28 Jan Our Hope in Jesus – Pr. Paul Hohman

Hope In Jesus Overview

In this powerful sermon, Pastor Paul Hohman explores the unwavering hope we can find in Jesus Christ through the lens of Abraham’s covenant with God. Drawing from Genesis 17, he reveals how God’s promises to Abraham at age 99 demonstrate that divine timing often defies human logic. The message emphasizes that our hope isn’t wishful thinking or finger-crossing, but supernatural confidence rooted in God’s everlasting covenant. Hohman challenges listeners to move beyond religious routine and actively apply God’s Word to their lives, reminding us that God never changes and never abandons His children. Through Abraham’s story of receiving impossible promises about Sarah bearing Isaac, we learn that God’s plans surpass our understanding and that compromise isn’t God’s way. The sermon powerfully illustrates how believers, as descendants of Abraham, inherit the same covenant promises of fruitfulness, multiplication, and divine provision, making our hope in Jesus a living, transformative force.

Hope In Jesus Outline

• 0:00 – Introduction: Applying God’s Word: Pastor Hohman emphasizes the importance of applying Scripture to our lives rather than just reading stories.
• 3:00 – Hope vs. Wishful Thinking: Contrasting worldly hope with supernatural hope that comes through Jesus Christ.
• 8:00 – Abraham’s Divine Appointment at 99: God appears to Abraham with covenant promises despite his advanced age.
• 15:00 – The Everlasting Covenant: Understanding our inheritance as descendants of Abraham’s covenant with God.
• 20:00 – Sarah’s Impossible Promise: God promises a son to 90-year-old barren Sarah, defying natural limitations.
• 25:00 – Abraham’s Human Logic vs God’s Plan: Abraham suggests using Ishmael instead of trusting God’s promise about Isaac.
• 30:00 – God’s Forgiveness and Our Response: Reminder that God forgets our sins and calls us to live without compromise.

Scripture References

Genesis 17:1-17, Genesis 18, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 1:1-3, John 16:33

Key Takeaways

• True hope in Jesus is supernatural and life-transforming, not wishful thinking or crossing fingers like worldly hope.
• We inherit Abraham’s everlasting covenant as believers, giving us access to God’s promises of fruitfulness and provision.
• God’s timing often defies human logic, as seen when He promised Abraham and Sarah a child at ages 100 and 90.
• Compromise isn’t God’s way – narrow is the path that leads to life while broad is the way to destruction.
• God is a covenant keeper, not a covenant breaker, meaning His promises are reliable all the time, not just on Sundays.
• Our heavenly Father wants to provide for us like earthly parents provide for their children – we have covenant access.
• God forgets our confessed sins completely, throwing them into a sea of forgetfulness when Satan tries to condemn us.

Hope In Jesus Notes

Pastor Paul Hohman begins this transformative message by distinguishing between passive Bible reading and active application of God’s Word. He emphasizes that Scripture is ‘alive, quick, and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword,’ but only becomes effective when we open ourselves to God’s work in our lives. The pastor acknowledges that while God can work miraculously, we must position ourselves to receive His intervention through willing hearts and obedient actions.The central narrative focuses on Abraham’s encounter with God at age 99, a detail the pastor notes isn’t coincidental. When God appears promising to make Abraham ‘a father of many nations’ and establishing an everlasting covenant, Abraham’s response is significant – he falls on his face, demonstrating the proper posture for receiving divine revelation. This covenant extends to all believers as Abraham’s spiritual descendants, granting us the same access to God’s promises of multiplication and fruitfulness.Pastor Hohman contrasts worldly hope with biblical hope, explaining that while people hope in governments, jobs, medicine, or luck, believers possess supernatural hope rooted in Christ’s promises. This isn’t wishful thinking but confident expectation based on God’s unchanging character and covenant faithfulness. The message powerfully illustrates this through God’s promise that 90-year-old barren Sarah would bear Isaac, a promise that defied natural possibility.Abraham’s human response reveals our tendency to help God with more ‘reasonable’ solutions, suggesting Ishmael could fulfill God’s promise instead. The pastor draws parallels to our own compromises – choosing comfort over obedience, ease over God’s narrow path. However, God’s emphatic ‘No’ to Abraham’s suggestion reminds us that divine plans aren’t negotiable or improvable by human wisdom.The sermon concludes with powerful reminders about God’s complete forgiveness and our covenant relationship. As children of God, we don’t need to knock on heaven’s door like strangers but can approach boldly as family members with full access to our Father’s provision and love.

Frequently Asked Questions