Hope is Born (Christmas Eve)

The significance of Christmas that we've been focusing on all month long here at Church of the Foothills is HOPE. Hope is a super familiar idea, but it's not one we normally think about all that deeply. In fact, we use the word hope in all sorts of everyday conversation. "I hope I get something really cool for Christmas." "I hope I make my numbers at work today." "I hope what I want is on sale." I hope I see my boss today." "I hope I don't see my boss today." "I hope I see my employee today." Hope used in these ways is really more like wishful thinking or personal desire. But, that is not the kind of hope we've been talking about. I've been calling the talks I've been sharing this month "Christmas: Winter's Hope." I've been using the season of winter as an analogy to describe the cold challenges that come at us in life, the shorter days of opportunity to meet those challenges, and sometimes the dark nights of the soul when we realize that life is not working out the way we always envisioned it would.