It’s Advent 1, the Sunday of Hope tomorrow. This begins our journey towards Christmas. In recent years, this has been the busiest season of the year with all kinds of socializing, shopping, and making merry with friends, family and church-family. This year will be different. This year, we cannot gather as we once did. Most of our socializing and making merry has been put on hold. And there is a bit of a sense of dread as we enter into this season.

That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. I get that it is uncomfortable and we are tired of all this social distancing. But in dark times, we need the light even more. In times that tend toward exhaustion and despair, what could be more powerful than hope?

So let’s gather some worship resources to remind us of the One who is our hope!

Let’s start with this Christmas Monologue from For King and Country’s album A Drummer Boy Christmas (which is in heavy rotation on my listening devices!):

I thought this little reflection on Christmas put it so well:

A reminder of the journey we begin tomorrow:

This extraordinary instrumental of O Come, O Come Emmanuel (it might look like Israel, but that’s actually movie set for a movie about Jerusalem! Had me fooled for a moment or two):

And finally, a word from the scriptures on Hope:

Until tomorrow, dear friends, keep on holding to hope!