What does hope look like? How do you understand hope? Within our world, we are met with grief, suffering, and a lack of family foundation, which will cause anyone to question why they should hold on to hope. As children of God, we know that the promise of Jesus’ coming is the reason for us to hold on to this.
Pastor Smith explored hope in a series of sermons with Bristol’s Lodge Causeway church beginning on Sabbath 4th May 2024 and ending on Sabbath 11th May 2024. The sermons looked at healing, family life, sticking close to the Word of God, suffering and why we suffer, and an exploration of the promises of Jesus’ coming.
Those in attendance were given numerous opportunities to think about giving ourselves to God, looking after our neighbours, and upholding the Ten Commandments. Pastor Smith walked the congregation through the commandments, thinking about what is happening in the world where countries which are to be Christian countries, have moved away from the Word of God. Unfortunately, the Word of God has been replaced with things such as our phones.
Through analogies given, congregants were able to understand themes such as; the importance of the Bible, why bad things happen to good people, and the plan God has for us. At the end of the series, Pastor Smith left everyone with the question “Are you ready for Jesus to come?” It is important that we examine ourselves to truly understand whether we are ready for His coming.
The occurrences in the world today such as gender identity, mental health, wars, and where we as Adventists stand, be it left wing or right wing, is causing us to lose hope. Our hope, this expectation we have of God’s promise begins to diminish, due to the tension from the problems around us. Pastor Smith has explained on his first night, that to be “renovated” and “changed” he has learnt “to stand on the Word of God.”
Elder Des Mills was kind enough to give his summary of the series given by Pastor Smith from Sunday, Wednesday and Friday’s sermons. Beginning with the Word given on Sunday, Elder Des’ takeaway was on the importance of the Bible, which, though it is a bestseller and having been inspired by God, “a lot of us don’t seem to appreciate it”.
Moving on to Wednesday, Elder Des’ takeaway involved the war which broke out in heaven “when Satan tried to excel above God”. For those who have been following this quarter’s lesson studies, you will know that the overall theme is “The Great Controversy”, with Lesson 1 titled “The War Behind All Wars”. Though difficult to understand, or even accept, we are reminded by Elder Des’ takeaway that, the bad things we see around us, God allows them to happen to be “proved as fair and just”. Additionally, Elder Des was able to share that God too suffers when he sees us suffering.
Lastly, in Friday’s sermon, Elder Des explained that this was one which spoke about God having a plan for us which is one of hope. As God knew that there would be sin, He already intended that Jesus would be given to us as our hope. We are to remember that “we aren’t worshipping a dead God” and are to look forward to His return.
The sermons given by Pastor Smith have left us with a lot to think about while remembering that we must keep our minds fixed on the Word of God. The key text used as Pastor Smith wrapped was John 14:1-3, where Jesus told His disciples that He would be leaving, with the promise that He would be preparing a place for them. This is a promise for us also, as we remember that though “the things that are spiritual, our eyes cannot see”, we must continue to focus on His business while we wait for His return.
Many hearts we touched by the series and the local Pastor, Namusha Namuchana is looking forward to a baptism later in the summer.
