Hold the Chicken Soup: preaching Advent Hope As I get ready for the December I am always reminding people that the second coming of Christ is will be better than the first. Usually this is interpreted as my attempt at throwing cold water on Christmas. So In that vein I plan on sharing with the congregation during the Sundays of Advent that God offers us hope that is not based on optimism. What do I mean. I can not tell you the number of times I have been offered a copy of Chicken Soup for the soul. Jack Canfield has made lots of money while making people feel good but is this really hope? Whenever I read one of his books the stories may start out bad but always end up in victory. Does suffering always end up in triumph? Theologian Christian Beker says that some suffering test us and challenges us and have no apparent lesson or reason. We realize that our faith is in God even when we can not see any good. "Instead of encouragement,what the Scriptures do give us is the bold, contrary rhetoric of promise laid next to pain and sorrow. God promises to stand with us and in the final battle victory even when we struggle to make sense out of our life. This is real hope." What do you think?