Dwelling in God's House of Hope

SERMON TITLE:                 “Dwelling in God’s House of Hope”
SERMON TEXT:                  Hebrews 3:1-6
PREACHER:                         Rev. Kim James
OCCASION:                         November 6, 2016, at First UMC
 
 
INTRODUCTION
 
                Seventy-one years after playing in their last World Series and 108 years since their last win of that ultimate baseball contest, the Chicago Cubs won their long-awaited victory.  This season’s top-notch Cubs earned a championship not only for themselves, and for their following all over the country, but especially for their hometown Chicago fans who had loyally endured the Cub’s curse for generations.  The joy of hope-finally-realized could not be contained.  On Friday afternoon, rivers of Cubbie blue flowed through Chicago streets toward Grant Park where the celebration turned into a bright blue sea of about five million fans.  Finally, after all those decades of cheering for their team, the never-give-up Chicago dwellers won the reward of their hope.
                For the past three weeks we’ve been talking about dwelling in God’s house.  The story of Jacob stirred our imaginations about dwelling in God’s house of dreams.  The story of King Hezekiah inspired us about dwelling in God’s house of worship.  Then, last Sunday, we heard the Prophet Isaiah proclaiming the promise of dwelling in God’s house of prayer for all people.  Today, we move from the Old Testament to the New, and we find in Hebrews an opportunity for dwelling in God’s house of hope.

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