The Advent of God: Hope

Erin Long
Dec 2
3 min read

Sunday, Pastor Joey Cook launched our new Advent series, The Advent of God, with the theme of Hope.

As we enter the winter season each year, the Church around the world sets aside four intentional weeks to prepare our hearts for Christmas. This season is called Advent, a word that means “arrival” or “coming.” Advent is not just a countdown to December 25th, it's an invitation to slow down, remember the story we’re living in, and renew our anticipation for Jesus, the One who came, who is present with us now, and who will come again.

We celebrate Advent over four weeks because each week focuses our attention on a different theme at the heart of the Christmas story: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. These themes aren’t just seasonal ideas, they are anchors for our souls, shaping the way we live and the way we wait for God to move.

A Light in the Darkness

Joey began with the prophetic words of Isaiah:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…” —Isaiah 9:2–6

These verses promised a hope that would come centuries later—the Messiah, a Light breaking through the world’s brokenness. And then in John 1:14, we see the promise fulfilled:

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”

Hope isn’t vague. It isn’t a feeling we’re supposed to muster up. Hope is a Person. Hope has a name. Hope put on skin and stepped into our world.

Hope That Fights Back

Throughout Scripture, we meet people who had to fight for hope in real circumstances:

Mary, a young girl carrying both the miracle and the weight of God’s plan.
Simeon, who waited his entire life to see the Messiah and refused to stop believing.
Anna, a widow who worshiped and prayed for decades, trusting God to fulfill His promise.

Their hope was active, persistent, and rooted in the presence of God.

Letting His Light In

The core takeaway from the message was simple and deeply practical: Let His light into your emotions, your body, and your world.

When we welcome the light of Jesus into every layer of our lives, hope begins to rise again. Pastor Joey shared some ways we can do that this week:

1. Let His light into your emotions

Invite Jesus into what you feel—not just the easy emotions, but the heavy ones too. Practice honesty in prayer. Talk to Him about your fear, grief, overwhelm, or numbness. Hope grows where truth is spoken.

2. Let His light into your body

Slow down. Take a breath. Pay attention to tension, fatigue, or stress. Rest becomes an act of faith: a reminder that our hope rests in God, not our own strength.

3. Let His light into your world

Look around you. Where can you bring hope this week? A simple act of kindness, generosity, or encouragement can shine brighter than you think. Hope is contagious.

Hope Has Come, and Hope is Coming Still

Advent reminds us that we live between two arrivals: Jesus came once, and He will come again. We hope because God is faithful. We hope because darkness doesn’t get the final word. We hope because the Light has already broken in.

As we continue through this series, may we be a people who wait well, who hope deeply, and who welcome the Light of Christ into every part of our lives.

Join us next Sunday as we continue “The Advent of God” with Week Two: Peace.

Let’s prepare Him room… together.

A few questions to reflect on this week:

How is biblical hope different from optimism or wishful thinking?
Which biblical character from the sermon—Mary, Simeon, or Anna—stood out to you the most? What about their story encourages or challenges your own approach to hope?
Pastor Joey invited us to “let God’s light into your emotions.” What emotions have been hardest for you to bring into the light lately? What could it look like to invite Jesus into those places?
How do you tend to treat your body during stressful seasons like the holidays? What is one practical way you can slow down, rest, or create space for hope this week?
Where in your world—your home, workplace, relationships, or community—do you sense God inviting you to bring hope? What’s one small step you can take to shine His light in that area?