Hope in the One Who Loves Us
Pastor Tan Thai · Jan 4, 2015
Delivered at the start of 2015, this sermon reminds the congregation of God's enduring love for His people based on Romans 8:35-39. The pastor emphasizes that no circumstance or power can separate believers from God's love, and this is the foundation of hope for the new year.
Opening the sermon, the pastor reviews the blessings of 2014 that the congregation has to be thankful for, including unity in the church, new believers and baptisms, lively Bible study classes, and the growth of the youth choir. From there, rather than focusing on New Year's resolutions, the pastor introduces the central theme: a reminder of the foundational truth of God's love and the hope found in the One who loves us.
The pastor argues that reminders are essential to the life of faith, drawing on multiple scriptures including 1 Corinthians 4:17, 11:24-25, and 2 Peter 1:12-15. The Apostle Peter declared that as long as he lived he would continue to remind believers of what they already knew, because people easily forget. Old Testament observances such as Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles are cited as God's own design to ensure His people would not forget His acts of grace.
The theological heart of the sermon focuses on three dimensions of God's love in Romans 8:31-39: the priceless gift of His own Son (verse 32), a bond that cannot be broken by any circumstance or power (verses 33-35), and the certain assurance that nothing in heaven or earth can separate us from His love (verses 38-39). The pastor contrasts the God of Scripture with the silent, distant statues in Buddhist temples, highlighting that the God of the Bible is loving, near, active, and desires a personal relationship with humanity.
The pastor carefully refutes prosperity theology by citing and critiquing a well-known megachurch pastor's books, emphasizing that God does not promise smooth sailing when we believe in Him. Rather, as Hebrews 11 demonstrates, genuine faith is faith that endures through adversity, not faith that exists only in the absence of hardship. God's love for us is most deeply and sweetly experienced in the midst of trials, not when everything is going well.
The sermon closes with a pastoral word of comfort for those currently in difficulty, feeling that God is distant or absent. The pastor assures them that God is still present and still loves them, and this is the enduring foundation of hope for the new year. Romans 8:37 is highlighted as the promise: through the One who loves us, we are more than conquerors—not by force, but by a love that conquers the very heart.