Morgan Teruel: Welcome to the Sandals Church podcast. My name is Morgan. And during this Advent season, we invite you to pause and reflect with us. Advent is a season of anticipation, a time to remember the hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brings as he became God with us. As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, let's take a moment to step away from the busyness and center our minds on the one who gives every good and perfect gift.
Wherever you are, whether at home, out for a walk, or in the midst of a hectic day, let these words speak to your soul. May you be refreshed and filled with the unshakable hope, lasting peace, overflowing joy, and boundless love that only Christ can offer. Let's take this time together to listen and reflect.
Pastor Dan Crowley: The waves are crashing against your boat with land nowhere in sight. The sky is black with clouds pouring down rain. It feels like a 1,000,000 tiny darts aimed directly at your face. The wind pushes you one way. The rocking of the boat pulls you another.
You're in the storm, and there is no escaping. You thought you were well prepared. Even if you do survive, where will you end up? How can you stay the course? This is hopeless.
As we all try to navigate the storms of life from one season to the next, you are invited to join us at Sandals Church in a new Advent experience. Over the next 4 weeks, as you play these short podcasts, we encourage you to listen, reflect, ponder. Call upon the holy spirit to move within you and allow your imagination plenty of room to explore. No matter what kind of storms you've been through or perhaps even a storm you find yourself in today, we begin with an anchor, an anchor that will stabilize your life, keep you on course, and allow your soul the peace and rest it needs. We begin with an anchor called hope.
Let's travel back to the 1st century, several years after the death of Jesus. In a letter written to the early churches who were facing persecution, the apostle Peter opened with a message of hope that transcended their worldly fears. This message of hope remains just as true today as the day it was written nearly 2000 years ago. As you listen to the following passage, imagine this letter being delivered to you personally. You open it.
You read it. You absorb its words. Think about how this message impacts your perspective of the storms you face in life. What about it brings you hope? In 1st Peter chapter 1 verses 3 through 9, the apostle writes, all praise to God the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It is by His great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive the salvation which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There's a wonderful joy ahead even though you must endure many trials for a little while.
These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you've never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him, and you rejoice with a glorious inexpressible joy.
The reward for trusting him, that we the salvation of your souls. We cannot control the storms of life, but we do have a hope as an anchor. Consider the hope of salvation that Peter describes. How might you rely on Jesus Christ to be the anchor of your life?