The theme of the first Sunday in Advent is Hope.

The theme of the first Sunday in Advent is Hope.

In the Bible hope is a confidence in a future reality.

It is not a wish.

It is not a fantasy.

Hope can be so powerful that it can change the present. It can make a person wise. It can make a person brave. It can make a person strong.

This Sunday at the Gathering Church we will begin the Advent season by looking at a familiar prophecy about hope. Found in Isaiah 9:2-7 it describes the child who will be born to us.

One of the aspects of hope in the Bible is that it always assumes that our present experience is not worth hanging onto. It actually assumes that our present experience is dangerous for us.

The images in the passage are of darkness and terrible war, like a scene in one of the Terminator movies.

Advent is meant to prompt a yearning, even a desperate desire for God’s salvation.

What do we most need from God?

What can we most count on from God?

Hope answers those questions.

Is there something that hope could change in your life?

Let’s gather with God this Sunday and find out.

Mark