First Sunday of Advent What Do You Fear? In the Time of Herod: We Long for God to Break In Lamentations 3:55–57 & Luke 1:5–13 This Sunday, we begin Advent the way Scripture begins it:
in the shadows, under empire, with fear sitting close. Lamentations gives us a people crying from the lowest pit… grieving, exhausted, unsure whose voice to trust. Luke gives us Zechariah… still showing up in a violent, corrupt world even while his own prayers feel unanswered. And right into that world… and ours… we’ll sing new Advent lyrics that tell the truth with courage: “O come, O come Compassionate Divine, and ransom captive Palestine that mourns with tears that will not be soothed till empires fall and nations’ hearts are moved.” This is the heart of Advent: naming the suffering honestly, calling for justice boldly, refusing to believe fear gets the final word. Because Advent isn’t escapism. Advent is resistance. Advent is the quiet lantern that keeps burning even when the world shakes. So we begin with the question this series is built on: What do you fear? For your family? For our country? For Gaza? For democracy? For the future? For your own weary heart? You don’t have to hide any of it here. Bring your fear. Bring your grief. Bring your longing for peace. Hope doesn’t wait for things to get tidy. It rises right in the middle of the mess. This Sunday, November 30, we light the first candle. Not because the world is calm… but because light always finds a way in. Join us for Week 1 - “In the Time of Herod.” Sunday at 10am ET Onsite & Online There is room for you here. There is room for your fear. And there is room for the hope already stirring.