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As we walk through the season of Advent, we begin to hear more and more about hope. 

But like joy, hope is often hard to define and hard to know if we have it. 

Many of us confuse hope and optimism. We use words like: wish, desire, want, and dream. But hope isn’t any of those things. 

But hope is everywhere in our daily lives, especially at Christmas: 

• I hope it doesn’t rain today. 
• I hope we get a white Christmas. 
• I hope I get engaged at Christmas!
• I hope they win the championship. 
• I hope we don’t fight at Christmas. 
• I hope our kids get along. 
• I hope we don’t get sick this week. 
• I hope our kids sleep past 6 am on Christmas morning. 

When life, relationships, our jobs, or our health don’t go the way we hoped, we try to protect ourselves by becoming cynical or by deadening our desires. We think, “Maybe if I want this less, it won’t hurt as much.” So, we try to want marriage or kids less. We try to want to be retired a little less. We try to stop dreaming about that house or dream job. But all that does is make us want something more, and the heartache grows. 

In Advent, we can bring our longings and yearnings to God.
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In Advent, we can bring our longings and yearnings to God. We don’t have to hold them in. I love what Tish Harrison Warren says about hope: Christian hope is not a “whistling in the dark,” a way to minimize the stark facts of reality. It is a conviction about the ultimate outcome of history, which is not in jeopardy: Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death.

In Advent, we are told that our hope is assured. Peter writes in 1 Peter: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

Our inheritance is assured in Christ. 

But why is hope so hard for us? Especially at Christmas?

Why is hope so hard for us? Especially at Christmas?
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Adam Young, in his excellent book Make Sense of Your Story, said, “The biggest reason we hate hope is that hope forces us to wrestle with God.”

Hope forces us to come to God and say, “This is what you promised. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. This isn’t supposed to hurt this much.”

The biggest reason we hate hope is that hope forces us to wrestle with God. -Adam Young
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When we do that, and when you read the people of Scripture from Jonah, Abraham, Elizabeth, Sarah, Moses, Paul, the list goes on, you find men and women who have wrestled with God. 

But that’s only the first step to hope. 

The second step, then, is to surrender to God. And this is so, so hard.

Dan Allender said, “The word surrender implies there has already been a long, drawn-out, bloody war. You can’t surrender until you have fought with God. In war, you don’t surrender until there is no hope left for accomplishing your objective and defeating your enemy. You fight until you have no strength left to fight any longer. Surrender only comes in the moment of exhaustion.”

In Advent, we come to God and say, “I’m tired. I’m exhausted from fighting for hope,” and we throw ourselves on the mercy of God. 

In Advent, we come to God and say, “I’m tired. I’m exhausted from fighting for hope,” and we throw ourselves on the mercy of God.
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Advent reminds us that we can take off our armor, we can cry out, “God, I am hopeless,” and know that He meets us.

And some of us need to stop pretending to have hope. We need to be honest with ourselves and someone close to us. 

Finding hope at Christmas.
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The post Why Hope is So Hard to Have at Christmas appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

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Picture this. 

You have accepted a new job as the new lead pastor at ________ church. You have moved your family or moved offices if it is a succession process. You are excited and ready to go. 

You want to come out of the gate strong in your first sermon and sermon series. You want to show who you are and cast a vision for what is next. You are ready. 

But what do you talk about? How do you connect with people who don’t know you? How do you connect with people you don’t know? 

In the back of your mind, you wonder, what if you bomb? What if you choose a topic that no one is excited about or say the wrong thing and step on a landmine you didn’t know was there?

Go here to get an idea of what I preached when I first came to CCC in 2021. 

6 things to think through when you arrive at a new church.
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Know this is just the start. It is hard to remember this when you arrive, and you are excited about this new chapter, and the church is (hopefully!) excited about it, but remember, this is just the beginning of a long ministry. You don’t need to say everything in one sermon or one series. There are specific things you want to hit on in your first sermon and series, but as you stand up that first Sunday and the ones to come, know that this is just the beginning. 

Don’t make any grand pronouncements as you stand up on that first week and in the first months. Don’t discuss goals and numbers or where you will be in 5 years. Just start. 

Now, if you are going into a situation where things are volatile, the church is running out of money, etc., then you might need to share more specific plans to get out of the rut the church is in. But most of the time, you shouldn’t need to do that. 

Find out as much as possible about the history (and where the church is). Hopefully you learned as much as you could about the history and state of the church during the interview process. But if you arrive and still have questions, ask them.

When I arrived at CCC, I interviewed over 30 people and asked them the same eight questions to get an idea of where the church is, what was at the heart of the people here, and trying to learn as much as possible about New England. I read books and blogs about the area I was moving to, talked to previous pastors, etc. You want to become as much of an expert as possible about the place you are stepping into. 

You want to know things like: How many pastors have they had in the last 10 – 15 years? How many staff transitions have they had? Were there any moral failures or firings? Are they excited and hopeful or sad and grieving? Do they trust leadership or struggle to trust leadership? Every new leader walks in with a little bit of leadership change in their pocket because they are new, but depending on what happened before you arrived, that can impact how much trust a group of people give you. 

Find out what they preached before you arrived. This one is more tactical, but find out what they preached before you arrived. Two of the books of the Bible I wanted to preach through had been done in the year before I arrived, so I had to pivot. 

The other reason you want to know this is because it will also give you an idea of where everyone is, what they have been walking through together as a church, and the style of preaching they are accustomed to. While you don’t want to change your preaching style to something it isn’t, knowing what they are used to before you put your unique stamp on things is important. 

Preach on things close to your heart. As you plan your first sermon and series, preach on things you are passionate about and close to your heart. There should be a match between that and where the people are, which is one of the reasons God led you there. Is there anything that God has taught you in the last season of your life or your move that might speak to where the church is?

Let the church get to know you. Part of why you should preach on things close to your heart or things God has taught you recently is because one of your goals in your first sermon series is for your church to get to know you and your story. You can do this by sharing your testimony (which I’ve seen people do on their first week) or weaving things about you into the opening sermon series. At the end of your first month, people should have a clear idea about who you are, your preaching style, your marriage and family, and your spiritual journey. 

Keep in mind the season of the year and the season of the church. The last thing to consider is when you will start preaching in the calendar year and where the church is in the season of its life. 

Arriving in January, Advent, Easter, or the start of school will impact what you preach. 

Is the church excited or hurting? Do they trust or not trust the leadership? These questions help determine their season and what they most need to hear. 

6 things you need to know before you preach your first sermon at a new church.
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While your first sermon or series doesn’t make or break your ministry at a church, it does set the tone. So it matters to get it right. 

The post Preaching in Your First Year at a New Church appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

Photo by Alexander Michl on Unsplash

I just wrapped up a series on the book of Daniel. I did something with this book that I have never done with a book before; I split it up and put a series in between. We did Daniel 1 – 6 in August and September; then we did a relationship series and a vision series in between, and then for Advent, we returned to Daniel 7 – 12. The response was even better than I hoped and something I would do again if the topic lent itself to it. 

Because I get asked a lot by pastors about sermon prep, putting a series together, and making the Bible relevant, I thought I’d share some tips for preaching the book of Daniel.

Why?

The book of Daniel is not one that many pastors preach through. In researching it, I found most people who preach through Daniel stop at chapter 6. I’ll be honest; it’s tempting to do. The first six chapters are filled with narrative, extraordinary faith, prayer, and God doing incredible miracles. The last six chapters are filled with visions, revelations, debated images, and a lot of head-scratching.

1. The book is about God, not Daniel, the end times, or your church. Yes, the book of Daniel has a lot about the end of the world, but spending your time on this does a disservice to the book and your church.

The word king or kingdom is used over 150 times in the book of Daniel. That is the theme, that is the battleground of the book. While focusing on Daniel and his life is tempting, and faith is an essential part of the book, it is about God and his power. The book is about the temptation to worship something other than God.

2. Don’t get stuck in the weeds. Daniel, like the book of Revelation, is filled with many images. These images are fascinating, confusing, and debated. One of the things we decided at the beginning is that we wouldn’t get into the timeline debate that centers on Daniel. You can see how we handled chapter 7 to understand how we navigated this. 

Are there people in your church who want to debate the end of the world when Jesus returns? Who is the anti-Christ? Yes. What we asked was: What are these passages trying to tell us? For us, they returned to who God is and His character, so we focused on that. What do these passages tell us about God, because that is what God was communicating with Daniel? Why did God give these visions to Daniel and the people of God in exile? How are they good news and images of comfort and hope in a time of great difficulty?

How to preach Daniel and Revelation.
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3. Tell people about God’s character and power. Preaching through Daniel, especially when you talk about the lion’s den and furnace, for those who are skeptical about God, these passages make you scratch your head. I had multiple conversations with people wrestling with, “Do you believe that happened?”

These passages, the images in the visions and dreams, are about the power of God and his character, who He is.

Your church needs to hear those things, which is an excellent opportunity to show their relevance.

Many sermons today, and I’m all for this, are based on felt needs and speak to what the people in your church are struggling with and walking through in their lives. Focusing on who God is, while not a question they are asking, is the question they need answering and is the hope to what men and women are struggling with when they walk into church.

This power not only catalyzed the faith of Daniel but can do the same thing for your church.

One of the most significant examples is how much Daniel prayed in the book. While preparing for the series, I missed this, but as I was preaching through it, it stood out boldly in the book.

We’re often told, “Daniel prayed as was his habit” (or something similar). That’s important. When Daniel came up against struggles and power, he prayed to a God he trusted who had the power to save him.

4. It helps your people face the end. One of the things that stand out is that the visions in Daniel 7 – 12 take place at the end of Daniel’s life when he’s in his 80s. He is facing death, and God gives him these visions. 

As I preached through it, a few things stood out to me on this:

• People have questions about faith to the end of their lives, which need to be answered. 
• God speaks to the hopes and fears we face at the end of our lives. 
• Many people in your church will face death in the coming year, and they need to know what God says in those moments. 

Daniel is a book every pastor should preach through. It is relevant to our day and age as we struggle to live out our faith in a culture that is opposed to it. It is a book that reminds us of the God we serve and the power He has.

The post 4 Tips for Preaching through the Book of Daniel appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.

In case you missed them last week, I shared my top 13 of 2013 lists:

• Top 13 Sermon Downloads from Revolution Church 
• Almost the Best Books of 2013
• Almost the Best Albums of 2013 
• The Best Books I Read in 2013
• The Best Albums of 2013
• Top Blog Posts of 2013

The post Top 13 of 2013 appeared first on JoshuaReich.org.