​HANG IN THERE: Peace and Hope - June 21, 2026

​HANG IN THERE: Peace and Hope - June 21, 2026

INTRODUCTION

1. There is darkness, but the light dispels the darkness.
2. Throw down your cloak.
3. Freedom is coming.
4. Christ is enough.

And yet . . .

The Society of International law in London states this incredible statistic: since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8% of the time. Over the last 4000 years of history, only 268 years saw peace.

Moreover in excess of 8000 peace treatises have been made and broken. In the last 3 centuries there have been 286 wars on the continent of Europe alone!

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭5:1-5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The opening line of "Peace, Perfect Peace," a beloved Christian hymn written by Bishop Edward H. Bickersteth in 1875.

"Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within."

I.  PEACE THROUGH LORD JESUS CHRIST

There was a widow who had “Rest In Peace” put on her husband’s tombstone.

When she found out that he left her out of his will, she had added, “TILL I COME.”

Peace between humans takes divine intervention.  Peace between humans and God took Jesus.

A. Justification through faith

B. Access by faith into this grace in which we now stand

Columnist Deborah Mathis wrote about the time when she was at Union Station in Washington D.C. on a particularly busy day. The first thing she remembers about that experience was the noisy hubbub of sounds. The public address announcer calling out arrivals and departures. Scores of pagers, walkie-talkies, and cell phones cried out for someone’s attention.

You could hear horns honking, machines clinking out change, and babies crying. A security guard yelled at a man who was about to enter a forbidden area. Three women stood up from their bench in order to argue with each other more loudly.

And a man in front of her was nervously pacing in a tight circle.

But then she heard someone singing:

"What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear;

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer."

Slowly a change came over the noisy crowd. The voice continued:

"O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer."

The quarreling women stopped their talking and quietly took their seats. People who’d been tense and hurried; seemed to slow and relax - and they strained to hear the voice singing the remaining verses that old hymn. And Ms. Mathis realized she was singing along. So were the three women who had been bickering. And a few others as well.

The man in front of her, who had been behaving nervously quietly said: "Nice, huh? I don’t even believe in Jesus, but that’s nice."

(From an article by Rubel Shelly. From a sermon by Jeff Strite, "i-Serve", Sermon Central, 1/11/2009.)

II. HOPE IN THE GLORY OF GOD

A. Boast in the hope

B. The hope of the glory of God

If you seek your own glory you will lose that, and His. But, if you seek His, you will get yours directly from Him. We are all tempted, like the youth Narcissus in the Greek fable, to bend over the brook and fall in love with ourselves, and we get changed into flowers, and fade in an hour. But he that does the will of God, and seeks the will of God, abides forever.

When men compliment you upon the excellence of your character, and tell you how spiritual you are, and how sweet is your influence, say, "Thine is the glory, O Christ; I have got it all from Thee."

If you write a book, place "Thine is the glory" on the cover.

If you paint a picture-- Put "Thine is the glory" as a scroll at the foot.

If you are a doctor or a surgeon, and are able to render some great service of deliverance, do not take thanks without in your heart saying, "Thine is the glory."

I like to think of those angels standing before God and praising Him day and night--angels excelling in strength, doing His commandments, hearkening to His voice; I like to think of them traveling through the realms of space, and making them the home of song; I like to think of them reaching the far distance where the ether breaks upon the rocks of eternity, and in that far distant land saying, "Glory to God! Glory to God in the highest."

Is not this, then, the motto that we want? Is it not something to live for? Thine is the kingdom over men, and over my life. Thine is the power and the glory. Will you all dare to say, "Forever, Amen"? Will you not at this very moment say in your heart, "Jesus, my King, rule over me"? He died for you. He loves you. He can bless you. Will you now put the crown of your life upon Him?

F. B. Meyer, “The Gift of Suffering”, Sermon Central, August 12, 2024.

III.  GLORY IN SUFFERINGS

A. Perseverance

B. Character

C. Hope

Hope does not disappoint

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:6-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭5:6-11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Dave Dravecky (MLB pitcher): After he underwent surgery to remove his arm up to his collarbone. His cancerous left arm had been amputated. As he looked in the mirror he said "Okay God. This is what I have got to live with. Put this behind me; let’s go forward."

A couple of days later he was walking the hospital corridor pushing his IV, came to the visitors lounge where a whole family has gathered. The wife sitting there worried, her husband has cancer throughout his whole body and the prognosis is not good. Dave sat down near her, the son came to him and asked him "Where do you get your peace?" Dave told him that Jesus Christ was the source of his peace, the entire family listened as he shared his testimony and his faith. He heard the complaints of the family, my father was a good man and he is in there suffering with cancer, while bad people run around healthy. He told them, "It is hard to understand suffering in this life, but you can't blame God for it. Sooner or later this earth is going to burn up, the only thing that will matter is if we go to heaven or not. I believe in miracles, I believe that God can and does heal people, but more important than that, I believe in the eternal hope of heaven, when I die, that's where I'm going, because heaven is my home."

Richard White,"Peace That Surpasses", Sermon Central, December 28, 2008.

CONCLUSION

There is peace through the Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope in the glory of God. There is glory in the sufferings we face. Only through Jesus can we have anything of meaning.

Bruce Larson (pastor, author, and modern small group pioneer) tells how he helped people struggling to surrender their lives to Christ:

"For many years I worked in New York City and counseled at my office any number of people who were wrestling with this yes-or-no decision. Often I would suggest they walk with me from my office down to the RCA Building on Fifth Avenue. In the entrance of that building is a gigantic statue of Atlas, a beautifully proportioned man who, with all his muscles straining, is holding the world upon his shoulders. There he is, the most powerfully built man in the world, and he can barely stand up under this burden. ’Now that’s one way to live,’ I would point out to my companion, ’trying to carry the world on your shoulders. But now come across the street with me.’

On the other side of Fifth Avenue is Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and there behind the high altar is a little shrine of the boy Jesus, perhaps eight or nine years old, and with no effort he is holding the world in one hand. My point was illustrated graphically.

We have a choice. We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, ’I give up, Lord; here’s my life. I give you my world, the whole world.’"

Bruce Larson, “Believe and Belong”, Sermon Central, November 3, 2002.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.

6-14-26 Kenwood Church of Christ Live Stream

 

​HANG IN THERE: Christ is enough - June 14, 2026

​HANG IN THERE: Christ is enough - June 14, 2026

 

INTRODUCTION

 

1.    There is darkness, but the light dispels the darkness.

2.    Throw down your cloak.

3.    Freedom is coming.

 

Colossians 1:3-29 NIV

 

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

 

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in  all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 

 

Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”

            Colossians 1:3-29 NIV

 

“Hope is faith in the immutable promise that miracles prevail when the darkness tries to win-out with cries of despair. Hope is a gift from God that helps us yearn, and live a life that believes and moves with the pledge of a better tomorrow. And what’s more, hope springs-forth resurrection life, and draws us near to the love of Christ, who is the light of God who walked out from the grave to make the way for everlasting life.”

            Jason Bonnickson, Sermon Central, April 25, 2011.

 

 I. CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY

 

Colossians 1:15-23 NIV

 

“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”

            Colossians 1:15-23 NIV

 

            A. All things made through the Son.

            B. All things held together by the Son.

            C. The Son is the head of the church

                        1. Beginning and firstborn among the dead

            D. The Son has all His fullness dwelling in him

            E. The Son reconciles us by his physical body

            F. The Son presents us as holy in his sight

 

There’s a famous painting by Rembrandt called “The Three Crosses.” Those who view have their attention drawn first to the centre cross on which Jesus died. Then they look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. At the edge of the painting there’s another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognised that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.

 

II. GOD DWELLS IN US/NOT A TEMPLE MADE OF STONES

 

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

 

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

            1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

 

            A. God is in you.

            B. God’s spirit dwells in you.

            C. God is with you, not near you.

 

N T Wright, the famous New Testament scholar talks about the task of Christians in the world. He says, 

 

"Many say, 'Oh yes, the Holy Spirit came in his place to live in us.' Yes, but for what purpose? The Holy Spirit came to empower us to be God's life in the world. We are to do the work of God in the world. We are to be God to the world. And we cannot do that alone. The church is God's redemptive community in the world. Without you, and without you joined with God's other children, God's work will not be done. He will not do it without us. He will not do it for us."

 

III. GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN ME

 

1 John 4:1-4 NIV

 

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

            1 John 4:1-4 NIV

 

            A. Other spirits

            B. The Spirit that acknowledges Jesus

            B. Greater is He that is in us!

 

“What Does Hope Do For Mankind?” by John Maxwell

 

Hope shines brightest when the hour is darkest.

Hope motivates when discouragement comes.

Hope energizes when the body is tired.

Hope sweetens while bitterness bites.

Hope sings when all melodies are gone.

Hope believes when evidence is eliminated.

Hope listens for answers when no one is talking.

Hope climbs over obstacles when no one is helping.

Hope endures hardship when no on is caring.

Hope smiles confidently when no one is laughing.

Hope reaches for answers when no one is asking.

Hope presses toward victory when no one is encouraging.

Hope dares to give when no one is sharing.

Hope brings the victory when no one is winning.

            John Maxwell from Think on These Things

 

CONCLUSION

 

Christ in you the hope of glory

God dwells in us

Greater is he that is in me

 

A preacher named Mike told of his conversion to Christ. He told me his family was known throughout the community as the worst examples of humanity. The parents were irresponsible. The kids were troublemakers. They lived like animals, even eating food out of trashcans. Everyone who saw them thought, "That’s just who they are. That’s all they’ll ever be. They’ll never change." 

 

But Mike did.

 

There came a point at which he heard the powerful message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and he decided that was what he wanted for his life. He believed in Jesus, repented of his sins, and was buried in the waters of baptism for the forgiveness of his sins. He eventually became a preacher and part of his ministry reached into his family – of whom he baptized several.

 

Then one day, Mike was at the funeral of his brother-in-law. One of the women who was there (and who had not seen him since his conversion) spoke with him and she said that she was amazed at the change that had taken place in his life. She was surprised at what HE had made of himself.

 

Mike responded: "Oh I really appreciate your compliment, but I really didn’t change myself. It was Christ IN ME that brought about the changes in my life."

 

It was Christ in him – the hope of Glory.

 

INVITATION

 

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.