For us this morning, we've talked about hope, and we can read hope in scriptures, but there's so many people around us who have no hope.
! Their life circumstances and their life experiences are so heavy and so burdensome that they can't see through it and see out of it.
So this morning, let's talk a little bit about hope.
A good definition that I found is hope is a confident expectation.
Confident expectation.
So something's going to happen, and you're sure it's going to happen, and you place your trust in that.
G.K. Chesterton says, hope means hoping when there is no hope.
Otherwise, it is no virtue at all.
In the Old Testament, hope was displayed in God's deliverance, God's provision, God being God, and providing for His people, and doing what He said He was going to do.
That was hope displayed.
In Psalm 130, verse 7 and 8, we can wait with hopefulness.
Israel can wait with hopefulness for redemption and for rescue because God has done it over and over and over for them.
In the New Testament, hope is wrapped up in one person and one name, and that's the name of Jesus.
1 Timothy 1.1 says, Jesus, Christ Jesus, our hope.
We can trust in Jesus.
We can be confident in Jesus.
That is where hope is found.
So this morning, I want to look at hope.
I want to look at a story that may not seem very hopeful.
I want to share with you some of the things I've learned about hope in the almost three years that we've been in Memphis.
Some may seem obvious to you, and I apologize, but I'm a slow learner.
And then let's see what the Spirit does this morning together.
So Acts 3.
Nathan's daughter read it, but I'm going to read it one more time.
Verses 1-10.
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate,
to ask alms or money of those entering the temple.
Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us.
And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
But Peter said, I have no silver and gold.
But what I do have, I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
And he took him by the right hand and raised him up.
And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
And leaping up, he stood and began to walk.
And he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God.
And recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple, asking for alms.
And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
I don't need to retell the story.
You guys are familiar with the story.
Nathan just told the story to the kids and answered some questions.
But quickly, a couple of things I want to point out before we dig into what I've learned.
This man was carried every day, daily to this spot, to ask for alms, to ask for money.
And he was carried by friends or family.
Who knows who they were?
But they carried him and brought him there so that he can make a living, so to speak.
That was his situation.
That was his circumstances.
Because his body did not work.
His legs did not work.
And he couldn't take himself there.
It's important to note that that was as far as he could go.
He couldn't go any further.
And we'll touch on that here in just a few minutes.
But daily, these people brought him there and he asked for money because he thought,
I assume he thought that that's where his satisfaction was going to be, was in that money.
So here's the first thing I learned.
The first thing I've learned about hope is hope is not about me.
Hope is not about me.
Verse 1 says,
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Placing myself in this story, I could say, well, I'm kind of Peter, I guess.
I'm not an apostle, but sure, I'd be going up and walking to the temple.
Verse 2,
Peter and John could have just walked and continued their path.
They were going to the temple, the hour of prayer.
That was their destination.
And they see this man.
Verse 4 tells us,
They see him and they turn their gaze on him as he's asking for money.
They could have ignored him.
This man would have been used to being ignored.
We see the story that Jesus tells about the priest and the Pharisees who see a man in need
and they walk on the other side of the street.
This man has probably looked people in the eyes and watched them immediately turn their eyes away.
We have beggars all the time.
I have homeless people walking up and down our streets.
We see beggars everywhere.
We can't run away from them, whether it's on the street corner or the front of Kroger or the front of the mall.
They're everywhere.
You can't ignore them.
And Peter and John choose not to ignore them because they understand that the hope that they have,
that they've received, isn't about them.
So let's back up a little bit.
In Acts chapter 1,
the apostles are all together.
Jesus says in verse 8,
speaking to the apostles right before he ascends into heaven,
he says,
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you
and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem,
in all Judea,
Samaria,
and to the end of the earth.
It echoes the Great Commission in Matthew 28.
It says,
go and make disciples
to all nations,
baptizing them in the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
This power,
this is the same power
that raised Jesus from the dead.
This is the same power that
later in chapter 2,
Pentecost,
the Spirit comes down to Pentecost
and it appears that fire is on their head.
This is the same Spirit
that moves at Pentecost
where thousands of people's lives
are changed by Jesus.
This is the same Spirit
that later empowers them
to do bold things for the Gospel.
This is the same power that lives
inside of you and inside of me.
This is the same power from the Holy Spirit,
again,
that raised Jesus from the dead.
That He was dead
and He is alive.
And this power is in Peter and John
and leading Peter and John
as they're walking to the temple
and they see this man
and they turn their gaze on this man.
See, hope's not about me.
I wasn't created to sit
and bask in the glorious news
of having hope
and just let it flood me
and just sit under it
and be like,
this is so great.
That's not what I was created to do
and you weren't created to do that either.
We were created
to make disciples
and to proclaim the good news of Jesus
and to glorify His name.
All of that wrapped up into one.
Hope is not about me
and it's not about you.
We read Scriptures
and we get comforted.
I'm going to read some this morning
and you'll probably go,
that's one of my favorites.
But let's be honest,
it's not what you were created to do.
It's just to read it.
What about those people
who are far from God?
What about those people
who are living without hope?
What about the teenage girl
who was pregnant
who's raising a child?
Where's the hope in that?
The circumstances are too tough.
She can't go to school with a baby.
How does she make it happen?
What about her?
What about this man?
Broken.
Wednesday,
a week ago Wednesday,
we had our missional community,
which is like your community outreach groups,
we had a Thanksgiving dinner.
And we had,
I went out Tuesday
and bought a honey-baked ham
for 30 people.
Now if you know honey-baked ham,
that's not cheap.
In fact,
I had to talk myself
into buying it at the register.
The lady said,
it's going to be $80.
And I was like,
what?
I cannot do this.
But I talked myself into it
because I thought,
I'm going to love
my missional community.
I'm going to love
the people in our MC
and they're going to eat well.
We're going to celebrate well
because Jesus is good
and He provides for us
and that's what we're going to do.
So the night,
Wednesday night,
it's about 5.45,
maybe close to 6.
I look outside
and there are kids
just coming to our house.
Neighborhood kids.
I don't know most of them.
I don't know.
I certainly don't know their names.
I know maybe 20% of the names.
And I'm looking
and I'm just getting
bigger and bigger eyes.
this is not good.
I'm getting angry
because I bought this ham
for our missional community,
for our family
to celebrate together
and to eat well.
No,
this isn't what your plan is,
God,
because I had a plan
and this isn't it.
So I'm looking at Jamie.
I'm looking at my wife
and she's looking at me
with the same big eyes
and we're like having this pep talk
in the middle of the living room.
I'm like,
it's okay
because God is good
and He's called us to do this
and these kids need Jesus
and we're talking to each other
and we had enough food
for everyone.
We had over 30 kids in our house,
over 20 adults.
Our house is maybe 1,500 square feet.
It's not a big house.
Three little bedrooms.
Everybody was spread everywhere.
Nothing got broken,
I don't think.
Haven't found it yet if it did.
But everybody ate well.
There's hope in my life
and maybe,
just maybe we gave them
a fragrance of hope
on that evening
because hope isn't about me.
Peter and John saw this man,
turned their gaze on him
and they spoke to him
and as we'll see in just a minute,
they help him.
Second thing I've learned
is hope is not circumstantial.
Hope is not dependent
on your circumstances
or how much money you have
in a bank account.
Hope is a confident expectation
and you can't put confident expectation
on anything that is temporal.
Anything that is temporary.
dust and wind.
The lame beggar was asking
for all he knew
and what he thought he needed.
What he thought maybe
would help his situation
if I just had some money.
He was brought there
every day at the same place.
So much so that at the end
of this text,
the people said,
that's the guy who's been
sitting there,
the last whatever many years.
That's the guy we've seen
over and over.
We know him.
That's the guy who sits
outside that temple.
Over and over,
this guy is there.
He didn't think money
would heal him.
How could he?
But he thought that money
would help his situation,
would help his life.
Maybe just make it
a little better.
Maybe I could eat
a honey-baked ham
instead of a Kroger ham.
It's almost as if
his identity
was rooted in
receiving those alms,
right?
Because that's what he was.
He was a beggar.
Every day he was there.
I can't emphasize enough.
He was there every day
begging.
So this is his identity.
This is what he's known as.
So he's living out
his identity
as a beggar
asking for money.
If I can get
this amount,
if I can
beg enough
and maybe get $10,
then my life
will have meaning
or whatever the amount is.
His identity also
was not to be able
to enter the temple.
I don't know if you guys
knew this,
but in Leviticus 21,
it says that
a lame person
was not allowed
to enter the temple
because they saw him
as unclean
or saw her as unclean.
So he wasn't even able.
That's as far as he could go
is to that gate.
He wasn't allowed.
So his identity
was not just begging,
but his identity
was as a lame person
who couldn't even go
where everybody else could.
hope is not in our circumstances
though.
When we find our identity
in our circumstances,
when we're an athlete
or a preacher
or a teacher
or whatever it is,
and we find our identity
in that,
there is no hope in that.
There is no hope.
All around us,
people are looking
to things or circumstances
for their identity.
They're looking for
the next pair of Jordans
or the next deposit
in their bank account
or their tax return.
They're waiting
for their tax return
so that they can then
live for the next six months.
They're looking
for the next thing
to fulfill them
and find their identity
in when they can't.
It's impossible
to find hope
in those things.
Circumstances
do not make you
who you are.
That's the teenage pregnant
girl who was pregnant.
She's now a mom.
Sure, her identity title
has changed,
but it doesn't change
who she is
in the eyes of God.
And your circumstances.
You could have had
an abusive past
or you could have had
whatever it is,
but your circumstances
don't change.
Or your circumstances
may change,
but that doesn't
change your identity.
It doesn't change
how God views you.
And we can have hope
in that because hope
is not circumstantial.
Your circumstances
right now
may appear hopeless.
It may appear
like you have
nowhere to go,
nothing that can get you
out of what you're in,
but that doesn't change
how God sees you
and it certainly
doesn't change
the hope
that you have
in Christ.
But what about
the people around us?
What about
the people around you?
Now, if you're
a college student
and you live on campus,
you guys are all
kind of on the even
playing field,
so to speak.
You have the same
place to live
and kind of have
the same stuff.
You all have those
milk crates
and crazy plastic
furniture and all
that stuff, right?
Is that what you guys
have?
And maybe a laptop?
I don't know.
You all have
the same kind of stuff.
But if you live
outside of the campus,
you live in a neighborhood,
everybody may appear
the same,
but they're certainly
not the same.
What about those people?
I look around
the people around us
and I feel hopeless.
I get defeated,
negative,
negative.
And here's why.
Because I think,
I think
that they have no hope
because of their
circumstances.
I look at their
circumstances and I say
they're hopeless.
Single mom,
seven kids,
I feel bad for her
and I don't know
how to help her.
I feel helpless.
I feel hopeless
when I look at people
and I think that
I can fix them
because they're my project
and I can try to
give them what they need
and then that will
make the big difference.
Hey, they need Jesus.
They don't need me.
I'm not Jesus.
They don't need me
to fix them.
I feel hopeless
when I'm frozen
by fear
because we don't
look the same
or we don't
have the same mannerisms.
We don't wear
the same clothes.
There was a,
in our neighborhood,
there was this picnic,
a get-together.
This lady,
old lady who's been
there 40 years,
she's been in
the same house.
She had this get-together
to sign petitions
to get a crosswalk
and maybe,
hopefully,
some speed bumps
on our streets
which is a great thing.
We were there
and we pull up
and we were
the only white people there.
And I don't know.
We were extremely nervous.
We actually parked
and we looked at each other.
We talked soft enough
so our kids didn't hear
this conversation
and we said,
should we go?
I don't know.
I mean,
it's a good thing
but that looks,
I don't,
we weren't scared
for our life.
It was just going to be,
it was going to be,
we were going to feel awkward
and,
but we went.
We went because
it was the right thing to do.
We can't let the circumstances
around us
or the circumstances
in other people's lives
or the way that they look
freeze us,
free us,
or freeze us
from doing
and being
a fragrance of hope
to those around us.
This man's circumstances
were bad.
But he still had,
as we'll see,
he still had the opportunity
to have hope.
not only is hope
not circumstantial,
and here's the,
you guys are going to go,
yeah,
of course,
unless you've already done that
and that's cool too.
Hope is only found
in Jesus.
1 Timothy 1.1
says that Jesus,
our hope,
hope is only found
in Jesus.
Jesus.
Look at verse 4-8.
Jesus isn't mentioned here.
Except by the name of Jesus,
but he is all in these
scriptures
and in this story.
And Peter directed
his gaze at him
as did John
and said,
look at us.
And he fixed his attention
on them,
expecting Peter,
expecting to receive
something from them.
But Peter said,
I have no silver and gold.
In other words,
I don't have
what you're asking for.
I'm sorry,
my pockets are empty.
I don't have the item
that you are looking for.
However,
but what I do have
I give to you
in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth,
rise up and walk.
And he took him
by the right hand,
raised him up,
and immediately
his feet and ankles
were made strong.
And leaping up,
he stood and began
to walk
and entered the temple
with him,
walking and leaping
and praising God.
Jesus heals him.
The Holy Spirit of God
heals this man.
There's only hope
in Jesus alone.
Now for us,
healings in the Bible
are mostly pictures
of the spiritual healing
that takes place
when Jesus changes our lives,
when he saves us.
So this picture of healing
is a picture of those
who are dead and broken
that God makes whole
in Jesus Christ.
In the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth,
rise up and walk.
There's no other name.
Acts 4 verse 12 says,
no other name,
no other name above
the name of Jesus.
There's no other name
that could have saved,
that could have healed him.
There's no other name
that could have saved him.
There's no other name
that could have helped
or can help the people
around you
who have no hope.
Only Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1 says,
in Him we set our hope.
So here's the rubber
meets the road for us.
Now we can sit
and we can read this.
I can tell you
all the things
I've learned about hope.
And I can do nothing about it.
And I can say,
that's great
and take great notes
and have this nice outline
laid out
and do nothing about it.
And care nothing
about the people around us.
It's possible for me
to do that.
And it's possible
for you to do that.
But Jesus is
the only hope
that people have.
So as we sit here
and sing about Jesus,
as we sit here
and sing in Christ alone,
as we sit here
and sing about
the glorious name
of Jesus,
what are we going
to do about it?
Peter and John
were not intending
to meet this guy.
But the Spirit
put this guy
in front of them
in their path
and they were obedient
to do
what they knew
what to do.
I praise God
for Christ's family church.
I praise God
for the words
that are preached
and the gospel
that is proclaimed.
But if Christ's family church
is not reaching
the people around them,
then what is the point?
You want me to repeat that, Evie?
What's the point?
If I'm studying Scripture
and I'm preparing
for a sermon to preach
here this morning
and I don't live this out,
what is the point?
There is no point.
Because Jesus
is where hope is found.
People need to know that.
That doesn't mean
that the teenager
who is pregnant
who's having this child
and you say,
Jesus will fix your problems.
No!
Jesus isn't going to
change her circumstances.
Jesus isn't going to
fix that she's trying
to figure out
how to be in school
and figure out
who's going to watch
her child.
That's not what that means.
But Jesus is going
to make her whole.
That broken heart
is going to be made whole.
She's going to have hope
in Jesus.
Jesus is going to have
to be made whole.
We can celebrate
the Advent
and we can talk
about the long-awaited
Savior who's going
to come back.
But what about
the people around you?
Nitschke,
I don't know,
in the 1800s
and 1900s,
he was a philosopher
and who knows
what else he did.
He claimed that
Christianity made
people cowards.
Cowards.
Because it taught
that whatever happened
was God's will.
And if God wills it,
then it will happen.
Thus,
discouraging efforts
to change
the world.
Hope
changes
the world.
Jesus
changes
the world.
Not,
doesn't leave
us a room
to sit
and do
nothing.
We just went
to that picnic.
The only white
people there.
People looked
at us funny.
We didn't talk
about Jesus,
but we made
our presence
known and hopefully
someday down the road
that will build
relationships where
we can then talk
about Jesus
with people.
It doesn't change
our neighborhood.
It doesn't fix
anything.
It doesn't fix
the homeless
problem or the
poverty problem.
Hope is found
in Jesus,
but also hope
requires action
and I've already
talked about it.
Hope requires action.
Look at Peter
and John.
What do they do?
So they talk to him
and they say,
I don't have
what you're asking
for,
but what I do
have I give to you
in the name of
Jesus Christ of
Nazareth.
Rise and walk.
And Peter reaches
down with his right
hand and grabs him
and he stands
that he's never
stood before.
Like he's been
lame from birth.
He's never stood
before.
He's doing
something new
and his legs
work immediately.
Just like you
and just like me.
and just like
you and me,
your heart
that was not
working correctly
works correctly
now because of
Jesus.
You now can
honor Jesus
and you can
glorify Jesus
and you can
glory in his
goodness and you
can do all these
things that you
originally couldn't
do because of
sin.
And this man
is able to
walk and his
body works
because Peter
and John
were obedient
to the
spirit's
leading and
they did
something.
There are
people around
you who
need you to
reach down
and grab
them.
There are
people around
you that
need you to
reach down
with your
right hand
or your
left and
grab them
and help
them.
Hope is
like the
Christmas
presents on
Christmas
morning under
the Christmas
tree.
Now most of
y'all in here
are young
enough that
you can
remember the
anticipation,
you can
remember the
feelings that
you had,
you can
remember getting
up at three
or four in
the morning
because you
couldn't sleep
anymore.
And if you
lived upstairs,
you'd run
downstairs to the
Christmas tree and
you'd look at it
and go, oh my
gosh, it's so
great.
And you'd run
upstairs and you'd
wake up your
siblings and then
you'd run back
downstairs and then
you'd figure out
how to wake
everybody up on
accident and then
you'd get
everybody up and
hope though is
like the
Christmas presents.
You know they're
going to be there.
You may not know
exactly what they
are, but you know
they're going to be
there and you want
to tell everybody
in that house about
those presents.
They're here.
You and I,
hope is like those
presents.
We may not know
exactly how it
plays out.
We know that
Jesus is going
to come back
and we know
we have the
details, but we
don't know
exactly when and
there's some
things we're
missing about it,
but we have
this anticipation
or we should
have this
anticipation that
Jesus is coming
back.
That Jesus is
coming back and
it's going to be
so good and we
need to wake up
everyone and get
them to be part
of it.
we should be
waking up our
future family
members.
That's not our
job to save.
That's the
Spirit's job.
That's God's job.
But we certainly
should wake them
up and let them
know that there
are presents under
the tree for them.
Finally, hope
changes everything.
Hope changes
everything.
Our circumstances
can be so dim,
there can
appear to be no
hope out of our
situations and yet
there is hope
because of Jesus.
Our circumstances
can tear us
down.
Things can be
ripped from us,
but Jesus is
still there.
He'll never be
ripped from you.
And we know
through the Bible
that sin no
longer has a
hold on us.
Sin no longer
has victory
over you and
me in Christ
Jesus.
Death no longer
has a hold
on you or me.
We die,
we're with
Jesus.
That's hopeful
thinking.
This lame beggar,
his life was
changed.
He now can
enter the temple
and worship
God.
Because his
body is
fixed.
Because Jesus
has healed
him.
There's a story
in the Old
Testament in
2 Samuel
by the name
of Mephibosheth.
I don't know
if you know
Mephibosheth.
Mephibosheth is a
descendant of
Jonathan who is
the son of
Saul.
Saul and
Jonathan are
long gone.
David wants
to bless the
lineage of
Saul as
David does.
He's a man
after God's
own heart.
And David
asks a servant,
he says,
is there anybody
left in the
line of Saul
that I can
bless?
And the man
says,
yes,
there is one.
Go get him
please.
So he goes
and gets him
and brings him
and of course
Mephibosheth is
a little scared
because David
was the one
by God's hand
who wiped
down his
father and
his grandfather
and was part
of that.
Now David
is king.
Mephibosheth
was crippled
at the age
of five.
He had
nothing to do
with it.
His maidservant
or whoever it
was actually
dropped him
and he became
crippled and
his legs didn't
work anymore.
And David
seeks him
out and he
comes in
and he sees
that he's
crippled and
David says,
fear not
for I want
to bless you.
Long story
short,
he tells the
servant who
worked for
Saul's family,
whatever Saul
had,
he has it
all back.
His riches
are his.
And I want
you and all
his servants
to work for
Mephibosheth
because I
want him
to have food
to eat
and have
a living.
And David
says,
but Mephibosheth
is going to
sit with me
at my table.
That's what
Jesus does.
Jesus says,
you are mine
and you are
mine and you
are mine and
you are mine
and you are
glorifying my
name on earth
and you are
working your
tails off for
me and you
will sit
at my table
with me.
He has
opened his
table up to
you and to
me.
You are
going to
celebrate and
participate in
the Lord's
Supper in a
few minutes
and Nathan
is going to
lead that
and that
is Jesus
inviting you
to his
table.
You have
been invited
to join
him and the
people around
you have
been invited
to sit
with the
king.
But they
need to know,
they need to
hear,
they need
to see
the hope
that you
and you
and all
of us
have in
this room
who are
in Christ
Jesus.
Hope
changes
everything.
Mephibosheth's
life has been
changed.
Circumstances
are still the
same.
He's still
crippled.
He still
wobbles.
He's dependent
on other
people.
But David
said,
you will sit
with me
until you
die.
You will
sit with
the king.
And hope
changes
everything.
Today,
Jamie joked
around with
me about
this and
I'm going
to mention
it.
Today marks
23 years
ago on
this day
that we
had our
first date.
Took her
to a pizza
place.
Got her
the,
yeah,
big time.
Play ya.
Took her,
picked out
the wrong
thing to
drink for
her,
winter.
She is
the light
in my
sky.
She is
by rock
a lot of
times here
on earth.
And I've
asked her
to come
and share
a story
that she'll
do a way
better job
than me
about some
of the
things that's
going on
that we're
a part
of in
Memphis.
Let me
just say
it would
take hours
to tell
you all
the things
that God
has done
or is
doing.
The way
that he's
provided for
us,
the people
he's given
us favor
with,
the way
the Spirit
has moved
and led
us to do
certain things
that didn't
make any
sense.
But she's
going to
share,
and then I'm
going to
pray,
and then I
think Nathan's
coming up
after that.
Good morning.
He makes
me teary
before I even
get up here.
Those of
you who
know me
well know
I'm a
crier,
so forgive
me.
When Chris
asked me to
share one
story, I
thought that
wasn't very
fair.
How do
you choose
one story
when all
that is
happening
around us
is woven
into this
beautiful
tapestry
that's organic
and it's
alive and it
can't be
compartmentalized?
So when we
come back to
visit you and
you say,
how is it
going?
I know
you're
earnest in
asking,
and we
say it's
good.
It's
good.
We say
it with
such vagueness
because how
do you?
How do you,
apart from
hours and
hours of
sitting together
and recounting
all the
stories and
all the
details and
all the
things,
it'd be
like if I
asked you
what's new.
You say
one or two
tidbits,
but apart
from having
that deep
conversation,
it's hard
to just
recount one
story.
So it's
a bit
unfair.
So forgive
me for,
and Chris,
also,
for only
being able
to serve
you just
a small
sliver of
the Memphis
pie.
But I'll
try.
The family
I'll tell you
about today,
they literally
walked into
our lives
this past
summer.
Two of
the boys
from the
Coleman family
came strolling
into our
yard.
We were
outside hanging
out with
other neighborhood
kids.
A lot of
you heard
this summer
when I
came about
the favor
we gained
in our
neighborhood
that we
were having
20-plus
children at
our house
every day.
They wanted
to know
if we
would donate
to their
basketball
team.
The scheme
later got
them busted
by the
police.
I didn't
give them
money.
I wasn't
foolish enough
to do
that.
I told
them that I
had to be
loyal to
some of the
other boys
who hang
out with us
and are on
a team.
But we
talked for a
while and I
asked lots of
questions,
of course,
and got to
know them a
little bit
better.
Where are you
coming from?
Where are you
going?
over the
next several
weeks,
they continued
to come
back,
bringing
slowly more
and more
of their
family to
meet us.
Eventually,
they brought
their mom
and she
sat on our
couch.
She explained
her mental
illness.
She expressed
her wonder
at the fact
that the
Department of
Family and
Children's
Services
has never
caught up
with them.
She groaned
about not
having clothes
for her
seven children.
They had
all been
thrown out
during the
most recent
eviction.
There are
seven children.
There are
nine people
total in
a one-bedroom
house.
It sits
about a
quarter mile
from us
on the
busy main
road.
We're just
slightly off
that road.
So, you
know, anybody
who comes
down that
road can
see our
house.
It sits
next to a
gas station
that can
only be
described as
sketch for
the illegal
things that
happen there.
The house
looks uninhabitable.
As you can
imagine, these
kids don't hang
out at their
own house because
how do you
hang out at a
house where
there's nowhere
to actually
hang?
They often
roam around in
sort of a
pack with
other kids
whose situations
and homes are
similar.
This pack of
children, as they
roam around the
neighborhood, they
lie, they
manipulate, they
steal.
They generally
create an
interesting wake
of havoc wherever
they go.
School?
Well, we
couldn't get them
enrolled until the
school had already
been in for a
couple of weeks.
kids.
By week three,
the middle
schoolers were
banned from the
bus for
stabbing another
child.
By week 12, it
was clear that
after multiple
suspensions, the
two of the boys
that were at our
neighborhood school
wouldn't be able
to stay.
They are now
headed to an
alternative school.
One of the
biggest problems,
mom is too
tired, she's too
apathetic to walk
her younger kids
to and from
school.
She isn't
willing to
intercede for
them and she
isn't willing to
fight for them
and so they
fight all the
way there and
all the way back
home.
What else do you
do when you're
bullied?
If I can connect
with them before
school, I'm
talking the
oldest down off
of whatever
anger ledge
he's sitting on.
He usually
shows up, fists
bald, tears
flowing out of
his face.
I'm helping he
and his brother
tuck stained
shirts and fix
ill-fitting
belts and
pants and
usually carefully
piecing together
their shoes so
that they won't
cause too much
embarrassment during
the day.
We fix the
little sister, we
wipe the crust
from her eyes
and nobody's
eaten yet so
there aren't
milk stains
and things.
They depend on
the school for
their breakfast
and their lunch
and usually are
not fed at
dinner or on
the weekends.
We try to get
her to smile
erasing the
perpetual void
look that
usually fills
her eyes.
lots of
talking before
they go into
the school
because they're
already mad.
You can do
this.
Do your best
today.
Don't worry
about what
other people
say.
I love you.
We hug
them big, long
I care for
you type of
hugs.
If we connect
after school
we'll walk
together for a
little while
until our paths
diverge.
They might have
some small
like tattletale
type things to
report but they
aren't like our
children where
they're talking
about anything
they learned or
they did in
school or that
they're excited
about the upcoming
field trips.
Nothing like
that.
They're usually
just the same
questions.
Number one,
can we have a
ride home?
Number two,
can we get some
food to eat?
Number three,
can we play at
your house?
And number four,
are we having
the shill community
this week?
Forgive me for
not being able to
fully describe the
overwhelming
desperation.
Their jaded
spirits.
Their smell.
And their
hardness.
Here's the
thing.
The Coleman
family is a
norm on our
side of the
neighborhood.
They're the
norm in the
urban school
where I teach.
In fact,
their story is
not the worst,
most seemingly
hopeless story I
could have
shared.
I, however,
refuse to view
them as a
statistic.
You know,
the old pipeline
to prison.
elementary schools
are a pipeline
to prison is
very true
where we live.
You can look at
these children and
already see how
if there is not
intervention,
that's exactly
where they're
headed.
I know the
only hope for
them is Christ.
So,
can we clean
them up enough
and make them
smell great and
get them a better
house and maybe a
better car and
better medicine and
make them act more
like us all in the
hope that Christ
will save them?
Was that your
experience when
Christ sought you
out?
No.
We were all the
Coleman's.
We were dead in
our sin.
You weren't born
more privileged
to know Christ.
You weren't chosen
for Christ because
of the color of
your skin.
You weren't chosen
for Christ because
you smelled good.
You weren't chosen
for Christ because
of the family you
grew up in, the
schools you attended,
your natural
intelligence.
He sought you
out.
And if you
believe anything
different, shame
on you.
And so, I
choose to believe
that Patrice, the
mom, and Kayla,
Chris, Martavius,
Quentin, Tyler,
Nalia, and Joseph
are all loved by
God and are
gently being wooed
by his spirit.
I feel honored that
we get to be people
who are intentionally
loving them, many
more like them in
our neighborhood.
My hope is not that
the Lord will save
them to then make
them look, smell,
and be like us.
My hope is that the
Lord will save them
to look, smell, and
be like him.
I want them to be
image bearers of
Christ.
I want them to be
part of his body,
adopted sons and
daughters.
Will you join us in
praying big prayers
for the families in
our neighborhood?
Will you begin to
look for the
Coleman's around you?
You won't have to
look far.
We've lived in
Dahlonega.
We know the
Coleman's that live
in this area.
Will you dream big
dreams for those
people around you
who can't dream
dreams for
themselves?
As we walk out
this beautiful
mess, whether in
Memphis or North
Georgia or wherever
you may live, may
our hope be
unwavering, a
confident expectation
that the Lord is
doing great things.