The Gifts of AdventSample

Do you remember a moment in your life where you were really hoping for something to happen?

Maybe you were REALLY hoping for that one thing for Christmas. Or that one job you applied for. Or maybe you were longing to find your spouse or become a parent.

Whatever it is for you—picture it.

Maybe whatever you're thinking of became a reality. You're remembering joy, excitement, and dreams coming true.

Maybe it was the opposite for you. You're remembering sadness, discouragement...maybe even hopelessness.

The feeling of hope changes everything. Hope leads to faith, resilience, and expectancy.

There are a lot of things in life that we put our hope in and spend energy hoping for—some may happen, and some may not. But there is only one person that we can put our hope in that will always come through. (Spoiler: It's Jesus.)

Jesus stepped into this broken world to bring hope. And we can experience that hope today because of who Jesus is and what he's done. We can have hope today because Jesus came to this earth, he died, but then he rose again and defeated death forever.

The beautiful thing about who Jesus is is that he isn’t some distant God that stands on the outside looking in. He is a personal and loving God who steps into our circumstances to bring healing and life.

And so friends, if you are in a season today where hope is hard to find, be reminded and encouraged that we can have hope because of who Jesus is and what he's done.

And if you’re in a season where you are experiencing hope like crazy, share that hope with someone else—knowing that when you do, it has the power to change someone’s life.

To Close
I want to leave us with the words of Psalm 33, which says, We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

No matter where you find yourself today, we serve a God who is with us, for us, and loves us. That's why we can have hope today. And that is what the Advent season is all about.

Let's Pray

Jesus,

Thank you for stepping into this world. It’s because of who you are and what you've done that we can have hope today. Would we remember in seasons where hope is hard to find that you are a God who is with us, you are for us, and you love us. We can have hope today because of that. Thank you for who you are.

Amen