What are you truly waiting for this Christmas? Advent is all about Waiting: Then and Now Isaiah 9:6 (NLT) “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” • Israel waited Through Exile and Oppression Jeremiah 29:10–11 (NLT): “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” • Israel waited Through Roman Occupation Luke 2:1–2 (NLT) At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria. • Israel’s Waiting Created Unmet Expectations Lamentations 3:25–26 (NLT) “The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” Today Advent Reveals the Tension of the NOW and NOT YET • The Financial Strain of Holiday Spending Philippians 4:19 (NLT): “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” • The Emotional Toll of difficult Relationships Psalm 34:18 (NLT): “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” • Busyness leads to spiritual weakness Luke 10:41-42 (NLT) “But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Advent helps us value Anticipation and Disappointment Proverbs 13:12 (NLT): “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” • View Waiting as Preparation, Not Punishment Isaiah 40:31 (NLT): “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Advent provides God’s Answer of Hope in the Waiting • Israel’s Hope was Fulfilled in Jesus Isaiah 9:6 (NLT) “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” • Our Hope is Revealed in Jesus Advent provides Hope in our Present situation • The Hope of Jesus brings Clarity Psalm 119:105 (NLT) “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” • The Hope of Jesus Provides Peace John 14:27 (NLT) “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.” • The Hope of Jesus secures our Future Romans 15:13 (NLT) “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Advent Should be a Season of Active Hope Galatians 4:4–5 (NLT): “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.” Embrace Waiting This Advent Action Steps: Where in your life do you feel the weight of waiting? How can you shift your perspective to view waiting as preparation rather than frustration?