Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: He is with us.
Merry Christmas.
God is with us.
Merry Christmas.
[00:00:17] Speaker B: Welcome to the NextGen Advent podcast. Today we're going to be talking about hope, which is a very exciting subject and a very special guest here with me today to just introduce us to the subject. Can you share with us your first name and your grade?
[00:00:29] Speaker C: Um, I'm Charlie and I'm in second grade.
[00:00:33] Speaker B: And what is your favorite thing about second grade, Charlie?
[00:00:35] Speaker C: Um, the specials.
[00:00:38] Speaker B: The specials, yeah. Yeah.
I tend to like the specials myself. That's a good thing. Charlie, when you think about Christmas, what are you most looking forward to?
[00:00:48] Speaker C: I like opening presents and spending time with my family.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Is there a certain present this year where you're like, ooh, I hope I get that.
[00:00:56] Speaker C: Um, not really.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Not really. Okay.
[00:01:00] Speaker C: Just. I have a bun.
[00:01:02] Speaker B: You have a bun. Okay. Yeah. You're like, actually, there's too many to be able to name. Yeah, yeah. And you, like, spend your time with your family, which is like. Our next question. What is something that is better to do with other people at Christmas time than to do on your own?
[00:01:13] Speaker C: So I like making hot chocolate. And making cookies.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: And making cookies. You know what? I love that and so do you. And you like doing that in a group of people or with your family rather than.
[00:01:23] Speaker C: With my family.
[00:01:24] Speaker B: With your family. Who's the best cookie decorator in your family?
[00:01:29] Speaker C: Me.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: I was gonna say it could be you. All right. I would love to see a picture of those cookies once you guys decorate them. I gotta see all these beautiful cookies that our village kids and five, six friends are making. All right, so we're gonna be looking at hope. And the whole passage that we're looking at today is Isaiah 40. But, Charlie, would you go ahead and read for us the key verse of the passage?
[00:01:48] Speaker C: A voice of one crying out, prepare the way of Lord of the Lord in the wilderness. Make a STR for our God in the desert. Isaiah 43.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: Thank you. And so the first 39 chapters in Isaiah predict the fall of Israel. It's a little sad. God promised that Israel would be a great nation. But the people of Israel persisted in chasing after false gods. They chose the most extreme forms of selfishness because of their many great sins. Israel was defeated and fell. Some in Israel felt that God had abandoned them.
Isaiah reminded them of God's goodness. Isaiah 40, this chapter we just read from is a promise that hope was coming. Isaiah had a voice that would shout out the way of the Lord that was coming. God would make everything right again, and the whole world would see God's glory. There are two major details that we should understand from these verses. First, God keeps His promises.
Prophecy after prophecy in the Old Testament all pointed to Jesus, and each promise was kept. This helps us see the good news for people who trust their lives to God. Second, God didn't just bring salvation to Israel alone. His glory is for the whole world. And if God loved Israel, even though his people chose to run from him, that means that God's love for you is no different. In the middle of whatever spiritual or physical struggle you are facing, God loves you. And his love and forgiveness don't change. He keeps his promises. So, Charlie, think through this with me.
How have you experienced God's faithfulness in your life?
[00:03:25] Speaker C: So when I have some, like, I think I'm gonna have bad stories and dreams, me and my mom pray, and then it either does it or he goes through it with us.
[00:03:40] Speaker B: Oh, I love that answer. Right? You're like, so sometimes he keeps those things that are hard from happening, right? Particularly in my dreams. Sometimes they still happen, but I see that he's with me and I'm not alone as I'm like, having to experience that. I love it so much.
How do these verses bring you hope today?
[00:03:57] Speaker C: So God keeps His promises and he has shown it in the Bible.
[00:04:03] Speaker B: Yeah, right. You're like, no, I know that he says who he says he is is who he is. What he says he's going to do is what he's going to do. He's a promise keeper, right? Yeah. That's beautiful. And then we see that from the Bible. So in what ways does Jesus make things right for his people?
[00:04:19] Speaker C: He died for our sin. And God loves us. God loves everybody no matter what.
[00:04:26] Speaker B: Yeah, right. And so he makes things right for his people because he's like, listen, you have a problem. You have a problem with sin. It separates you from Me. And you need a solution to that. I will be your solution. I'll make it right for you. He offered himself up on a cross, right? To be able to. So that he would take the punishment for our sin and allow us to be able to be in relationship with him and not have to bear the consequences of our sin. Right?
[00:04:50] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:04:50] Speaker B: And so that's so beautiful because he makes everything right for his people. And we see that when God is with us, we don't have to bear that burden on our own. It's not up to us to try to, like, undo all the things that we've done that are bad. He's like, no, I got you. This is my job. I got You. I'm going to make a straight highway for you, even in the hardest of places.
And so, Charlie, as we just process through this, what are some words or what are some ways that you feel like you would describe God and who he is?
[00:05:19] Speaker C: So he died for our sins. He loves us, and he's just the best.
[00:05:31] Speaker B: I agree with that. I can't top that in any way, shape, or form. He is just the best. And so I hope today that as we are just processing what it means to have hope, that all of us just continue to align our hearts to the truth of who God is, that he is just the best, and that he is what we need in all of these things. And I hope that we continue to see that hope is just a word. It's not just something that we can have at a faraway time, but it's something that is here for us now and in this Advent season. It's something that we can hold onto to be able to see who he is and the moments that he shows up in our life. And he's just faithful. He keeps his promises, and he's going to do whatever he needs to do in order to be that way for us. And whatever it is right now in our story that we're confused by or we don't know what's going on. And so, Charlie, would you just close us in prayer and ask that God would be our source of hope?
[00:06:20] Speaker C: Dear God, thank you for this day. Thank you for our food, and thank you for dying on the cross for us, and just thank you for everything.
Please make sure everybody is safe, no matter what. Amen.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: Amen. And, Charlie, can you just close our podcast today by wishing our listeners a Merry Christmas?
[00:06:42] Speaker C: Merry Christmas, everybody.
[00:06:43] Speaker B: All right. Merry Christmas. We'll see you back here again tomorrow.
[00:07:01] Speaker A: Star is shining angels sing Our Savior born the hope he brings in a manger the king has come God with us the Holy One through the silence Light breaks through A tiny child A promise true in the stillness Heaven's near God with us we shall not fear he is with us Merry Christmas.
God is with us Merry Christmas.
He is with us Merry Christmas.
God is with us Merry Christmas.
