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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Revelation 21:1–5

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

Behold, I am making all things new.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It's important for us to know as we turn our Bibles to Revelation chapter 21, verses 1 through 5.

Revelation 21:1–5

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.

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.

So are we all there, church?

Revelation 21, verses 1 through 5.

Revelation 21:1–5

Let's read it together.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

When we think about how God transforms our very lives from the inside out to become more like him.

Think of that manger.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It's truly remarkable.

And when we think of how God makes all things new.

God being the transformer of our lives.

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.

Isaiah 2:4

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

All of these verses

are very, very unique.

Right?

They help us with our understanding

of how there is hope in the Lord.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

And may we live being that new creation in him.

And so ask yourself,

have you been asleep?

Maybe literally asleep.

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.

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.

Very, very important for us.

And so,

by receiving this hope

comes transformation.

Being on a journey.

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.

Or I'm on a spiritual journey.

Amen.

May you be on a spiritual journey

to know who Christ is.

Instead of wandering aimlessly.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

What can we do upon this?

Live as people

of the new creation.

In other words,

respond to the hope in Christ.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

This is a

time,

especially in

this Advent

season,

this Christmas

season,

we think of

how things

slow down.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.