Advent Week One: The Light of Hope

About this sermon

This week marks the first week of Advent — and the theme is hope. Hope is never loud for me. It doesn’t sweep in with trumpets; it shows up like a small, stubborn flame that refuses to go out. As we step into Advent this year, may we think about all the little glimmers we miss while rushing through life. Hope is often found in those places: in what healed a little, in what surprised us, in the people who kept us upright when the ground shook. Jesus usually meets us in those understated places, too — through the understated people, through the quieter moments that healed more than we expected or in the grace that surprised us.  This week, perhaps we look for the small lights and quit waiting for the fireworks. Those small lights are generally the places that Jesus draws near. This season, I created an Advent Guide for my Substack community with rituals, blessings, poems, readings, and journal prompts. If you’d like access to my full Advent Guide: Gathering the Light - A December Journey of Hope, Peace, Joy & Love, click the link below and subscribe.  https://jenhatmaker.substack.com/subscribe #advent2025 #advent #jenhatmaker #hope

Topics

• Hope
• Christmas