Thankful for Our Hope

Thankful for Our HopeText: 1 Corinthians 15:52-57

There are many things for which we can be thankful. In this lesson, we are going to talk about being thankful for our hope.

To Be Thankful, There Must Be…

  1. A giver – the giver of all good things is God (James 1:17)
  2. A recipient – one who is to receive the gift
  3. A gift that is accepted – not rejected, neglected, or discarded
  4. An appreciation of the gift – recognize its value; the greater the value attributed to it, the more grateful we will be for it
  5. A demonstration of gratitude – spoken or active; done with sincerity

The Gift of Hope

  • The hope we have is possible because of Christ (1 Timothy 1:1) – no hope without Him (Ephesians 2:12); based upon His resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20-22); this hope is for OUR resurrection (Acts 23:6)
  • It is the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7) – we look for something beyond this life (1 Corinthians 15:19)
  • It is a product of God’s grace and love (Romans 5:2-5)

We Must Accept This Hope

  • This is the idea of embracing God’s promises – promises first made to God’s people in the Old Testament (Acts 26:6-7; Romans 4:18; Galatians 3:8-9); unfortunately, many rejected this
  • This hope is expressed through the Scriptures – began in the Old Testament (Roman 15:4); revealed in the gospel (Colossians 1:23); therefore, we must accept God’s word (2 Thessalonians 2:10; 1:8-9)
  • We accept God’s promises by being born again (1 Peter 1:3) – this puts us on the path that leads to eternal life (1 Peter 1:4; John 3:3, 5)

We Must Appreciate Our Hope

  • This pertains to something far better than anything we could hope for in this life (1 Corinthians 15:19) – we must fix our hope on God, not riches or any other material thing (1 Timothy 6:17)
  • We are saved by hope (Romans 8:24) – nothing is of more value to us than our salvation (cf. Matthew 16:26)
  • As we already noted, this is a product of God’s grace and love (Romans 5:2-5) – therefore, it is undeserved; Paul explained just how underserving and helpless we were (Romans 5:6-11); without the Lord, we have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

We Must Demonstrate Gratitude

  • Thank God that we have the hope of overcoming death through Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57)
  • Live righteously (Galatians 5:5) – grace does not give us permission to continue in sin (Romans 6:1-2, 15-18)
  • Speak boldly about God and His word (2 Corinthians 3:12) – be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15)
  • Persevere until the end – hope gives us a reason to do this (Romans 8:25); be steadfast in this (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Conclusion

  • No matter what we face in this life (good or bad), we have something far better after this life
  • This hope is possible through the resurrection of Christ
  • We can have this hope if we will be “born again” – conform to His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-5)