Sunday Worship Service December 1, 2024

Prelude
Call to Worship Isaiah 7:14
Lighting of the Advent Candle (Hope)
Hymn JBC # 148 Come, Thou long-expected Jesus
Prayer Time
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn JBC # 301 Amazing grace! how sweet the sound
Offering
Scripture Romans 8:18～25
Prayer
Sermon “Hope for what is unseen”
Prayer
Hymn JBC # 491 Have faith in God
Doxology JBC # 679
Benediction
Postlude

　From today, we will begin the period known as Advent (the time of waiting for the birth of Christ) according to the church calendar.
Advent is the period of about four weeks before Christmas, and the Advent period begins today and ends on December 24 (Christmas Eve).
On Christmas, we, the Christian Church, commemorate and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ into the world.
The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came to this world as the Savior of all people.

In the New Testament, in ‘the First epistle of John’, chapter 2, verse 2, it says,
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The “our” may refer to Christians’ who believe in Christ.
Or perhaps it refers to the Israelites who were first chosen by God in the Old Testament, and to whom God's salvation was announced.
But with the birth of Christ, it became clear that forgiveness and redemption of sins extend to all peoples of the world.

　In the same “First Epistle of John,” chapter 4, verse 14, we read
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son (*Jesus) to be the Savior of the world.”

Here, too, we are told that “Jesus Christ has come into the world as the Savior of the whole world.”
The Christian Church commemorates Christmas repeatedly each year so that we may always remember, appreciate, and rejoice in the event of the coming of the Savior of the world, and so that we may continue to carry the joyful news of that event to the world.

Christ's coming to our world as Savior means that we are in need of salvation.
From what condition do we need to be rescued?
In verse 20 of today's scripture, we read, “For the creation was subjected to frustration.” The English translation (NIV) uses the word “frustration.” (while in the Japanese version “subjected to emptiness”

I believe that “emptiness” or “frustration” can both be translated as “disappointment” or “discouragement” as well.
The Bible says that we all live in the world with disappointments, discouragements, and unfulfilled desires.
The Bible tells us that the reason we live with an unfulfilled heart, dissatisfaction, and anxiety in this world created by God is because of human sins.

Through sin, man has alienated himself from the glory of God, the Creator of our world.
Man was originally created to follow God and live for His glory. However, sin entered our lives because we became self-centered.
Because we have become self-centered, we have become separated from God and from others, and we live as beings who do not fully understand each other.
One of the reasons for our suffering is that we, who were originally created to live in abundance with the glory of God and to understand each other without hiding anything from others, have chosen to live in a self-centered way.
Because we have separated ourselves from God, we no longer understand God's plan, God's will. Therefore, we are troubled.
We also suffer because we do not fully understand others, and sometimes we even become angry and hateful.

We suffer from emptiness and frustration in our hearts, which cannot be satisfied by the things of this world.
But let us read the first verse of today's passage, Romans 8:18.

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

Those who are suffering for various reasons and circumstances may not be convinced if told, “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us in the future,” or “it’s not a big problem” may be hard to accept.
However, I believe that the writer of Romans (Paul) expressed himself in this way not to downplay the sufferings of people, but to desperately want to emphasize the splendor of the “glory that will be revealed in us” in the future.
We all have suffering in this world, and we all suffer from incomprehensible and unreasonable misfortunes. Yet, “there is hope at the same time,” today's passage says (and the whole Bible says so).

Today's verse 21 uses the phrase “bondage to decay.”
It is a state of separation from God, a failure to receive God's glory, and a consequent inability to truly understand and accept others. It is a state of separation from both God and man.

However, today's passage tells us that there is hope to be freed from this bondage to decay.
Although the words “Jesus Christ” do not appear explicitly in today's passage, it is clear that the hope of freedom and deliverance through Jesus Christ is described in today's passage.
We have suffering in this world today, and we may not always be able to solve that suffering very well on our own.
But the Bible tells us that there is hope that our present sufferings will eventually be transformed into glory through God.
I said earlier that “today's passage does not downplay of human suffering”. I think that can be clearly explained through verses 22-23 too.

Verses 22-23
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.

The verse says that everyone is groaning and suffering, even those who are believers in God now (and even those who are not believers).
Through these words, we can see that God, our Maker, truly understands and shares in our sufferings.
　Beyond our present suffering, beyond the unfulfilled hearts in this world, there is the hope that we can be partakers of God's glory. With that hope, we can receive the strength to live.
To be partakers of the glory of God means that we will be made sons of God and our bodies will be redeemed, that is, we will be made alive to eternal life with the resurrected Jesus Christ.
In this world, we are imperfect, limited, and flawed. We are kept alive in an unstable and insecure state apart from the true God.
But God, by sending His Son Jesus Christ into this world, has given us the grace that through Him we too can become children of God.
Romans 6:5, which precedes today's passage, says

5 For if we have been united with him (*Christ) in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

We can receive the status of sons of God through Christ and by faith in Him. We become one with the resurrected Jesus Christ, and the power and hope of the resurrection are given to us as well.
Today's passage tells us that “in this hope we are saved from the sufferings of this world”. No matter how difficult things may be, nothing can take this hope away from us.
We are connected to Christ and to the Church in order to share this hope of becoming sons of God and being resurrected.
We are building up Christ's Church to continue to share this hope with the world.
This hope is not clearly visible (or fully understood) now.
But it is a sure hope, guaranteed by the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was indeed born into this world as a human being 2000 years ago.

I think we all know from experience how joyful it is to wait in anticipation for something.
　When we know that there is some joyful plan or appointment ahead, we are willing to work hard in the present to achieve it.
　Even in our studies and work, having a dream or goal ahead of us makes us do our best to somehow endure the pain of the present.
If we do not have such dreams and goals, it will be very difficult for us to face our current suffering.
Again, there are sufferings in our lives. We may even wonder if there is any meaning to this suffering now, or if we don't want to live this life if it is so painful.
　But God has given us Jesus Christ as our ultimate hope and has given us the promise of hope that we will be made sons of God with Christ and eventually be united with Him in His resurrection.
　Because we have been promised eternal life with Christ, we can live in hope even in this life.
　It is through this hope that we are saved. We are saved by this invisible but sure hope.
We can believe that because Jesus Christ was born as a human being, the life we live has a precious meaning, that our sufferings are not in vain or meaningless.

By believing in and connecting with the One who was born a human being, who died on the cross for our sins, and who rose again three days later, we can have hope.
Christmas is the event that marks the beginning of that sure hope. Let us remember Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, and together receive the hope that is in Christ.
Advent is the season of waiting for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us spend this Advent season together, remembering the blessing of waiting for the Lord and being kept alive by that hope.