Talking about Sin in our churches today

In July, 2009, I will make four years of being here in the US. For this whole time, I have gone to a lot of churches from different denominations. I don't recall hearing many sermons talking about Sin. However, this word is found over 300 times in the Old Testament and more than a 100 times in the New Testament. Its use is much bigger than a word like Hope, which is found about 130 times in the whole bible, and which is surprisingly more used today than the word Sin in sermons.

Well, why this? Perhaps we hear more of Hope because of its positive connotations unlike Sin, which has some condemnation in itself. We think about uplifting, encouraging, affirming when we refer to Hope. However, Sin is very negative based on feelings that come with it, which are such as blame, guilt and so forth.

Why then is it that Sin is more used in the bible than a word like hope? I strongly believe that the number of the use of the word Sin is to tell us about our human nature. It tells us how wrecked we are. Our 21st century culture makes a lot of effort to portray humankind as positive as possible. This is a good thing to do especially when it comes to affirming each other. However, what does God think about us? Are we humans as perfect as God wanted us to be?
I doubt it very much because if that was the case, then why would Jesus have to border to come on earth and die on the cross for our salvation? It is because God is seeking to reconcile us with God's self that Jesus died and rose about two thousands years ago. Sin, from the very beginning, has caused a lot of trouble. What is happening in the word today is as a result of Sin, which is corruption of our hearts that result into greed, murder, selfishness, and so forth.
The written word of God talks more of Sin because it is something we struggle with on a daily basis even when we don't admit it. Therefore, Sin should be talked about in churches. It is even the most positive thing to talk about in sermons. Sin remains Sin as it is defined and listed in the Bible. No matter how you would like to look at it, it does not have to be contextual as some argue.

God hates Sin, but loves Sinners. We are all loved by God. Jesus is the only Being who gives us Victory over Sin. This happens through Prayer, the reading of the word, service and fellowship with other believers.