We have this hope as an anchor of the soul, firm and secure. (Hebrews 6:19a)

On storm-tossed seas, a ship needs a strong anchor to keep the ship from drifting off-course. We learn from this passage that our hope, our anchor, "enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf." (Hebrews 6:19b-20). Christian hope is not a "hope so" hope--it's a "know so" hope. It is firm and secure.

"...remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:3) In a healthy Christian community, hope produces a kind of steadfastness in the storms of life.

In the early days of Lake Baldwin Church, someone said that hope is the main thing that we offer to the world around us. That's a good point, because before we knew Christ, we were "having no hope and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12) Today, let's pray for the nurturing of hope in our hearts, and for the offering of hope to the world.

There will be storms that come our way, of suffering or persecution or testing. Pray for our congregation, that we would be steadfast in hope.
There are some who feel a loss of hope, who grow weary in waiting. Pray that God, by his grace, will strengthen their hope.
Romans 15:4 teaches that the stories of the Old Testament are given to strengthen our hope. Pray for this miracle of God's grace as we engage the stories of Exodus starting this Sunday.
The prosperous culture around us obscures the despair of heart and the longing for hope of those without Christ. Pray that God will use the outreach efforts of our church community to extend the hope of the gospel.
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Let's pray this prayer for one another, for all of our gatherings, and for the continued renewal of hope in our lives.