December 4 - 1 Peter 1:3

December 4, 2025
December 4 - 1 Peter 1:3

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Advent is a season when we look back with gratitude at Christ’s first coming while also looking forward with hope to His return. In this verse, Peter reminds believers that our hope is not wishful thinking or a fleeting feeling. It’s a living hope that is rooted in the reality of Jesus’ resurrection.

Because Christ rose from the dead, our hope is alive, active, and unbreakable. No matter how uncertain life feels, this hope cannot be taken away. Peter’s audience faced persecution, fear, and loss, yet he pointed them to a truth that transcends circumstance: God, in His mercy, has given us new life. 

This “new birth” means that through Christ, we are made new. We are forgiven, restored, and secure in a future that death itself cannot destroy. As we move through Advent, let this living hope steady your heart. The same God who fulfilled His promise in Bethlehem will one day fulfill His promise to make all things new.

Thanks to the Lord for giving us new life and a living hope in Jesus! May He help us rest in His mercy and look forward with joy to all that He has promised.

Advent is a season of waiting. Looking back with gratitude at Christ 1st coming, while also looking forward with hope to when he will return. And in 1st Peter, chapter one, verse 3, we are taught that that hope is more than just a feeling. It's as 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. Peter writes these words to believers who are suffering. They are facing fear, pressure, as well as persecution, and a life full of unsteadiness. And yet, he doesn't point them inward to find strength, but rather, he points them upward. He reminds them, and he's reminding us, that our hope is alive, because Jesus is alive. And this isn't wishful thinking. It's not fragile or temporary. It is rooted in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because Christ rose from the dead, our hope is truly active, it grows, it sustains, it anchors us when everything around us seems like it's falling apart. And we are reminded that this hope, it certainly cannot be taken away. Well, Peter also says that God has given us a new birth. That means through faith in Christ, we are made new. We are fully forgiven, fully restored, and we are fully secure in a future, that even death cannot touch. And so as we move through this advent season, Let this living hope steady your heart, because Jesus lives, our hope lives as well.