Hope and Despair

A. Pictures of Despair

1.                    Destruction of Jerusalem

a)                   Jerusalem was sacked and destroyed by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar some time around 580 B.C.

b)                   The prophet Jeremiah personally witnessed the destruction, and actually sat down in the warm ashes and cried

c)                    Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations as a series of five poems of sorrow

d)                   Lamentations 3:1-20 describes a Poverty of Hope

2.                    Mary Magdalene

a)                   She once had seven demons in her (Luke 8:2)

b)                   Came to know Jesus as the Messiah

c)                    Her hope was crushed when she saw him crucified

d)                   John 20:11 - 13 describes her Poverty of Hope

B. From Poverty to Riches

1.                    Hope amidst the ashes of Jerusalem

a)                   Re-read Lamentations 3:18-21

b)                   Read the words of the Hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness"

c)                    Read Lamentations 3:21-25

d)                   Jeremiah found hope in knowing that God is ultimately merciful

2.                    Hope amidst an empty tomb

a)                   Mary's despair is complete -- all she has left is the body, and someone even took that away (John 20:13)

b)                   Jesus simply spoke her name, and in an instant the truth was revealed to her (John 20:16)

c)                    The empty tomb went from being a source of despair and confusion, to the reason for our own Eternal Hope

C. The Hope of Ages -- Believing in a Sure Thing

1.                    Prophecies of the coming Messiah

a)                   Isaiah 9:6

b)                   Micah 5:2

2.                    Prophecies of His second coming

a)                   Matthew 26:64

b)                   Luke 21:25-28

c)                    John 14:1-3

D. Developing our Hope

1.                    Justification by Faith leads to peace (Romans 5:1)

2.                    We rejoice in the Glory of God (Romans 5:2)

3.                    The path to Hope (Romans 5:3-4)

a)                   Tribulation leads to patience

b)                   Patience leads to experience

c)                    Experience leads to Hope