Advent (Week 1)

This four-week series will focus on how the arrival of Jesus answers our deepest longings in life: our longing for Jesus to come anew into our lives (hope); his arrival in Bethlehem answering our longing for God to move in our lives (joy); our longing for a Savior (peace); and finally, the return of Jesus to make all things new (love). We will see how the longings themselves are God’s gifts to us. The four-week series will call us to celebrate Jesus’s arrival and eventual return by considering the many ways he has fulfilled our deepest needs of peace, joy, hope, and love. Week 1 – Hope Text: Luke 21:25–36 At Advent and Christmastime, we tend to focus on the birth of Jesus, but we miss the point if we don’t also speak about his return. God is a God of hope who calls us to look beyond the circumstance and trust again in his promises.