November 28th is the beginning of the first week of Advent! Do you have an Advent wreath? If so, bring it out now. If you do not have one, please let me know – we can provide one for your family. Your Advent Wreath should have five candles in all, four on the outer edge and one in the center. Each week we’ll light one candle, ending with the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve.
The first week is the Hope Candle, we have hope in Jesus.
Advent Week 1, Hope
We have hope because God is with us.
This week our reading is Jeremiah 29:1 and 4-14. In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has been with us from generation to generation, giving us hope through Jesus and our families. We can see in this reading that God is giving a hopeful message to the entirety of the community. They were living in exile, away from the land they loved, in a different culture, not by their choosing. God has told them to live in that land, to settle with their families and community. God also reminds them to have hope for the future and to LIVE fully where they are.
We may not have everything we want. We have goals that have not been met, we have desires and dreams that are not being fulfilled, but have hope for the future. Hope for our families and our community. Sometimes I find that I get so focused on my have-not’s that I forget to appreciate everything that I have and to LIVE fully.
In Club 56 we did an Advent project that might work for your family too.
An Advent Gift Jar 🙂 Club 56 Advent project
What do you hope for yourself?
What do you hope for our family?
What do you hope for your school/work?
What do you hope for our country?
What do you hope for our whole world?
Enjoy the time with your family today, feel blessed by God’s wonderful love, and have hope for us all!