Hope Is Here

Dear 3MBC Family & Friends,

Hope is here, and I pray this message finds you holding fast to that truth as we begin this first week of Advent.

Sunday morning we rooted our hope in Isaiah 9:6–7 — "a child is born, a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders" — reminding us that God's promise meets our problems. Isaiah waited with hope in the midst of bad leadership and deep suffering, showing that trouble does not cancel promise but positions us for it. When we refuse to trust in man and put our trust in the Lord, our problems become the soil where God's promises take root and grow.

So here's my pastoral word: don't trade God's promise for a quick human fix — when fear tempts you to make an Ahaz move, stop and ask God for counsel. Come to worship this week to be refilled; bring your real, messy problems to the throne, thank God for what they're doing in you, and wait on the Lord in his strength, not your own.

Blessings,

Pastor Byron L. Benton