Advent - the Season of Hope

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Advent Week 1
This week we light the first candle in the Advent wreath.
“We light this candle in hope, the bright hope of Jesus, the Christ.”

Psalm 25:1-10
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame; do not let my enemies exult over me.
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.
Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness' sake, O LORD!
Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

Reflection
Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope is present tense. Hope is grounded in the assurance of something that is. It is easy to forget that hope is not found in something that is to come. Rather, hope is that which has the power to sustain us in the midst of a life of uncertainty and a world of violence right now. It does so not because the power of hope itself but because of that upon which our hope is set.

Look back at the Psalm and hear the words of hope from the poet: "you are the God of my salvation"; mercy and steadfast love "have been from of old"; "good and upright is the LORD"; "all the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness". 

 God is proven to be faithful, steadfast, loving, good, and upright. That is why we hope.

This Advent, may we live lives characterized by hope in the God who is. 

 Hope is a counter narrative to that which we hear and see everyday. The manner in which we speak and live gives witness to the transformative power of this hope.

Activity:
Find some Post Its or 3x5 notecards. Write one of hope for yourself, for your family, or for our world on each card. Link the cards together from top to bottom and hang them someplace where you can see them throughout Advent.
Consider ways that you might work toward these purposes.
Take action on one of the items in your list.
Live into hope!

Christmas Benevolence
We need help on Saturday, December 5 to help get Christmas Benevolence off on the right foot.
Check out all of the opportunities to serve throughout December at www.secondchurch.org/cb.



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