All Things New: Awakening to a Hope That Restores | Revelation 21:1-5

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and you're listening to the beginning of our Advent series for 2025.

[0:16] Today, we're taking a brief pause from our journey through the seven churches in Revelation to celebrate Advent. And I'm especially excited about this series because we've created something really special for you this year.

[0:28] Before we dive into today's message, I want to introduce someone who's been working very hard to help us enter this Advent season with intention and depth.

[0:38] My wife, Amber Daly, who serves as our Children's Ministry Director, has created a comprehensive Advent devotional guide for our church family.

[0:49] Amber, welcome. Thanks, Patrick. I'm so glad to be here. So tell us about these Advent table gatherings you've put together. Well, Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the church year because it invites us to slow down in a world that's rushing towards Christmas.

[1:05] These devotions are designed to help individuals, families, and small groups prepare their hearts during the four weeks leading up to Christmas, focusing on hope, peace, joy, and love.

[1:17] And these connect with the sermon series? Yes. That actually was really intentional. Each week builds on the passage that Pastor Patrick is preaching from in Revelation.

[1:27] So if you listen to the sermon on Sunday, you can spend the rest of the week going deeper with daily reflections, art contemplation, poems, hymns, and even some short stories I wrote using the Godly Play Method.

[1:40] Wow. I really love that. And you've included activities too? Right. So each week has what we're calling bridge building activities, which are simple, practical ways to bring hope, peace, joy, and love into our community.

[1:53] When we were talking about building bridges as being our 2025 theme for our church, I really just wanted to include that into the Advent time as we are closing through to the end of the year and looking to our next theme.

[2:10] I want us to just bring it all together. There's things like writing cards to shut-ins, praying over local places that need God's peace, or blessing families with baby essentials. And there are kid-friendly activities too, so families can do this together.

[2:24] We also have it for the kids each week when we do gatherings as a church. And so where can people find this? So everything's available for free on our website at ontariocommunitychurch.org in the sermon archive.

[2:39] You can download the full guide. It's about 48 pages, or you can just print the week that you're working on. That's awesome. And so here's how this works, friends. What you're going to hear is the sermon from week one of Advent.

[2:53] The title of the sermon is All Things New, Awakening to a Hope that Restores. I'll be preaching from Revelation chapter 21, verses 1 through 5. And after you listen to the sermon, you can download the week one devotional guide, which takes the same passage and helps you live with it all week long.

[3:11] The devotional isn't just information about the passage. It's an invitation to encounter God throughout it. I tried to intentionally create it where it can be done in as little as five minutes, or you can stretch it for your daily prayer and do, you know, 10, 15 minutes.

[3:28] So it's meant to be really quick, but intentional as making it a part of your day. Exactly. So think of it this way. This sermon gives you the theological foundation and the biblical teaching.

[3:40] The devotion then gives you the space to let that truth sink deep into your daily life. So you might listen to the sermon today and then tomorrow morning you'll pull out the devotional and spend 10 minutes with the hopeless exercise, writing down what you're asking God to make new in your life.

[3:56] Or maybe Wednesday evening you light a candle and sit with the artwork and just wander where God is restoring you. And it's designed to work together. The sermon plants the seeds and the devotional helps it take root.

[4:09] And if you're leading a small group or gathering friends around your table this Advent, the discussion questions in the devotional will help you go even deeper together. So go ahead and grab a devotional or download it, print it, and keep it handy this week.

[4:23] And after the sermon today, Amber and I are going to come back and talk about how to put all of this into practice. We want this Advent season to be formative, not just informative.

[4:34] All right, so let's dive in. Grab your Bible, let's turn to Revelation chapter 21, and let's explore together this incredible promise. Behold, I am making all things new.

[4:50] Well, good morning, everyone. I cannot believe we are already in the Advent season. It's that time of year where it's just time for us to slow things down.

[5:01] Amen? Amen? It's incredible how busy things get, how stressed out and even overwhelmed we can get. And it's important for us to take a moment, to take a deep breath, to rest, to reflect, to rejuvenate, and to think about the Advent story or the Christmas story, if you're more familiar, one way or another.

[5:28] We think about our Lord and our God and the hope that exists in him. That when troubles come our way, we turn to the Lord.

[5:41] Our hope is in Jesus Christ. And I always think of this verse, that I look to the hills and where does my hope come from, right? Our hope comes from the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.

[5:54] And it's in this season, it's in this time where we think of anticipation, much like how we think about preparation for the first coming of Christ. And it's so interesting when we think of Christ and how the word became flesh.

[6:12] Christ to be born in a manger, showing how that hope would come down from heaven to earth. Now, no one really knew the day or the time in which Jesus would come the first time, much like how we don't know when Jesus will come the second time.

[6:32] And it's important for us to not get so caught up on when, but the importance of why. That God has this sense of hope for his people.

[6:46] And we enter this time where we wait upon the Lord, the maker of heavens and earth, the God who is making all things new.

[6:58] And I have on here, awakening to a hope that restores. And I put on here, revelation. And I want us to turn there because I want you to see something that's very, very interesting.

[7:17] It's important for us to know as we turn our Bibles to Revelation chapter 21, verses 1 through 5. That same kind of anticipation and preparation and waiting for the first coming of Christ is the same type of anticipation that we live out today.

[7:37] Not only do we look at tradition, right? The liturgical calendar and how this is the season when we think about Jesus. But we also, may we not forget about Jesus's second coming and this sense of anticipation.

[7:56] So are we all there, church? Revelation 21, verses 1 through 5. Let's read it together. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

[8:07] For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

[8:21] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. That's very important, right? He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God.

[8:38] Doesn't that sound very Old Testament like when you read that? What is that doing in Revelation? It's showing the promises of God. Let's go on verse 4.

[8:49] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

[9:01] And he who was seated on the throne said, behold, I am making all things new. And he said, write this down, for the words are trustworthy and true.

[9:12] What a very interesting verse that we're seeing here. Where you have John is talking about the ultimate restoration, right? He's talking about all of creation, the present and the future hope.

[9:26] When we think of the Christmas story, we think of the hope of Christ, the coming of Christ, and how we look back and we remember Christ as the fulfillment of prophecy.

[9:37] All so many prophecies within the Old Testament foretelling of the coming of Christ. And we fast forward to today where we remember that first coming.

[9:48] And in the same way, we think of how Christ continues to fulfill his promises. That's so powerful and it should, it is trustworthy and true as that verse is saying in Revelation.

[10:03] We trust in the living God. We place our faith and our trust in him, knowing that in this present moment, as we look back at the hope of the coming of Christ and that sense of anticipation, we also look forward to the coming of Jesus Christ and the hope that comes from him.

[10:23] It's this consistency. It is this pattern that we see within Scripture that we can trust in the living God and that our hope is in him, not in the things of the world or the culture or the loud voices saying to be afraid or the divisiveness that happens within the world.

[10:47] Think of the firm foundation that exists in Christ. That is so important for us to realize when we think of the Christmas story, like when we look at this decoration here, the fulfillment of prophecy, right?

[11:02] Isn't it interesting, the star that the three wise men were following to get to lead them to Christ, much like how Christ is the morning star and that we are to follow in his direction.

[11:19] It's really remarkable when we start seeing and piecing together these kind of connections here. And so what's happening in these verses is John is seeing a new heaven and new earth, the holy city.

[11:31] What's important is God is dwelling with humanity because God loves all of us. We think of how Christ came down from heaven to be with the people, right?

[11:45] To change the course of history. And we see further in the end how God will be with his people. That is something that we should look forward to.

[11:56] We should anticipate. And I don't know about you. That is something to be hopeful for. We also see that every tear is wiped away. No more death.

[12:07] No more pain. And how God is declaring, I am making all things new. I'm making everything new. What's so important with that is God is the God of hope and restoration.

[12:19] When we think about how God transforms our very lives from the inside out to become more like him. Think of that manger.

[12:31] Think of that child. But also think of the fulfillment of prophecy. Think of the hope that was provided for the people at the time. The people of God. And how Christ is the hope that we look for.

[12:44] There's so many people in this world that have this sense of emptiness. They feel like there's something that is missing in their life. You don't have to raise your hand and I hope you're not one of them.

[12:56] But you may know someone who says there's just something missing in my life. I don't understand. I have all the money that I could ever ask for. Or I have all of the fame and success.

[13:06] Yes, I have all these things, but yet I still feel empty inside. Turn your eyes to the Lord. And look for the hope, the fulfillment that comes from him.

[13:18] It's truly remarkable. And when we think of how God makes all things new. God being the transformer of our lives.

[13:29] The transformer of culture. There's this sense of transformation that happens with each and every one of us. I want to turn to, it's going to be from Isaiah.

[13:41] Chapter 2, verse 4. Where it's saying, He shall judge between the nations. He shall decide disputes for many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares.

[13:52] Their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. We think of how, in this sense, the prophecy, talking about how this changing of swords to plowshares, instead of waging war with each other, working together.

[14:16] And what beautiful imagery we can see, right? That nation shall not lift up sword against nation. That's something that we hope for. For there to be this sense of restoration and transformation that exists.

[14:28] It's the imagery of people learning God's ways that are much higher than ours. That is something that I hope for. And I hope that you hope for.

[14:41] Think of life together and how there is a call for us to put our trust in this living hope and to walk in the light of the Lord. And that's a very powerful thing.

[14:53] Let's go to this next verse. This is also, this is from Romans. This was part of the interactive reading where it's talking about. Besides this, you know, the time that the hour has come for you to wake up, to wake from sleep.

[15:08] For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone. The day is at hand. So then let us cast the work of darkness and put on the armor of light.

[15:19] We think of the hope of Christ. We've got to wake up. We've got to see that hope is here. We've got to see that God provided a way through his son, Jesus Christ.

[15:32] And that is very powerful, right? We may know many of us who are, we think we see that, we read that. It's talking about most often literally to be asleep, but also to not pay attention.

[15:46] So let us pay attention to that kind of hope that comes from Christ. Salvation being at hand. Christ being the fulfillment of prophecy and Christ keeping all of his promises.

[16:00] Something that really encourages me as a Christian and even as a pastor is the fact that God is consistent. That he doesn't change. That he is everlasting to everlasting.

[16:12] And he is that firm foundation. And how often do we change, though? And I'm not just talking about changing our clothes or changing our hairstyle.

[16:26] How often do we change? But God remains the same. He's still providing salvation to all of us to believe in him. He's still providing hope for the world.

[16:40] Because this world needs hope more than ever before. When I put this imagery of darkness into light, right? Or waking up. That is a call for all of us, if we haven't already, to come and see that the Lord is good.

[16:58] To come out of the darkness into the light. And many of us, there's a lot of people who are aware that they're in darkness. And they feel that there's no hope in their life.

[17:10] They feel that it's hopeless. But let me tell you. In knowing Christ, that is the greatest hope. The only hope that exists in him.

[17:23] And may we trust in him. May we go out of that darkness into the light. Being saved by grace through faith. Right? Being transformed. And knowing.

[17:36] I don't have to fear the culture. I don't have to fear man. I trust in God. For he is the hope of glory.

[17:48] I want us to go to that next slide here in Isaiah. Isn't it interesting? The Bible is so connected with each other that you can spend your whole lifetime reading it and pursuing all of the connections within it.

[18:06] Interesting how in Isaiah we see the new heavens and the new earth much like we found and we find in Revelation. God making all things new. God providing a way through Christ.

[18:19] Even if you think of like the story of Noah that God was providing a way of escape from the flood. By saying, get on this boat before the flood comes. That's right.

[18:29] God always provides a way. And he provides that way through Jesus. And much like how we see here the new heavens and the new earth.

[18:40] It says, The former things shall not be remembered or come to mind but be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people to be a gladness.

[18:52] I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people and there shall be heard in this there no more shall be heard in the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.

[19:04] All of these verses are very, very unique. Right? They help us with our understanding of how there is hope in the Lord.

[19:15] Very important for us. And so when we read this future verse in Revelation, Revelation 21, the end of Scripture, it's important for us that we place our hope in him.

[19:31] We remember the first coming of Christ, right? We think of all of the scenes from the Christmas story. We think of all of the holiday spirit and Christ being the reason for the season.

[19:47] But let us also remember that the Lord is with us. Right? That God is with us. We think of that name, Emmanuel. God with us.

[19:59] Because God wants to be with his people. God is the God of restoration, hope, and transformation. And we anticipate that. We wait upon the Lord for his timing.

[20:13] And so hope is grounded in who God is. Let's go to that next slide. We have the interpretation then. Or you know what? Let's leave that one on. To stay awake and to be ready.

[20:27] This sense of anticipation, right? Stay awake. You don't know what day the Lord is coming, right? We keep seeing this pattern. The arrival of Christ, right?

[20:37] When Christ will return in his glory. And so often in scripture, it's this sense of patiently waiting on God and his timing. And how many of us, you don't have to raise your hand, but I know I can speak for myself that I would rather have it on my timing, right?

[20:57] We'd rather have God say, you know, in a year are you going to return? And just know exactly when things are going to happen. But it's important for us to know, it's not us that decides the timing.

[21:10] It's not us that decides God's timing for really anything. When God answers our prayer, let alone when Christ is going to come or return, it is us trusting in him and knowing that God is going to deliver on his promises.

[21:26] And so you must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. And so how that's even connected with, in the gospel narrative. So yeah, let's go to that next slide then.

[21:40] So what can we learn from this, right? The first thing is that hope begins with God making all things new. God is the creator, right?

[21:51] He creates the heaven and the earth. He sends his son as the redeemer. And we have the Holy Spirit as the sustainer. And we have the triune God that takes that which is broken and restores it and makes it new.

[22:08] That is our hope. That is our anticipation, right? So it begins with God making all things new. Hope is grounded then on who God is.

[22:21] The God is holy. He is strong. He is righteous. And he renews. He rebuilds and he restores. Ask yourself the question, where have you seen God restoring you?

[22:35] Or has God been restoring your life? That's a question that only you can ask, but it's something that pray for God to work in your life, to build you up, to restore you.

[22:48] And wait upon him and his timing. The second thing then is hope awakens us to live differently today. And that's very important. That hope leads us forward from the darkness into light.

[23:04] It's this sense of transformation as we are to wake up and go towards Christ. We think of Advent as a time of reflection, rest, this time for us to think about God and how he is showing himself through Christ, this fulfillment of prophecy.

[23:29] And it's a time for us to also respond to this hope. If Christ is making all things new, may we respond to this hope.

[23:40] And may we live being that new creation in him. And so ask yourself, have you been asleep? Maybe literally asleep.

[23:52] Or maybe you haven't been alert. May you pay attention to God and to his word and the hope that Christ provides. The third thing is that hope transforms us from the inside out.

[24:07] When I showed you the Isaiah verse, right, was talking about swords to plowshares, right? Instead of waging war, working together, going from fear to hope.

[24:19] There's so many of us that live in this culture. I mean, we all do live in this culture of fear, this separation, right? That's one thing I know that I don't like about technology is that when you take out your phone, how easy does it distract you from the present moment?

[24:40] You want to talk about a dividing factor? I understand we use it for work and we use it for school, but let's be honest here. Has this been a distraction in your life?

[24:50] I will admit it's distracted me, especially those little ping notifications. Ooh, what's that? We have to think of how the culture that we live in is one of fear and one that divides us and separates us from people, let alone from God.

[25:13] and how important it is for us. Let us turn that fear by focusing on the hope in Christ. Just like as I give this imagery from darkness to light, nobody wants to be in a dark room where you can't find a flashlight or there's no light whatsoever.

[25:32] We have got to recognize there is hope that is in Christ and it's a better way than what culture, than what the world has to offer.

[25:45] Very, very important for us. And so, by receiving this hope comes transformation. Being on a journey.

[25:57] For many of us, I mean, there's, some of you may know people who don't know Christ. And you may hear, I am a spiritual person, right? You may have heard that before.

[26:08] Or I'm on a spiritual journey. Amen. May you be on a spiritual journey to know who Christ is. Instead of wandering aimlessly.

[26:19] How many of you have hiked or you've gone out in the wilderness and you got lost? And you had no idea where you were going.

[26:30] Did I turn the wrong way and I veered off the path or what happened? This tree looks familiar. I thought I saw it a mile ago or whatever it is, right?

[26:44] When you are journeying, may you be on that journey to come to know Christ and in knowing Christ, continue on that spiritual journey with Christ.

[26:55] There's a lot of people that are searching and there's a lot of people without hope. And I pray if you know someone or you yourself are someone who is wandering, may you go on to the path to Christ and may you begin or return to that path with Christ.

[27:16] I think of how how Christ was walking with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And it's such a wonderful imagery of Christ walking with his people as they're going from one destination to the next, right?

[27:34] And that's a very beautiful imagery of how Christ walks with us to where we need to go. And so, transformation. We think of this.

[27:46] Advent is an opportunity for us to reflect and for us to see that there is hope in God and we are to respond to that because God is not only restoring the world and making things new, he makes us new by making us more like him.

[28:04] And in this then, these are the things that we can learn and we now go into the how should we live? How do we respond?

[28:14] What can we do upon this? Live as people of the new creation. In other words, respond to the hope in Christ.

[28:27] Perhaps when you get up in the morning or before you go to bed at night, ask the Lord to make me new. make yourself new.

[28:39] God, may you transform me today. God, may you work in and through me. Or may your hope, God, radiate through me to other people. Think about that.

[28:53] Look for one area in your life for how God is working in and through you where God is restoring you. and think of how you can live this life as a response to the hope of Christ.

[29:12] The second thing is to wake up to the hope of Christ. Pay attention. Right? Live this life accordingly. Think of one area where you might be spiritually asleep.

[29:27] We all have those areas and it's okay. But just think for a moment in this Advent season, are you awake or asleep to Christ's hope for your life? Replace slumber or sleeping with intentionality and living for God and having him transform you.

[29:48] Consider reading scripture, prayer, and this sense of Christian community. And I know my wife's not here but that little booklet that you saw, if any of you have it, can I borrow one of yours?

[30:09] You know, many of you have been noticing that I've been having the sermon-based Bible studies and I think the Lord has been working through my wife to write something like this.

[30:21] I didn't ask her to do it. She just did it. And I worked with her on it, make sure, you know. But it just goes to show you the sense of God working in and through people.

[30:37] Not to brag too much on my wife but she's a fantastic writer and I hope you all enjoy with that. I say all of this because think of your spiritual practices, your prayer life, your sense of Christian community, being with the body of Christ and think of how can you have spiritual practices in your own life.

[31:06] Now, we're not saved by these spiritual practices but it's still good for us as we are growing in Christ. For us to have a prayer life, for us to have time in the word or, you know, recently I was talking with someone and I was having this conversation with someone who told me how she connects with God by being in nature and just taking some moments whether it's by a lake or a river or maybe not the highest mountain but being up there and looking at all of creation and taking it all in and thinking God, you made this.

[31:57] You made this for us and that's just a mountain. That's just a river but it's showing how God loves us and how he's provided hope for us.

[32:12] Look at all of the things that God has made. he's pointing us to have a different way to follow in his footsteps, right?

[32:22] The footsteps of Christ to come to him and so think of how you can connect with God, how you can respond to the hope that is in Christ and think of your spiritual practices, meditating on the word.

[32:41] I know a lot of people have such a hard time with the word meditation. It's filling your mind with the word of God, by golly. It's like when people say, oh, I'm going to meditate and they empty out their mind. Okay, that's fine.

[32:52] What are you going to fill it up with? Right? And hopefully you fill it up with the things of God. Right? If it's okay to empty things out, we want it.

[33:03] We probably need to empty out our minds of all the nasty things that are going on, but may it be filled with the things of God. that's very important. And so wake up to the hope of Christ and share the hope of Christ with others.

[33:19] Think of how very often I showed you this verse from Isaiah. Can we go to that Isaiah verse? I want to turn there for a second, right?

[33:32] They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. And I just think that's such remarkable language, right? Many of us, we have gifts and abilities.

[33:46] How many of us use those gifts and abilities against people? Right? Let's be honest here. Instead, let us think of how we can use our gifts, our talents, our abilities, our story into plowshares.

[34:05] In other words, how can we use what God has given to us? Instead of waging war against people, how can we use it to lead people to Christ? How can we use these things, these resources, as a way in sharing the hope of Jesus Christ?

[34:22] Because for many of us, we have the potential to do pretty bad and evil stuff, right? But in the same way, we can use those resources for the glory of God.

[34:35] And it is my prayer that you use what God has given to you to honor him, to glorify him, but also how you share it with your friends and your family.

[34:47] Not to do evil, but to do good. May you respond accordingly to the hope of Christ. And so, I can't emphasize this enough, instead of waging war, share in the hope of Christ.

[35:04] And I want you to think of one relationship that you can work on, right? You think of a plowshare, right? You think of a pruning hook, right? These tools that are used to essentially, you're not going to use a pruning hook on somebody, at least I hope to God you're not going to, right?

[35:21] In this, it's this sense of using it to help build people up, to encourage people, to share in the hope of Christ with others. So, choose one relationship that you can cultivate, one relationship that you can work on this week.

[35:38] This is a time, especially in this Advent season, this Christmas season, we think of how things slow down.

[35:49] And I tend to think the God who made the four seasons, right? When things are hot and things are summer, everybody's running around. Everybody's doing tons of stuff, including staying out of the heat, I get it.

[36:04] But when it comes to the fall and the winter, the colder months, it's a time where calm down a bit. What a wonderful opportunity for us to share in the hope of Christ with others.

[36:20] Because now people are slowing down, or at least I hope they are. what an important time for us. A special time to share Christ with others.

[36:32] How God has worked in your life. That they don't have to be afraid, but rather that hope is in him. And so when we think of hope in closing, it is not just wishful thinking.

[36:50] It is anticipation. It is participation. And let us know that God makes all things new. Advent invites us to wake up, to respond to the hope of Christ, and to live by sharing in the hope of Christ with others.

[37:12] Let's pray together. And Father God, we thank you for this opportunity for us to go and take a pause on the seven churches in Revelation, and to slow down a bit and to focus on the Advent season.

[37:31] And even though we have read from Revelation, we've also read from Isaiah and the Gospel of Matthew, may we realize our hope is in you and in you alone.

[37:45] May we respond to your hope and see that we live in a world that is full of darkness and fear and division, but you, God, have provided a better way.

[37:57] May we recognize that in this Christmas season, we look back to the promises and the fulfillment of prophecy by you sending your son, the word becoming flesh to be born in that manger, and to change the course of history by providing salvation as the free gift to all who respond by believing in your son, Jesus.

[38:24] Also, may we recognize how in the same way we anticipate and we wait upon the first coming of Christ, we also do the same with the second coming of Christ.

[38:37] What a great mystery, what a great timing. May we trust in your timing, and although we may not understand everything and all the complexities of who you are, let alone your word, may we faithfully be devoted to you.

[38:54] We love you so much and we just thank you for our church, for our congregation, and we're grateful for all of those that are online, whether they're watching on TikTok or Facebook or wherever, or even those that will listen in the future.

[39:12] May they all come to know the Lord, grow in him, and respond by doing good in his holy name. It is in the name of Jesus Christ, the morning star, that we pray, and we all say together, amen?

[39:28] Amen. Well, thank you for listening to today's message here at Ontario Community Church. I hope that this message encouraged you as we begin this Advent season together.

[39:39] Alright, so Amber and I are back and I want to talk through how this week's devotional helps you take what we just explored in Revelation 21 and actually live with it over the next seven days.

[39:51] Amber, do you want to jump in here? Yeah, so now that you've heard the sermon about God making all things new, let's talk about how this devotional will help you experience that personally. So walk us through it.

[40:02] We just spent 40 minutes approximately in Revelation 21 talking about restoration, hope, and God's promise to make all things new. How does the devotional take someone deeper into that?

[40:15] I think one of the most powerful parts of week one is that we don't shy away from the brokenness. The devotional talks about honesty, about broken relationships, health struggles, fear about the future, things our church family are actually experiencing.

[40:31] But then it invites people to see that God's restoration isn't just a future hope, it's actually happening now. That's great, and I noticed that you used kintsugi imagery.

[40:41] It's this Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold. Why that image? Well, kintsugi is this beautiful practice where the broken pieces become the most beautiful parts.

[40:53] The cracks aren't hidden, they're highlighted with gold, and that felt like such a picture of what God does with us. He doesn't throw away what's been broken, he restores it and makes it even more beautiful.

[41:04] That is our story as a church as well. And it's a wonderful, it's a powerful story as well. And you created these daily practices for each day of the week.

[41:14] Can you give us a taste of what people can expect? Sure. Day one is the main devotional that goes deep into the theme. Then we have things like a hopeless where you write down what you're asking God to make new in your life.

[41:27] Then we've got an art contemplation with reflective questions. We have some classic poems and hymns to sit with slowly, a godly play style story that invites wandering, and a contemplative prayer using questions and a prayer time.

[41:44] Right. And I love that. And there's also a bridge building activity this week. Yes. So we are encouraging people to write cards to shut-ins, people who might be experiencing loneliness or feeling forgotten.

[41:56] Maybe you have someone in your family that you'd like to just write a letter to or a note to. It's a simple way to help give people hope in our community.

[42:07] So if someone's listening and thinking to themselves, I want to do this, what's the first step? So you just go to the website, download week one of the devotional and start with day one, which is today, November 30th, the first Sunday of Advent.

[42:23] Even if you just spend ten minutes with it, you'll find something meaningful. And if you want to gather with friends or family around the table, you can do this. That's even better. And we'll do this for all four weeks of Advent?

[42:35] That's right. So week two will focus on peace, week three on joy, week four on love. Each week builds on the passages you're preaching from in Revelation, so they'll work really well together.

[42:46] Well, I just want to thank you, Amber, for putting your heart into this. I know our church family is going to be blessed by it, as well as those that are listening to this podcast, and they have this ability to just follow along as well.

[43:00] Thanks for having me. I'm excited to see how God uses this season to draw us all closer to Him. All of our resources from today, the sermon, the Bible study, the congregational notes, slides, and Amber's Advent devotional guide are all available for free on our website at OntarioCommunityChurch.org.

[43:18] Thank you for being a part of this journey with us. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe. May you wake up to His work of restoration, and may you walk in the light this Advent season.

[43:32] God bless you. We'll see you next week as we continue our Advent series, Grace and Peace to you in Christ. do you Thank you.