Advent 2025: Hope in the Darkness

Finding Light When Life Feels Heavy

This Advent, we’re entering a season that speaks honestly to where many of us are living. Life feels heavy. The world feels uncertain. Many of us are carrying grief, anxiety, exhaustion, or unanswered questions. In a season when everything around us says we should be merry and bright, the truth is that many of us are still waiting for the light to break through.

Advent doesn’t ask us to fake joy. It invites us to look for hope right in the middle of the darkness.

Hope in the Darkness is a four-week journey through the themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, culminating in our Christmas Eve celebration of Christ, the Light of the World. Each week, we’ll explore Scripture, honest reflection, and simple, powerful visuals that remind us that God does God’s best work in the dark places of our lives.

WEEK 1 — Hope in the Waiting

Advent begins in the dark. We look at Isaiah’s promise, the Psalmist’s longing, and Mary’s courage as God teaches us that hope grows in the places we least expect it—especially in seasons of waiting.

WEEK 2 — Peace in the Chaos

Peace is not the absence of chaos; it’s Christ’s presence in the middle of it. We explore the biblical idea of shalom—wholeness—and acknowledge both the spiritual and mental health dimensions of seeking peace.

WEEK 3 — Joy in the Brokenness

Joy isn’t pretending things are fine. Joy is what blooms in cracked places. Through Mary’s song and Habakkuk’s honesty, we discover a deeper joy that rises even in hardship.

WEEK 4 — Love That Shines

Love is the light that breaks the darkness. In Jesus, love becomes flesh and moves into our neighborhood. We remember that God’s love doesn’t wait for everything to be perfect—it meets us where we are.

CHRISTMAS EVE — The Light Has Come

We gather by candlelight to celebrate the birth of Jesus—the Light who shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This is the night when hope, peace, joy, and love take on flesh.

You’re invited.

Whether you’re carrying joy or grief, peace or anxiety, faith or questions, you belong here.
Come experience the quiet strength of Advent as we discover again that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overcome it.

Each week our services begin at Water’s Edge at 11am. On Christmas Eve we will be celebrating with our sister church, Three Oaks United Methodist Church. Located at 2 Sycamore St. E in Three Oaks Michigan