Second Week of Advent: Hope

Hope is the theme of the second week of Advent.

Hope

We light a second purple candle on the second Sunday of Advent to represent the hope of Christ coming to the world.

The word “hope” has two meanings in the Bible. The first, Tikvah, contains a sense of eager anticipation or waiting. The second, Elpis, depicts a sense of confident expectation based on certainty. Biblical hope is secured by God’s faithfulness to His promises. For the Old Testament leaders, their hope was in the Messiah’s arrival. For us, it is the hope of the Messiah’s return.

God’s plan for humanity unfolded in the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of the Messiah, joyously fulfilling a long-awaited promise. Today we confidently wait for the Messiah’s triumphant return.