Despair is real! One church analyst observed that if churches will minister faithfully to people in today's world they must offer four things: a sense of identity — you, as an individual, are of great value; a sense of community - we accept you and invite you into our fellowship; a sense of meaning — the Bible does offer a credible explanation for life; and a sense of hope — Jesus is alive and He will be with you in your suffering and will one day remove all suffering.

Biblical hope is more than a desire for something better; it is a certain expectation.

On a human level there is power in 'positive thinking.' Convincing yourself mentally that things will be better tomorrow may make you feel better today. And, by the way, I think we should live with that possibility that with hard work and God's grace the evils, injustices, and disappointments of life may change for the better, At the same time, positive thinking might be delusional. Some things may never change for the better on this side of eternity. Yet we may think on things not related to reality and find them comforting for the moment.

Biblical hope goes beyond positive thinking because as will see, biblical hope accepts the reality of God's providence and goodness in human suffering.

What is this hope that we have in Jesus Christ?

1. We have a hope that is centered in the glory of God

• A glory that is uniquely his
• A glory that we share
• A glory that is certain

What kind of hope are we talking about? We all desire and imagine a life and a world were everything is as it ought to be — a world where marriages never fail; a world where families never fight; a world where jobs are always secure; a world where the bills are always paid; a world where friends are always faithful; a world where Christians always love; a world where race is never an issue; a world where everyone is accepted; a world where everyone gets along; a world where loved ones don't suffer and die; a world where there are no little people; a world where everyone has value and respect; a world that doesn't go to war; a world where children and women are protected from abuse, etc.

Though we may desire this, life reminds us that this world doesn't exist on planet earth.

We do not hope in the glory of human life on planet earth; we hope in the glory of God. The glory of God is the perfections of his being, including the perfections of his plan for creation and the perfections of his redemption. The glory of God is something that is superior to all of us for we 'all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.'

The glory of God is the superior excellence of His person. The words and imagination of poets and writers fail to describe that superior majesty which far exceeds the beauty of a starlit sky or the blinding awe of a gorgeous sunset.