It is hard to believe that this Sunday, November 30th, marks the beginning of the Advent season that leads us up to the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior. Advent is a beautiful word as it means “to look forward to something good that is coming. There is something or someone that is about to appear that will lead us to the fulfillment of all that our hearts long for. The word, advent, gives us energy and excitement as we look forward to the days ahead, regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in. It tells us that no matter how bleak, how dark the situation may be, we have hope that there are better days ahead.
The reason we have that hope is found in who we are looking towards and that is the person of Jesus, Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” This Sunday in worship we will be focusing on Immanuel and why that name is so vitally important to our hope. Our scripture focus will be on Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:18-25.