place to pray or have someone pray on your behalf, but can have access to God through your own prayers, through your own cleansed heart, through your own renewed mind – in your car, in your favorite chair or quiet spot in your home, in your small group, anywhere, any time.

Also, Jesus cleanses us – which gives us hope for a better life. In the old priestly ritual, the High Priest would sprinkle blood on the sacrifices, then again and again would have to bathe to cleanse himself.

So because of Jesus…

• We can be cleansed from our guilty consciences (22)

We are cleansed both inside and out. When we are baptized, we are washed with pure water, as it says in verse 22. And inside our guilty consciences and our hard hearts are cleansed by Jesus’ sacrifice and forgiveness. That is good news and gives us hope.

So, let us have HOPE.

So the writer of Hebrews gives us five simple ways – each beginning with the phrase let us – to let us live with hope, purpose, and newness.

5 ways – in verses 22-25, each begin with the phrase Let us and they all make sense because of Jesus.

Because of Jesus…

      Let us draw near to God (22)

          Through prayer, confidence, quietly being with God.

One theologian says this means simply to come into God’s presence through worship and prayer. Now, we can come to worship here together and we should – and that is communicated to us in verse 25 – but we can come into God’s presence humbly every day, in many ways. Each morning, we can say, “Good morning God, this is the day you have made, let me rejoice and be glad. Help me to live for you just today.” We can make time during each day to pray and find ways to worship by watching the world around us, by making time where it works for you to read God’s Word and to be in God’s presence – learning how to listen to his quiet voice in you and to act upon it when he speaks to you.

The next verse gets into the hope that we have – I love how it is spoken here:

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Let us hold on to hope

Because God is faithful (23)

The word unswervingly could be translated without wavering. What is it that we are holding on to? What is this hope?

It is a hope for a better life here on earth – Jesus promised in John’s gospel: “I have come to give life and give it abundantly.” He doesn’t promise that all our tough times will go away, but that he wants to give us an abundant life, a full life, her on earth. In reality, we will still have plenty of tough times. But, because of our relationship with God through Jesus, we will never face those tough times alone. Not only will God be with us, not only will the Holy Spirit guide and comfort us through those times, but our brothers and sisters in Christ can also be with us to help and comfort us.

And second, a hope for the eternal future. When Christ sacrificed his life for us – he didn’t remain dead, but defeated death, rose from the tomb, and went to Heaven to be with God the Father. He promises us the same option – hope for an eternal life with him when we believe in him.

 How do we live this hope? Three more exhortations that begin with let us.

Let us spur one another to love and good deeds (24).

Because of Jesus…we can spur one another on to love and good deeds.

We can do this by telling the good news of what God is doing. Many of you have stated the need to hear what good is going on at ZPC. You will begin to see that in ministry minutes in worship.

Each Sunday our youngest children are filled with smiles and laughter as they hear the good news for them. Recently, several 4^th and 5^th graders shared in front of a large group the Bible verses they had memorize and several more recited the 66 books of the Bible in order. Our middle school students just last week had an overnight here at church, not just to have fun, but to learn about hunger and poverty, and went out last Saturday to serve in two food pantries and serving lunch to the poor. Our high school senior and juniors reached out to other high school students through the Awakening just in the last few weeks, serving as leaders to share the good news that teenagers can have by experience the grace of Jesus through others.

You heard about Kairos in “the minute” to begin the service, and there are other great men’s and women’s studies and ministries where God is working you will be hearing about in the near future.

God is at work in this church, and providing hope in the little ways, sometimes behind the scenes, in relationships, in homes and in classrooms down the hall to do his work.

Because of Jesus…

Let us not give up meeting together (25)

We can understand this teaching to mean both to meet together in worship – we come to worship to be inspired by other Christians who share the same beliefs being able to sing together, help each other, share songs, prayers, hear the word, and then to go out again to live for God.

In worship, we have hope in God’s Word – which is living and active – and I’m excited to study the book of Ephesians in a sermon series led by our Sr. Pastor Glenn McDonald beginning in mid-April. Ephesians gives insight into the mind of God about basis issues of God’s grace and our relationships.

We also should not give up meeting together in more casual ways – meet over food, talk, be together, reach out to another family, meet in small groups. Invite someone out after worship for lunch or dinner – talk about life – find ways to get involved in a ministry of the church to support one another.

Because of Jesus…

Let us encourage one another (25)

A pastor I know from another church keeps a file folder labeled IWI. That means “It’s Worth It.” He files cards, letters, articles, notes which people have given him or written to him of encouragement. When times are tough, he reads notes from the IWI file. Why not be someone who writes one of those notes this week?

I know of a ZPC member who took time this week to buy simple flowers for friends and deliver them with a handwritten note – there was no birthday or special reason – just a friend reaching out in encouragement for some of her friends.

I was challenged recently in a good way to be more encouraging. Here are three big ones:

Because of Jesus

WE have forgiveness of sins – and are cleansed from guilty consciences

Because of Jesus,

We have 24 hour access to God

Because of Jesus,

We have hope for an abundant life here on earth

Because of Jesus

WE have hope for eternal life with God

Because of Jesus

Our hope is not in our own ability, but in God’s ability

Because of Jesus,

We can keep meeting together

Spur one another to love and good deeds

And find creative ways to encourage one another.

Because of Jesus,

We have this meal before us, that reminds us that

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He gives us hope. He says of us, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. There is no longer any need for sacrifice for sin.”

He is not only our example of hope, he is the giver of hope – through the gift of his life. Let’s thank him for his gift and this gift of communion.

Prayer of thanks

On the last night with his disciples, Jesus took bread and broke it, giving thanks, and saying this is my body broken for you. Take and eat. As the bread comes to you, hold it and meditate on Christ’s sacrifice for you and the hope you have in him and we will eat together.

In the same way, he took the cup and said this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me.”

You may drink of it as you feel led.

Let us hold to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Let us draw near to God, with faith, for our hearts are cleansed by his blood.