Sermon Quotes: "Hope"

“Judah was hardly the China of the ancient world; it was tiny in comparison to Egypt to its south and Assyria to its north-east. But together with its sister kingdom Israel it occupied a strategic place astride the land routes linking Africa with Central Asia and the Far East. It lay at the centre of the known world and made the astounding claim that its God, the LORD, was creator and effective ruler of everything…Judah lived with the conviction that the LORD was the true king, and looked forward to the day when all the world would know it. This creed had not been difficult to believe during Uzziah’s long reign.” - Barry Webb

“The contrasting spheres express ‘every sort of joy ever known.” - Alec Motyer

“The people enter into the fruits of a victory they did not win, it was the Lord who acted.” - Alec Motyer

“This passage sets the stage for the most astounding event in history.” -  John Oswalt

“He had to be both God and man to save us sinners. He had to be God because only God could save us. He had to become man because the work of salvation had to be performed by a human being for human beings…If he had not become one of us, he could not have died in our place.” - David Peterson

“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity-hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory-because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on the cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard or will hear.” - J.I. Packer