Hope - Advent Ep 1

Each week of December, Anna and Sarah are going through Advent (Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love). They will each have a devotional prepared about each one, and toward the end of each episode, Anna and Sarah will be reading what others have said about their own beliefs/opinions of that episode's topic.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Tusting. This is a Workplace lifestyle podcast with Anna and Sarah.

(00:05):
That would be so annoying if you actually talked like that. I don't think we could be friends.
My name is Anna.
Can you talk in cursive like that?
No, I don't know.

(00:31):
Holy Spirit activate.
I was literally just seeing that. Not in my head just now, but like earlier. I think it was yesterday
or I don't remember, but it was recently.
I say it a lot, but the thing is when I say it, I usually mean it.
Yeah, it's true. We need that.
I'm like, Holy Spirit, help.
Yeah. Okay. Hey everybody. Welcome back to a Worship Warriors podcast.

(00:54):
Thanks for joining us. This is an exciting episode because this is our first Christmas
special episode. We're going to have a special Christmas episode every Monday this month of
December. So we'll have four special episodes and it's going to be over four different topics.
For Advent and Anna is going to kind of tell us a little thing. She's going to read something

(01:17):
about Advent and then we'll get started. So this is from Christianity.com.
And it says that the word Advent is derived from the Latin word Adventus meaning coming,
which translates to the Greek word. I can't pronounce it.
Perusia. I'm going to go with that.
So it says that Advent symbolizes the church's present situation in these last days is God's

(01:40):
people wait for the return of Christ and glory to consummate his eternal kingdom.
The churches in a similar situation to Israel at the end of the Old Testament were in exile,
waiting and hoping in prayerful expectation for the coming of the Messiah. Israel looked back to
God's past gracious actions on their path and leading them out of Egypt in the Exodus. And on
this basis, they called for God once again to act for them. In the same way, the church, that's us

(02:04):
during Advent looks back upon Christ coming in celebration while at the same time, looking
forward in eager anticipation to the coming of Christ's kingdom when he returns for his people.
To balance the two elements of remembrance and anticipation, the first few Sundays in Advent
look forward to Christ's second coming and the last few Sundays look backward to remember Christ's
first coming. Which I didn't know that. I didn't either.

(02:29):
So there's more if you want to go look up that article, but that's just the main gist of what
Advent is. Cool. Well, so today's is hope. That's what we're going to talk about. We didn't really
discuss how we were going to go about this. No, we didn't. The Holy Spirit will unite our hearts.

(02:50):
Well, Anna and I have prepared a couple things. So we have no idea what each other is going to
talk about. We didn't go, as far as I understood from what she did tell me, neither one of us went
into extensive detail, but we did do like a quick little, almost like a devotional observation
type thing over today's topic of hope. And then we have prepared ahead of time. We've asked a few

(03:12):
people what their opinion, like we asked them two questions. We'll go over it. I guess we can do it
at the end of the podcast. We asked them two questions about hope. And so we're going to read
their answers for that. Just to ponder on because they might have some good answers.
Do you want to go first for me? We should have discussed this.

(03:33):
I know I am nervy. Do you want me to go first? Sure. Okay. Do you have a Bible or anything on
there that you could look at? Yeah. Okay. Okay. So for me, I just kind of had this
statement that God put on my mind. And so I just kind of went based off of that statement.

(03:54):
The statement is, hope comes from listening for God's voice and walking in obedience to what he
says. And the reason that I can see that is because if you read through the Christmas story
in both Matthew and Luke, you can see that Mary listened to God and walked in obedience. You see
that Joseph listened to God and walked in obedience. You see that the Wiseman listened to God and

(04:15):
walked in obedience. And you see that the shepherds listened to God and walked in obedience. And hope
came from all of that. And so the whole entire, what we call the Christmas story from
Mary finding out that she's going to be pregnant, from Joseph finding out and being obedient to God
and that and staying with Mary, even though that was kind of a scary thing for him back in the day

(04:35):
whenever he wasn't the father. And then also to the Wiseman, to the shepherds, to every aspect of
the Christmas story, there is hope. And I feel like I didn't really... Obviously, I feel like
there's something like, oh yeah, we know that. But then really looking at each of the main,
quote unquote main characters, even, I mean, it sounds like it's fake, but you know what I mean?

(04:59):
Main characters of what happened. And then there's an additive, a bonus in there, but
I kind of looked at Jesus as well, which I kind of did. But in this, I kind of just felt led to do
the people that are talked about the most whenever we talk about the Christmas story, aside from Jesus.
So I'm just going to, basically it's really simple. I'm just going to read scripture on each person

(05:22):
that I mentioned, and we're going to just kind of look at how they were obedient to God. And then I
thought that Anna and I could kind of wing it after that and discuss how hope came from that.
So the first one is we'll go to... I think we'll start with Mary. So Mary listened to God and
walked in obedient. So if you go to Luke 1, 26 through 38 and 45, so we're going to kind of

(05:47):
jump around. We're not going to read the whole thing every time. It says, In the sixth month,
the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her
and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying
and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be

(06:11):
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, first
of all, stop. That's like one of my favorite verses of all time, verse 30, where it says, Do not be
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. To be someone who God finds favor in, to that degree
would be amazing. Okay, moving on, verse 31. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a

(06:31):
son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house
of Jacob forever and of his kingdom, there will be no end. And Mary said to the angel, How will this
be since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the
power of the most high will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called

(06:55):
Holy, the Son of God. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of
what was spoken to her from the Lord. So for the second and the last passage that I have for Mary
is Luke 2 17 through 19. And it's talking about the first verse that I'm going to read here,

(07:15):
it says, And when they saw it, this is talking about the shepherds, seeing Jesus and Mary and
Joseph whenever Jesus was born, or after Jesus was born. And it says, And when they, the shepherds,
saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child, and all who heard
it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them

(07:36):
in her heart. Okay, so my first thoughts just real quick, and then Anna, you can kind of,
if you have anything, you don't have to say anything if you don't have anything.
But my first thoughts, and I didn't write anything down, I'm just going to kind of wing it for this,
is, first of all, if an angel came to me when I was a teenager, never, you know, have never

(08:01):
ever doing the deed, like I'm a virgin, you know, and they said, you're going to have a baby inside
of you. Yeah. First of all, not even talking about the Messiah part yet, like who he is,
just like that alone. You know, I'd be like, what the heck is wrong with this angel? Like,
what is happening? And why me of all people? And, you know, and then also like the whole,
you know, the angel saying that God has found favor with me. I mean, I feel like it's just,

(08:24):
Mary must not have had much anxiety, if any, because if it were me listening to this or Anna,
I'd be like overwhelmed and about to have a panic attack by just processing everything this angel
has said. And so, you know, that's why Mary was highly favored. That's why Mary was the one that
was chosen and not me and Anna. That's one of the many reasons. But no, like just that alone is

(08:46):
astounding to me. And I'm not saying she, I mean, maybe she did have a bit of anxiousness, because
that is a big deal, obviously, to be told that, especially when you're a virgin.
Obviously, to be told that, especially by an angel that just appeared out of nowhere. But,
I don't know, like maybe she did, but it obviously wasn't so great that they needed to mention that
she had a panic attack in the Bible or something like that. You know, like it didn't mention that

(09:10):
she was nervous. I mean, yeah, it doesn't. Yeah, it doesn't mention that she was super anxious.
In fact, at the end of Luke chapter one, like she breaks out into a song of praise.
Right. Yes. And I did skip that for this, but I did think about putting some stuff in there,
but I didn't feel like it, too. Yeah. But yeah, no. So anyway, and then the next part of it is,
you know, her being told who, what this baby is going to be one day, who he is. Like, that's

(09:36):
obviously the biggest seal of all out of all of it. So, I mean, there's a lot of little things to
just think about through this as you think about Mary and like her character that you may not see
on the surface. But if you just really ponder what could go through your head at all, like,
and then what is revealed about Mary in this, just in this one conversation with this angel,
you know, and so anyway, so that's the first part. And then the next part, my observation

(10:01):
about Mary before we go into the whole part of this is in Luke chapter two, that the 17 through
19, it says that when the shepherds told her what they had been told by the angel and everything
whenever the angel encountered them, she, it says, where did it go? The Mary treasured up all these

(10:24):
things that they had said to her and pondering them in her heart. The fact that it just says
that she quietly pondered this, it doesn't even say that she told Joseph any excitement that she
had. Like, I'm sure she did. But like, for this specifically, what the shepherds were saying,
it says she treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. It doesn't say,
you know, it just kind of makes it sound like she kept it to herself. She just wanted to chew on it,

(10:46):
you know, for a bit and really meditate on it and feel the peace and blessings of what is happening
with her life right now. Yeah. And who her son is. And so I don't know. So there's, you know,
the character of Mary. But then so it just kind of shows you that because she was obedient and just
said, okay, God, or okay, angel, you know, and the angel told her that like, okay, let it be so,

(11:09):
you know, whatever you just said, let it happen. You know, if that's what God wants. And then what
look what came from it. You know, look what came from her just listening to God through this angel.
Look what came from it. And, you know, all of the fact that Jesus saved the whole world. Okay,

(11:30):
so I don't know where I left off, because we had to stop for a minute. But I think I finished my
thought for that part. But then my next thought that I actually just thought of while I was talking
was the hope that Mary gives to other Christians. Because now we know that it is possible for us to,
not that Mary was perfect, but like, she's a really good example, even just a little bit

(11:52):
that we do know about her. Yeah. Of how to be Christ like in many ways, because like I said,
God found favor with her so much so that he literally entrusted her with his only son,
like the Son of God. And I mean, that alone just even if we didn't know anything else about Mary,
and all we knew was she was the mother of Jesus, and God found favor with her, and then we knew

(12:14):
nothing like we weren't told anything about her pondering on those things that the shepherd said
in her heart or anything else as you know, the gospel is gone, if we hear anything of her,
you know, or read anything about her, like, even if we didn't know anything else, that just kind of
shows you that she is someone to look up to. And I think that's the only thing that we need to
look up to. And I believe personally that she's one of the ones that we should look up to the most

(12:39):
with the little bit we know about her. Yeah. Because of who she is and why God chose her.
And so yeah, and then so it gives us hope as Christians that, because sometimes I mean,
I definitely feel like, and I've heard this from others, I actually heard this from someone recently,
um, just in the past like, month, it was pretty recent. And I feel like a lot of people

(13:02):
feel this as well, as Christians, it's hard, so hard to turn away from temptation at times,
that we feel like it's not possible to be Christ-like. Yeah. Because that's so hard to do
for us. It is. And so the fact that Mary did this, and found favor with God to this extent,

(13:24):
it gives us hope that we really can do it. It's just going to be hard and we have to rely on God.
Like we can't do it alone, obviously. I'm not saying this is on us and that there's hope that
we can be great. I'm saying there's hope that we can be great in God, like in who He is, because
He's inside of us by His Spirit. Yeah. And so that gives us a lot of hope, um, in that way as well.

(13:44):
Not just the hope that came from her raising Jesus on earth and Him, you know, being the Messiah and
dying and raising again. That's obviously the greatest thing. But then also there's hope in
the little things too, of just seeing who she is and pondering on that in our own lives. So those
are my two main hope type things. Do you have anything? You don't have to. I mean, I was

(14:08):
thinking while you were talking, but you hit most of what I would have said anyway, you know.
Mm hmm. Um, I agree. That was everything you said. It was good. Um, if one of your favorite verses
though is Luke 1 verse 30, one of mine is, where were we Luke 2? Where Mary pondered these things
in her heart? 2019. 2019, yeah. That's one of my favorites. Yeah. Because I don't know, just,

(14:33):
like the fact that she took a moment to sit and to rest in the Lord and to bask in this gift, like,
I don't know. And the fact that she just marveled at what the Lord has done, but internally.
Mm hmm. Um, and I know you didn't read, like her prayer of, um, thanksgiving and worship and praise,

(14:57):
but I just love that when she goes to see Elizabeth, um, she spontaneously just like burst
into a song of praise to the Lord. And I don't know, I agree with you that Mary is just such a
wonderful example of faithfulness and that she did hope in the Lord because she faced such an

(15:18):
impossible circumstance, right? Especially because she was a virgin and she was at risk of losing
everything and she could have been stoned. Yeah. Literally killed for this. And I don't know,
she just trusted the Lord and she basically was like, whatever you say, God, I'm your servant.
And she was young. Yeah. Like she had not been on this earth for very long. And that shows that,

(15:39):
and oh, that also shows, here you go. Thanks, Anna. That shows hope for young people. Yeah.
Like not even just us, but like even younger. I'm a very big, um, I very much push this,
um, I very much push this, um, before I even thought I would ever have kids. Like I have
always been someone who says, I don't care how old you are, you can do great things for God's kingdom

(16:01):
or just great things. Like it doesn't matter how old you are and how, or how young you are.
That book, Do Hard Things. Yeah. By Alex and something Harris. Harris. Yeah. Um, such a good
book. If anyone looks that up, it's a very good book. Um, it is geared toward younger people,
but even if you're an adult, I think you should read it because it might open your eyes to some

(16:21):
things. It's about doing hard things for God at a young age. Yeah. Um, and that's what Mary did.
So yeah. First Timothy 412, let no one despise your youth, but set the believers as an example
in speech and conduct and love and faith and purity. Yeah. Yeah. And all you have to do is
be like Mary in this way in that you say, well, I'm your servant and whatever you say, I'm going to do.

(16:47):
Okay. So I'm going to move on to Joseph. So Joseph listened to God and walked in obedience.
So Joseph, this may sound silly to some people, but he's not someone that I've pondered on much.
Pondered. But I think that you used pondered. Sorry. It's the word of the day now. It's a good
word though. It is, but I really have, like I have to a little bit, like I have a little bit,

(17:10):
but not to the extent, especially like looking at him from the perspective of finding the hope that
came from his obedience to God. Yeah. That kind of put a new light on things for me.
So I had more on him than I did the others. Um, well, I guess I only had three passages,
but I feel like it was just very eyeopening for me personally. It may not be a big deal to anyone

(17:31):
else, but Matthew chapter one verses 19 through 24. Okay. So here we go. So I'm holding a baby
and rocking him. So Anna is going to read this for me and then I will discuss what I'm going to
discuss. So it's Matthew chapter one verses 19 through 24. Um, and her husband, Joseph, being a

(17:51):
just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered
these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David,
do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.
And all this, all this took place to fulfill, sorry, all this took place to fulfill what the

(18:19):
Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call
his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of
the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he
called his name Jesus. Matthew, the next one is Matthew chapter two verses 13 through 15.

(18:44):
Which says, no, and they had departed. Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream
and said, rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you.
For Herod is about to search for those chat search for the child to destroy him. And he rose and took
the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt, I called my son.

(19:08):
Okay. And then the last one is Matthew chapter two verses 19 through 23.
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel for those who saw the child's life
were dead. And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard the Arkaleus archa, yep, I'm ensuring that, um, was raining over Judea.

(19:36):
In place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there and being warned in the dream.
He withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a city called Nazareth. So that
was, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled that he would be called a Nazarene.
So this is pretty straightforward. I mean, it's just Joseph obeying God again

(19:58):
and again and again. And if you see what all happens, I mean, well first off we see like in
the very beginning before Jesus is even born, you know, because Joseph, well like I mentioned earlier,
Mary could have very well been stoned to death. Like if someone, if people saw her walking around,
you know, with, you know, if people saw her walking around pregnant, knowing that she wasn't married,

(20:23):
she shouldn't even be pregnant, like she should not, you know, she's supposed to be a virgin,
you know, like how dare she, like first of all, that's, that's a big deal, you know, she could have
literally died. And so if Joseph had not listened to God and obeyed him in that way, Mary would have
died possibly. Yeah. You know, and so, yeah. And so even though it was the power of God and it was God,

(20:47):
really showing Joseph these things, the fact that Joseph was obedient, he was a part of
saving Mary's life from that, preventing that from happening. And anyway, so that's the first part.
And then the fact that he had to just trust God that his wife didn't, you know, cheat on him while,

(21:08):
well, I guess they weren't technically married yet, but the fact that- But that his betrothed-
His betrothed did not cheat on him and have sex with someone else, you know, before they had even,
you know, had sex as a married couple, like that's a big deal that he just trusted God and trusted her
in that. And you know, I wonder if he really, if he ever had any doubts at first. I mean, I know it

(21:31):
doesn't say that, but, and I don't want to like put words or thoughts into people's heads or
whatever. It's just something that I've thought of like, because knowing myself, I don't know,
that's, I don't know, just something I've thought of. I wonder if he ever did have doubts or if he
fully was just like, no, I trust God, I trust you. I think this time around, I'm sure he did. He was
like, no, no, no, this is true. Like, I believe you guys, but I wonder if at first- I was gonna say,

(21:54):
I feel like to hear that news initially when Mary came to him and was like, hey, I'm pregnant. Yeah.
That had to have been hard, hard, shocking. I mean, any normal person would be like, what? Right.
Because this had never happened before, you know? Right. A virgin had never conceived before. No.
Yeah. So there's that, you know, just those are, that's, I mean, that's a pretty big deal,

(22:15):
both of those things that we just mentioned. But then you move on and then after Jesus is born,
you see Joseph listening to God and having to go to Egypt. Is that right? My brain totally went
blank for a second. I didn't have it. Joseph had to leave Egypt. Yes, Egypt. Egypt. Sorry. Well,
I'll listen to Nazareth, but he didn't go to Nazareth for a second. Yeah. Yeah. Anyway,
well, then you see him listening to God and going to Egypt and seeing that he was going to

(22:40):
Egypt instead. And what came from the, oh, sorry, I moved the mic. And what came from that? Well,
that's, oh my gosh, so many things. Like Joseph's obedience literally prevented Jesus from dying
more than once. Yeah. Like because if Mary was stoned to death, that would, you know,
the prophecy would not be fulfilled. If, you know, they didn't flee to Egypt, then Jesus could have

(23:03):
been killed with all the other little toddler boys and infant boys. And that's just sad to even
think about. But I don't even want to talk about that. But like, it's just, I don't know. Joseph
just listened so well to God and you know, he couldn't go back home. The fact that he couldn't
go back home right away and was there, you know, was not at home for a long time. Yeah. Like that

(23:24):
would suck. And that's way more, by the way, than like what most married couples have to face in
their first couple months of marriage. In the first couple months of marriage. Yeah. I mean, that's insane.
Even back then times were harder than like now in a lot of ways, obviously. But even that is pretty
extreme in my opinion. Like they went through so much. And thinking about how seriously he took his
vows to Mary too, you know. He promised to take care of her and that's just, that's crazy. Yeah.

(23:50):
And so then they flee to Egypt and then he waits and just waits and waits and listens for God to
tell him when to go back home. And you know, then God told him to go back home. So he did. But
I don't know. It's just, so then they moved to Nazareth. Yeah. But, and that fulfills the prophecy
too. So I'm not, I don't know. Here's the thing. This might be controversial, but I'm going to say

(24:15):
it. There are so many people that say, well, what's going to happen? God's will is going to happen no
matter what. The big picture, yes, God's will is going to happen. But if we are still not obedient
to God, it's not going to happen the way that it would have. Right. You know, like the end result
might be the same. I just wonder if Joseph and Mary had taken that free will and said, no, God,

(24:37):
I don't want this. Like, I don't think they would have because God wouldn't have chosen them in the
first place. Yes. Because they, you know, and that's why he, part of the reason they chose him.
He chose them, I'm sure. But like just thinking about it, you know, there have been times where
I've said no to God. I absolutely regret it every time. But I'm just thinking like, with how weak I

(24:58):
personally am, you know, without God, I mean, it's just crazy to think about it, you know? Yeah.
Just the what ifs. But again, not that wouldn't happen because prophecy is prophecy. Messiah is
the Messiah. Salvation is salvation. God is God. And so obviously he knew what he was doing. It's
just something that I've thought of on and off, you know, like all because they, you know, God

(25:22):
obviously chose the right people to carry this out for him here on earth. But also they were obedient
to him. Yeah. And a lot of hope came from that. And Joseph, I believe, is a good picture for men
in a family to be able to have self-control like he did when it comes to not being with his wife

(25:43):
in such a personal way after they first got married, because that's a big deal for so long
and for the reason that he did. And also, I was going to say, and it was important that the prophecy
be fulfilled and that she was a virgin. Right. Exactly. And so then and then also just leaving
his family and making sure, you know, and also like traveling to Bethlehem with a nine month pregnant

(26:06):
woman carrying the Messiah. Like that's a lot of pressure also. Yeah. Like they didn't have cars
back then. They didn't have planes. Like they just had to lead his wife and hope for the best, you
know. We don't even know if they had a donkey or anything either. I mean, like, I think that's the
traditional, you know, picture of Mary on the donkey. But like, what if they didn't? What if,

(26:27):
I mean, I'm sure they just walked. Yeah. Which I feel like, I almost said knowing Joseph, I didn't
know Joseph, but I'm sure like- Not my best friend Joseph. Well, thinking of like even my husband,
I feel like he would just, if it were that time era, you know, he wouldn't want me to walk the
whole way. So he knew it was best to find something. I'm not saying Joseph wasn't a good husband. No,

(26:49):
no, no, no, no. Gosh, Anna. Gosh. No, but you never know what if they had no access whatsoever. Right.
You know, anyway, so there's a lot of thoughts to that. So a lot of hope obviously came from
all of that. And again, like the big picture of, you know, Jesus, the whole reason he came to Earth
and the first place to save us and everything. And that comes from all of this, you know,

(27:13):
that's the big picture. But then also the little things that come from it, the hope that it gives
leaders in the household, you know, men to really just be obedient to God and God's gonna follow
through with his promises. Right, to submit to God's authority first and foremost. Yeah. Yeah.
To lift his family. Right. And it gives men hope that if they do that, God is gonna really fulfill
his promises for their family. And, you know, that's a big thing. I don't know, so much comes

(27:38):
from Joseph. I feel like that I've never really thought of. Yeah. And I really think, well,
obviously, you know, God, you know, it says in Matthew, or was it Matthew? I think, or maybe it
was Luke. When we were talking about Mary, it was Luke, sorry. And how she found favor with God.
Well, obviously, Joseph did too, because it's a big role to be the man of the house. Yeah.

(28:00):
And to be the man who raised Jesus. Jesus. Yeah. And obviously, like, Jesus didn't really need to
be raised to a certain degree. But like, when you're a baby, you do need to be taught things. So the
fact that God the Father gave that role of earthly dad to Jesus in that way is a huge deal. Yeah.

(28:21):
So I think that we should look at that. Go ahead. Sorry, who brought up Jesus and who taught him his
trade? Right. Right. And who? Yeah. Just, I don't know. Yeah. Joseph was very special too. Yeah.
So there's a lot of hope and things to ponder on with Joseph also. Little things that I just
didn't think about before, you know. Okay. So the next part is the wise man, or the wise man,

(28:43):
listening to God and watching obedience. So Matthew 2, 7 through 12, I believe, unless I
typed it wrong. And it says, then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained, okay,
I would say that wrong. So I want to make sure. From them what time the star had appeared. And
he sent them to Bethlehem saying, Go and search diligently for the child. And when you have found

(29:04):
him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. After listening to the king, they went on
their way and behold the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to
rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great
joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and
worshiped him. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh.

(29:29):
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
Okay, so this is pretty given, you know, the what I'm about to say, but Herod killed a bunch of baby
boys, because he felt threatened and his pride got in the way. And that would have happened probably

(29:50):
a lot sooner in the timeline, you know, here. If the wise men did not listen to God in their dream,
and go a different way home, because if they went back to tell Herod where baby Jesus was,
he would have gotten there a lot sooner and killed baby Jesus. Yeah, you know, and because they

(30:14):
listened and obeyed, they went a different way. Herod waited and waited, and it caused more time
for Joseph and Mary to listen to God and have time to actually leave. Like that, you know,
Herod was awful. He was prideful. He was mean. He was wicked. But they died in Jesus's name.
Yeah. For our sakes, and for Jesus's sake. And so, hats off to them, even though they had no idea

(30:38):
what was going on, because they were so little. But that's the hope that came from that. But
I always think about the wise men and how amazing it is that they saw this star, like,
years before Jesus was born. Yeah. And they came from such a far off distance just to see the Messiah.

(31:00):
Yeah. I feel like there's a few examples in the Bible of people who like, well, I mean,
many examples of people who waited years and years for something, right? Like the people as a whole
waiting for the Messiah to come because it's been prophesied, you know, since the Old Testament times.
Or Noah building his ark for 120 years, waiting for rain, being ready to kill it every day.

(31:24):
And I don't know, it makes me think about what great hope these people had in anticipation of
the Savior. And we can't even wait, you know, for little things day to day. And yeah, that's just
very convicting to me. It is. I don't know. And on the flip side, well, not really on the flip side,

(31:45):
just another perspective of that to look at is you were saying that the wise men went to the Messiah,
but we're over here waiting, which is good. We do need to wait to a certain degree, but also, like,
we're not pursuing him the way that the wise men did. Right. Like, we're barely, you know. For years,
they actively searched for him, pursued him. And we're over here not even wanting to get off the
couch to walk over to the counter and grab our Bible. Like, you know, like they meant they went

(32:11):
more readily hundreds of miles than we do, like a few feet, a few feet, like we can learn. And we
also, we have the Holy Spirit inside of us. Right. We can go to him at any time. Right. They didn't
have access to the Holy Spirit like we do now. And they were still pursuing God more than we do most
of the time. And it's not even getting up and walking sometimes. Sometimes it's just laying

(32:33):
your phone down or just stopping the book you're reading or whatever the heck you're doing and just
talking to God for a few minutes. Yeah. And man, they really were wise men. Yeah. Like, legit.
Yeah. So, and so much came, oh, so much came from that. Like, maybe even more came from that than

(32:53):
I said, but the big picture to me was the delay in the timeline so that Jesus was not killed.
Yeah. Like, honestly. So, and obviously, again, that wouldn't happen because it's God and prophecy
and all that. I get it. But I'm just saying, well, God chose these people for a reason, you know,

(33:14):
because he knew they would be obedient. They knew he would, you know, he or he knew that they were
going to listen to him and listen for his voice in the first place. So, yeah. So, it's all God. But
also, these people did obey God to the point where and listen to him and for him to the point where

(33:35):
God did choose them for a reason. I wholeheartedly believe that. So, the last one is the shepherds.
Well, okay. And I have this one typed out for some reason. So, Luke chapter two, verses eight
through 12 and 15 through 16. I'm just going to read it real quick. It says,
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by

(33:57):
night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
And they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring
you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find
a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. When the angels went away from them into

(34:21):
heaven, the shepherds said to one another, let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has
happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph
and the baby lying in a manger. So, I almost didn't put the shepherds in here because at first,
you can call me naive or ignorant or whatever. At first, I didn't see a lot of hope that came
from them for all of the people. But then I did recognize something that I kind of mentioned with

(34:45):
Mary and Joseph. And it was that God, I believe maybe one of the reasons, or two of the reasons
actually, but one of the reasons is that he chose the shepherds because they weren't really high
ranking people in society. They were very lowly in a lot of ways. And they had not the cleanest

(35:09):
job and all these things. And so it just shows that God doesn't really give a crap what your
social status is. He's going to use you because of who he made you to be and for his glory.
So that's just point blank how it is. And so it just shows us hope that it doesn't matter

(35:33):
if you're a stay at home mom. It doesn't matter if you're the richest woman in the world. It
doesn't matter if you have 10 kids, zero kids. It doesn't matter what your job is or what car
you drive or how many friends you have. It doesn't matter. None of that matters. He's going to use
whatever you do, wherever you are, whoever you have in your life for his glory. And it doesn't

(35:57):
matter what's going on, what your social status is or what it lacks. Anyway, so there's that.
But then also this isn't necessarily the... Well, I guess there could be... Well, hey,
there is a little bit of hope here. Okay. There is a little bit of hope here. So I was going to say
the other part of it is God is known as our shepherd. We are his sheep. Yeah.

(36:21):
If you weren't going to go there, I was. So, yeah.
Well, yeah, that was the other thing. And the hope in that is that we
see the significance in that and that God is our shepherd. And that's a lot of hope for us
because we need that. I saw this morning on Instagram, I was on the ministry page. I think
I put it on the page, like on our story on Instagram. And it was this guy and he was on this

(36:46):
farm. He worked on the farm or lived there or something. And he had a little baby sheep and it
was just following him around. And he's a Christian and he was talking about how sheep are dumb,
but watch this. And he would go back and forth, just start moving around. And the sheep would
just follow him. And he was like, and that's what needs to happen, guys. Like, yeah, we're dumb
without God, but that's why we need him. And we need to follow him. Just like this baby sheep

(37:09):
is following me everywhere I go so that I can guide it. Yeah. And I was like, a freaking man.
So true. Anyway, you have any thoughts or you want to move on to yours? All of my bonuses,
Christ listened to the father and walked in obedience to him. And we all see how that
turned out. So that's great. And we all see how that yeah. So anyway, there's that. But

(37:32):
we've talked about that a lot on this podcast, just through our other discussions. So no need
to go into that for right now. But anyway, go ahead. Well, I'm glad you went first. Because
I really when doing writing up my thoughts, focused on we just saw through Sarah's spiel,

(37:55):
I guess heard about all the hope that these people had and all the hope that's in the story
of Christ first coming. It's not a story. It's true. And so like, my main point was that like,
as Christians, we should be filled to the brim with hope as we look back at Christ first coming
and look forward to a second one. So the God that we serve is so intentional that he gave his people

(38:23):
hope through his word hundreds and even thousands of years before they were and that's just what I
was struck by is how intentional God is and that he gave them the prophecies and spoke through the
prophets to tell the world of the Messiah. Like for hundreds of years, Jesus's birth was foretold.

(38:43):
Yeah. And so as a result, it caused many people to look for signs of his coming. And so they
prepared their hearts and minds to make way for him. I don't know. It's just crazy to think about
living hundreds of years before the Messiah, but knowing that he was coming one day and looking
for the signs of his coming. And in the same way, we need to be preparing our hearts for him now.

(39:08):
So if we don't stop to acknowledge the great hope that we have as believers, we don't have the same
longing for Christ's arrival. So if we don't stop and we think about, I think it's really easy to
treat the Christmas story as kind of this thing that we've heard over and over again,
because a lot of us know it. If we grew up in church or whatever, we know it like the back of

(39:30):
our hand, or even if he didn't. But man, guys, there's there is so much hope that's in there.
That the fact that Jesus, like, looked on us and had compassion on us and came down as a humble
little baby, and was born in a stable when he was a king, and should have been born in a palace,
or the best one that this world had to offer. But instead, he came down and was born in a stable,

(39:57):
and was born in a stable, and he grew up as a humble carpenter. I mean, seriously, it's,
it's insane. So, um,
hope is described as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
And so these people looked at the, the people in the Old Testament looked at

(40:17):
Christ's coming with such anticipation and expectation. And so Advent really is supposed
to be a time of preparing your hearts, and just looking with expectation, looking back at the
hope we have from his first coming, him living his life for us, dying for us, rising again for us.
We need to then be preparing the way for him as we should for a second coming.

(40:43):
The birth of, or in Christ, hope is a word of surety. It is expecting God to keep his
promises with confidence. So we're never hopeless because God is in control, good or bad, whatever
happens. And we see that in the way that these people, Mary and Joseph and the servants, and the
servants, and the shepherds and the wise men, um, trusted in God and that he was in control. They

(41:06):
hoped in God, right? And so, I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel like I'm over the place.
No, I don't think you are.
I know. I appreciate that.
I mean, it makes sense to me.
So the evil and icky things of this world are nothing in comparison to the glory that's coming
for us, right? That we can prepare for Christ's second coming. And as Christians, there's hope

(41:28):
for us too. And so, um, I'm going to read 2 Corinthians 4, 16 through 18, which says,
So we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed
day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory
beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that

(41:49):
are unseen, for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are
eternal. And so I know it can be really easy for us. I feel like, um, we're so short-sighted in our
day to day lives. But I just encourage you guys, especially this month and all throughout the rest
of next year, to just really focus on the hope that we have in Christ and to not treat this story

(42:12):
as something that's, um, it's not just a story. Like this is literally the Messiah coming. These
people, the Israelites waited in anticipation for the Messiah to come. Um, the wise men prepared
the way for his birth, like by, um, they followed, oh my gosh, I need to start over. The wise men,
um, followed the star to the place of his birth and to come to worship him. And they waited in

(42:36):
anticipation. Mary waited in hopeful anticipation. Elizabeth, we didn't talk about her, but when Mary
went and visited her, John the Baptist literally jumped in her womb. I don't know. It's just
the joy and excitement that surrounds this. And then the fact that Jesus is coming back again for
us at the end of time. And so I think it can be so easy to get bogged down by all the crappy things

(43:00):
of this world. I mean, this world is so icky and evil and there's temptation at every corner and,
um, the economy, it seems is getting worse day by day. There's wars and things going on everywhere,
but God's in control and we can take hope in that. So because we have this hope, we can be very
bold in sharing the gospel and then furthering the kingdom of God so that he may receive all the

(43:23):
glory and honor he deserves. This is the God who was from the beginning, just very intentional in
his plan and his purpose to redeem us to himself. He always had a plan in mind. Before Mary and Adam
even, Mary and Adam? And I'm also transposing Mary. Oh my gosh. Before Adam and Eve even sinned,

(43:47):
before he set up the beginning, the foundations of the world, he had a plan in mind to redeem
us to himself because he knew what would happen. And that's just crazy, thinking about how big God
is and how in control and how sovereign he is. And that if we suffer with him, if we enter into
ministry with him, if we hope in him, the glory that we're going to get to experience one day

(44:08):
is not even comparable to the sufferings of this world. And so I just know that I can take hope in
that every day and I hope that you guys can too. Oh, and then one more thing I feel like the
whisper is leading me to say is Isaiah 9. Everybody has to talk about, hang on, let me make sure I
have the right reference. It doesn't be embarrassing if I did. Well, I mean, we talked about it when

(44:33):
the angel came to Mary and to Joseph in the dream, they talked about how his name would be called
Emmanuel, which means God with us. And so we also have the hope in our day to day lives that God is
with us in every single thing that we go through. Right? God's not just God, he's not just God with
us in the big things. He's God with us in the very little mundane things of our everyday lives. So

(44:53):
he's God with you on your drive to work. And he's God with you when you're dealing with your mean
coworkers. And he's God with you. Whatever you're doing when you're laying down to sleep, or
you're interacting with people in your day to day life. And then obviously, he's also God with you
in the big things. And so I just pray that you guys will remember that he's with you in everything.

(45:21):
And that, yeah, you'll take hope in that. That's it. That's good. Okay, so now we're going to read
our questions. So I asked four people, not expecting them all to reply about this, but they all did. So
and Anna, you have one? Okay. So I'll do, I guess I can do a couple and you can do yours, then I'll

(45:42):
finish off mine. And that way it's kind of split. Okay, so we asked people about hope. And we had
two questions. The first question was, what does hope mean to you? And that's just a generic, like
what does hope mean to you in general? And then after they answered that, we asked them, what does
hope mean to you when thinking about the birth of Jesus? And so I'm not going to say who my people

(46:06):
are. I told them I would not. But so my first person, I asked, what does hope mean to you? And
they said, my hope is in Jesus, meaning because of my faith in him, I have hope, which means
expectations or desires of spending eternity with him. I personally like that they put in here

(46:26):
that their hope is expectations slash desire. So like, it's not just I'm expecting something,
which is what it is, but it's also that's what brings their desire to be with him even more and
to spend eternity with him is because they have so much hope in him. And then when I asked them,
what does hope mean to you? And thinking about the birth of Jesus, they said, because of his

(46:49):
birth and death on the cross, we have that hope for eternal salvation. Without his birth and living
on this earth, how would he have sacrificed himself on the cross in the first place? So
so I mean, it just kind of wraps up what we said what we were talking about earlier, like,
all the hope that came from this big picture. Okay, and then my next person. So what does hope mean

(47:12):
to you? They said, okay, hope is usually associated as a wish or desire for something in the future.
I always thought of hope as a kind of assurance or guarantee that everything in the future is
already decided and complete. It gives me a reason to keep going and know that ultimately everything
will work out. It's a good point. And then when I asked them what it means to them when thinking

(47:35):
about Jesus's birth, sorry, there's a kid outside crying if you guys can hear that. When referring
to Jesus's birth, they said, it's kind of the same answer, but with the added note that the reason we
have that assurance and guarantees because God gave of gave himself and became flesh, he knew
that was our only hope for reconciliation. So the one I have is, I asked, I'll just tell you all it

(48:03):
was Connie Hutchinson, my beautiful mother. So if you disagree with her, you know who it is.
But I first asked her what hope what what hope meant to her and then she quoted Emily Dickinson,
which is hope is she was joking. Hope is a thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings
the tune without the words and never stops at all. I told her thank you, Miss Dickinson, but then

(48:24):
she answered for real. Okay, I thought you were saying that was the real answer. She was being
silly. I just want y'all to know how funny my mom is. And then she said, hope in a worldly context
is wishing earnestly that something would happen. And then I quoted her when I was giving my little
devotional. So the words some of the words I used earlier were hers. Thank you, mom. In Christ,

(48:45):
I'm just kidding. I cited her in Christ, hope is a word of surety. It is expecting God to keep his
promises with confidence. Christians are never hopeless, she capitalized less, because God is
in control good or bad situations. And then I asked her what hope meant to her when thinking
about the birth of Christ. And she said, the birth of Christ fulfills God's promise, it seals our

(49:07):
hope of heaven when we believe that Jesus came to save us from our sins, so we can spend eternity
with him. And not only that, but gives us hope for daily life, there's teachings and example.
Wow, that's what we talked about earlier, too. Man, I kind of I didn't mean to steal everything
from it. It's fine. We all know. She's wiser than me. Okay, so I have two more people. So

(49:29):
what does hope mean to you? This person said that I am kept safely and confidently in the Lord's
hands, just like I trust a bridge or chair to hold me up without even thinking I should have
that hope in him. Trials, conflict, changes in life are okay. He is faithful and he will complete
what he has begun. His promises will stay true to the end. It makes me think of Hebrews 619, which

(49:55):
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, but both sure and steadfast. I love it whenever the example
of sitting on a chair is used when it comes to trust, like trust in God, because I've seen that
analogy a few times over the years, just growing up. And it's one that has like, it's stood out to
me more than almost any other analogy for some reason. And so I like that she used that. Anyway,

(50:19):
but I just like that just like I trust a bridge or a chair to hold me up without even thinking I
should have that hope in him. Like it should just be that easy. Because when I sit down on my couch
right here, I'm not going to be afraid that it's going to fall through. Yeah, you know, or whenever
I just popped down on it. I will say there are times when I do get nervous on bridges. But in
general, I don't get that. Don't we all? Yeah, it depends on how we get the bridges. Right. Yeah.

(50:41):
But anyway, I don't know, I just like that she used those analogies because it's so true,
it should just be that easy for us to just trust in God and have hope in him because he is God.
And his promises will come true because he is God. So when thinking of the birth of Jesus, she said,
Jesus is our birth of hope. Wow. Yeah. Jesus is our birth of hope. It is my everyday reminder

(51:03):
that everything we do is to his glory. When anxiety seems to take over my mind, and there's
just constant despair in this world, I can rest in knowledge. Or sorry. And there's just constant
despair in this world, I can rest in knowing he is there for me. Yeah. Okay, so then my last person,
I adore this person's pieces. She's like one of the greatest humans ever. Sarah, it's not me.

(51:29):
It's not me. So I don't know what you're talking about. Knock your pride down, Anna. Geez.
I also adore that person. Yeah. Okay, so what does hope mean to you? She said,
hope is what holds me together. When I'm sad or wondering about my future. My hope first is
Hebrews 619. I prefer the King James version. Hope is the anchor for my soul. And notice the

(51:54):
last person mentions first also. Okay, she said, Jesus Christ holds me and our heavenly father
holds us both. Because of our hope, I will see Jesus, my savior in every sense of the word,
and I will see myself again. And then she didn't answer the second part about Jesus's birth,
but she's very busy. She has a strict schedule of their job. But anyway, so those are just some

(52:18):
things to ponder on. We didn't really have a plan other than just to read them because I don't know.
It's just nice to hear other people's opinions, not just hers sometimes. Yeah. So yeah, and if you
guys have anything on hope that you want to share, you're welcome to message us through Instagram or
on our contact page on our website. I don't know about y'all, but I'm feeling very grateful for

(52:40):
the hope I have in Jesus right now. I am too. And I feel a little convicted. Yeah. It's just crazy
to me that like, he loves us as much as he does, and that he has such compassion on us.
That's insane. And it really is about bringing glory to him in the end. Like it's not even about

(53:00):
us to a certain degree. But like the fact that he still loves us so much that he wants us to be a
part of his plan, and wants to show his glory to us more than all other creation, it's a pretty big
deal. And so I think that including myself, we should pursue him just for the sake of his glory.

(53:21):
Because he's doing all of this. And we're that important to bring glory to him. Right. And why
wouldn't you want to be a part of that? Right. I mean, because of Mary and Joseph, like these
simple people, young people, hope was brought to the whole world. I don't know. That's just,

(53:43):
it gives you a whole different perspective, or at least it does me. Yeah. I think we're all done.
I hope you guys have a good week. Join us next week for our next episode on the Advent,
which is peace. Peace. Got peace. Um, all right. Sounds good.