Mariners Church Weekend Messages

Episode: December 14 – Waiting with Hope – Christine Caine
Date: December 16, 2025
Speaker: Christine Caine

Overview of the Episode

In this inspiring message, guest speaker Christine Caine unpacks the biblical theme of “waiting with hope.” Rooted in the Advent season, Christine encourages the Mariners Church community to trust in God’s timing and faithfulness, even when prayers seem unanswered and outcomes feel impossible. Drawing from Luke 1 and the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, she weaves personal anecdotes, biblical wisdom, and practical challenges to help listeners move into the new year with renewed hope and robust faith.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Culture of Impatience and the Challenge of Waiting

• Christine highlights the modern tendency toward impatience, comparing our “Amazon Now!” expectations with God’s slower, more purposeful pace.
• She shares humorous and relatable examples, likening God to a “crock pot” (slow cooker) rather than a microwave.
  Quote (Christine Caine, 07:10):

  “God really is not into microwaves. He’s more like a crock pot kind of God. Most things are going to take way longer than we think they should.”

• Our cultural drive for instant results carries into our spiritual lives, leading to angst in seasons of waiting.

2. The Reality of Waiting and Disappointment

• Christine points out that many believers go through the motions without hope, dulled by disappointment or prolonged waiting. She empathizes with those who question if God still hears their prayers at year’s end.
• She frames the Advent season as one of dual waiting: not just for the birth of Jesus, but also His promised return.

3. The Story of Zechariah and Elizabeth (Luke 1:1–25)

• Christine walks through Luke 1, retelling the anguish, cultural shame, and persistent faith of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a righteous couple who had longed for a child.
  Quote (Christine Caine, 23:10):

  “They served the Lord wholeheartedly… and yet there is this deep part of their heart, this prayer, this request, this desire that just hasn’t been answered.”

• She underlines the pressure couples like Zechariah and Elizabeth faced, being both childless and from a priestly lineage.

4. Lessons on God’s Timing (“Proper Time” vs. “Due Date”)

• Christine explains how we attach arbitrary due dates to God’s promises, setting ourselves up for disappointment when God doesn’t follow our schedule.
• She humorously shares her first childbirth experience as a metaphor for unmet expectations and the reality that ultimate timing belongs to God.
  Quote (Christine Caine, 31:00):

  “The baby doesn’t come late or early. The baby comes at the proper time. But because we ascribe a due date to it, we think it’s late or early. The promises of God have an appointed time in God’s sovereignty.”

• She encourages listeners to understand that God’s promises are fulfilled at His “appointed time,” not ours.

5. When God Works in Impossibility

• Christine emphasizes that God specializes in doing what is impossible for humans, listing major biblical miracles as reminders of God’s power.
• Personal story: She recalls the founding of the A21 anti-trafficking organization, where consultants repeatedly told her it was “impossible”—but God made it possible.
  Quote (Christine Caine, 37:00):

  “Impossible is where God starts. Miracles are what God does. God doesn’t even need to turn up until it’s impossible.”

• She challenges the church to remember God’s track record: parting the Red Sea, providing manna, raising Lazarus, healing the sick, and more.

6. The Danger of Spoken Doubt and the Power of Speech

• Christine contrasts Zechariah’s and Mary’s responses to God’s impossible promises: Zechariah questions and is rendered mute, while Mary submits in faith (“Let it be to me according to your word”—Luke 1:38).
• She explores why Zechariah was silenced—because “doubt dies unborn if it’s never spoken.”
  Quote (Christine Caine, 52:10):

  “You frame your world with the words that you speak. More dreams and purposes of God have been thwarted out of fear, doubt, and unbelief than by any other sin.”

7. The Intergenerational Power of Hope

• Christine points to the meeting of Elizabeth and Mary as an example of generational encouragement and spiritual mentoring.
• She notes how God’s perfect timing meant that John the Baptist was born just six months before Jesus, fulfilling prophecy.

8. Personal Challenge as 2025 Ends

• Christine urges listeners to revisit long-shelved promises from God, to believe again, and to expect the impossible as they go into 2026.
  Quote (Christine Caine, 56:40):

  “Maybe it’s time to take them [God’s promises] off the shelf, dust them off and say, I am going to believe God… with God all things are possible and nothing is impossible with God.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Pace vs. Ours
  “We are just being trained in impatience… But what I have discovered after 37 years of following Jesus is that God… is more of a crock pot kind of God.”
  (06:00–07:10)
• On God’s Miracles
  “Impossible is where God starts. Miracles are what God does.”
  (37:00)
• On Spoken Doubt
  “Doubt dies unborn if it’s never spoken… You frame your world with the words that you speak.”
  (52:10)
• On God’s Faithfulness in “Silence”
  “Don’t ever confuse the silence of God with the absence of God. He’s always working.”
  (49:45)
• On the Church’s Next Steps
  “Maybe it’s time to take them off the shelf, dust them off and say, I am going to believe God… nothing is impossible with God.”
  (56:40)

Important Timestamps

• 00:03 – 05:50: Warm welcome, humor about Greek upbringing and Advent traditions.
• 06:00 – 10:00: Modern impatience, spiritual impatience, and cultural examples.
• 11:00 – 19:40: Introduction to Zechariah and Elizabeth’s story (Luke 1:1–25).
• 20:00 – 32:00: In-depth exploration of “proper time” vs. “due date,” personal childbirth story.
• 33:00 – 38:30: Testimony about founding A21 and God’s miracles vs. human impossibility.
• 39:00 – 49:30: God’s history of miracles; “not one prayer is wasted.”
• 49:45 – 53:00: Silence of Zechariah, interplay between faith and spoken doubt.
• 53:20 – 55:45: Elizabeth and Mary, generational connections, need for unity.
• 56:00 – 58:30: Exhortation to believe again for God’s impossible promises.
• 58:30 – End: Communion, closing prayer, and call to worship.

Conclusion and Takeaway

Christine Caine’s message “Waiting with Hope” encourages the Mariners Church congregation to reframe seasons of waiting, not as abandonment by God but as opportunities for faith and expectation. By recalling biblical examples, sharing her own experiences, and pointing to God’s track record, she challenges listeners to approach the new year with renewed anticipation and active hope, confident that God’s timing and power are perfect—not just possible, but miraculous.

For Further Reflection:

• Are there promises or prayers you’ve shelved because of disappointment or delay?
• How does your speech—internally and externally—reflect faith versus doubt?
• How can you encourage others as Elizabeth encouraged Mary, or vice versa, across generations?

[For more weekend messages and resources, visit marinerschurch.org]