{"id":11348,"date":"2025-11-09T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=11348"},"modified":"2025-11-08T21:47:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T10:47:12","slug":"god-of-the-living-the-living-hope-in-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org.au\/?p=11348","title":{"rendered":"God of the Living & The Living Hope in God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Bible Readings: <\/strong>Haggai 2:1-9 & Luke 20:27-38<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 1) In the days of Haggai, the people stood before the ruins of the temple – broken stones, fading memories, and weary hearts. They looked at what once was glorious and wondered if God\u2019s presence could ever dwell among them again. Into that discouragement, God spoke a powerful word of renewal: \u201cBe strong\u2026for I am with you\u2026My Spirit remains among you; do not fear.\u201d (Haggai 2:4-5)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Haggai 2:1-9, the prophet addressed the people of Judah who had returned from exile to rebuild the temple. But their joy soon turned to disappointment. The new temple seemed so small compared to Solomon\u2019s grand temple of old. Instead of gratitude for freedom and restoration, they focused on what was lost. Yet God reminded them that His presence brings glory and strength. God called them to be strong and continue His work despite discouragement or comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 2) Like them, we often live between what was and what will be. God calls us to hold onto hope, trusting His promise: \u201cThe glory of this present house will be greater than the former.\u201d (v. 9) God declares that He fills His house with glory and peace – a vision pointing to its ultimate fulfilment in Christ. God\u2019s glory and peace fill what we build when we trust Him. Just as they rebuilt the temple, we are called to rebuild faith, community, and relationships through Christ\u2019s living Spirit among us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 3) In Luke 20:27\u201338, Jesus encounters the Sadducees – a group who denied the resurrection and held strictly to the written law. They did not come seeking truth but to trap Jesus with a question. Their story about a woman was designed to ridicule the idea of life after death, using ancient customs to make the resurrection seem absurd. In their argument, women were treated as objects, dismissed and devalued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in the face of their mockery, Jesus responded with wisdom and grace, lifting the discussion beyond human concerns of marriage and death. He spoke of those \u201cworthy of the coming age,\u201d who \u201ccan no longer die,\u201d for they are \u201clike angels and children of God, being children of the resurrection.\u201d With these words, Jesus unveiled the mystery of eternal life\u2014where death loses its power and love is made perfect in God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In responding to the Sadducees, Jesus revealed that resurrection is not merely about life after death; it is about God\u2019s justice and restoration. The Sadducees trivialized human suffering, but Jesus restored dignity. He declared that in God\u2019s resurrection life, the forgotten will be remembered, and the oppressed will be lifted up. The resurrection is not wishful thinking; it is the living hope of a faithful God who renews all things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Jesus pointed them back to Scripture, to Moses at the burning bush. God said, \u201cI am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\u201d We can notice the tense here, it is present. Jesus concluded, \u201cHe is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a profound truth. God\u2019s covenant love does not end at the grave. Death cannot silence God\u2019s relationship with His people. For God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive, and so are all who belong to Him. God was with us in the past, is with us in the present, and will be with us in the future. His promises never fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This does not mean God ignores the pain of death. He knows our sorrow and grief. But death is not the final word. The God we worship is the God of the living – the God of new beginnings, forgiveness, and freedom. In Christ, we have a joy and peace beyond this world, grounded in the unshakable hope of resurrection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus\u2019 words call us to live each day with resurrection faith to trust God\u2019s power beyond our understanding, to love with compassion, and to hold onto hope even in times of loss or despair. For in God\u2019s eyes, all are alive. Every act of love, every tear of mercy, and every step of faith participates in the life of the living God, who renews and restores creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus focused on life – on our living relationship with God here and now. So let us give thanks for our God who brings life out of death, hope out of despair, and peace out of turmoil. Let us live as children of the resurrection, confident that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is our God too – the God of the living, whose love never ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 4) As we approach Remembrance Day, we honour and remember those who gave their lives in service and sacrifice for peace and freedom. Though they are no longer with us, their courage and love live on in God\u2019s eternal care. We pray for those who have lost loved ones in conflict and through the damage of war. We think of the deep scars of conflict that mark our world whenever there is war. In the God of resurrection, death does not have the final word, life does. The hope we hold in Christ is that God’s creation will be saved and restored in His peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We remember not with despair, but with gratitude and renewed commitment to live as children of the living God. We carry forward their legacy of courage, compassion, and hope. Even as the world is shaken by violence and fear, we pray and act for reconciliation, healing, and justice. For Christ\u2019s resurrection power is still at work in the world today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Slide 5) God\u2019s message through Haggai and through Jesus still echoes across time: \u201cTake courage, for I am with you.\u201d The God who brought people out of exile and raised Jesus from the tomb still breathes life into weary souls and forgotten dreams. Even when what we see seems fragile or fading, the Living God is at work, shaping a glory yet to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are not people defeated by loss or fear. We are people anchored in living hope. God\u2019s life-giving presence transforms despair into hope, weakness into courage, and mortality into eternal life. The God of the living calls us to rise each day to live faithfully, rebuild courageously, and trust deeply that life in Him never ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resurrection faith changes how we see the world. When we believe that God brings life out of death, we can face brokenness not with fear but with faith that new life will rise even from the ruins. To belong to the God of the living means to live vibrantly, courageously, and compassionately here and now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our faith is not only about life after death but also about living fully today – with gratitude, justice, and love that reflect the life of the risen Christ. Our God is alive, so let us live as children of the resurrection – people of hope who believe in the living God, who renews, restores, and redeems all creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks be to God! Amen.
<\/strong>(Ref. Bible, commentaries, theological books, UCA materials)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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