Our sermon series on hope continues as we look for hope in the gospels and find that Jesus embodied hope. Everything about him was bringing people out of despair, disorientation, into restoration. And then he sends us to continue to work.

God gives us hope in times of disorientation, when everything is just falling apart. Then hope changes everything.

God's primary way of giving hope is through other people. God did a lot of that through the prophets, ministering to the people of God going through a horrible exile.

Pastor Mia walks us through the history of the exile and the prophets who spoke God's hope in times of despair. Those words still speak to us today, and call us to give hope to others.

Pentecost is the miracle in which the Holy Spirit arrived on earth in spectacular fashion. Our spiritual ancestors experienced noise, wind, wildfire, and languages as they began speaking in their mother tongues. Pentecost is the occasion that’s often celebrated as the birthday of the church.

At the time of Pentecost, Jerusalem was full of people who believed God resided in the temple. They were there to worship God instead of trying to be in relationship with God. Unlike idols, who wanted slaves and demanded sacrifices, God asked for loyalty. But while God remained faithful to the people, they were revering idols and breaking the commandments.

When the early Hebrews built the tower of Babel to get as high as God, God responded by giving them different languages. As a result, they could no longer communiicate with each other to reach that lofty and unholy goal. Hundreds of years later, Pentecost healed the brokenness of Babel. When the Holy Sprit prompted the people to speak in their mother tongues, there was understanding despite all of the different languages.

With the Holy Spirit, we are compelled by the miracle of a God-given understanding that includes minds, hearts, and relationships. God wants us to share this miracle with others by seeking to be understood or seeking to understand. Our interest in understanding people who are different from us is one of the ways our Christian faith sets us apart. When we understand others and love them, God is transforming the world through us.