Advent: The Invitation of Advent - Hope

Week 1 of Advent.

Isaiah 1:1-20 - Reading - Rose Odum

I am bombarded every day with "the holiday season" which, according to the world of commerce, began with Halloween. But I know it's not "the most wonderful time of the year.” It's Advent. Advent begins here, in the darkness of Sin and Death. Fleming Rutledge

Hebrews 9:11-14

“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor, and was born in a stable, so that 30 years later he might hang on a cross.” - JI Packer

“Our invitation to Advent starts here, now - and thank God, because being here now feels really complicated. And hard. And sad at times. With a lot of loss. Right? What gives me hope in this Advent season is the reminder that everything can be taken away except that hidden part of me. Whether I lose my savings, my house, my title, or my very livelihood, what is un-takeable is the part of me that Jesus illuminates. In the gift of my life is a doorway to a much larger reality. And Jesus is the Light that shows me the way. May you rest in the peace that the darkness can never extinguish the light that has been given you.” Scott Erikson