Christ Our Hope: The Word Returning
December 21, 2025
1 Peter 1:3-5
Pastor Tony Felich

1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, [5] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our hope is revealed, secured, and preserved by Christ—and ultimately fulfilled in the resurrection and eternal joy in God.
I. Our hope is revealed by Christ our Prophet
II. Our hope is secured by Christ our Priest
III. Our hope is preserved by Christ our King
IV. Our hope finds its fulfillment in the resurrection and in eternal joy in God.

Q. 37. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?
A. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united in Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.

Q. 38. What benefits do believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?
A. At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

At the onset of the Advent Season Pastor Tony listed the following Scripture texts as additional readings.
1 Peter 1:3-5, Isaiah 11:1-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 21:1-5