For the first time in nearly a year, we have stepped out of The First Gospel series and into Advent—not so much a season as an invitation. Advent comes to us as both a memory and a promise, a time to prepare our hearts for the arrival of Jesus—past, future, and daily.

In this sermon, we explored the Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Remarkably, Jesus invites us to hold together the awe of God’s holiness and the intimacy of calling Him “Dad.”

What if, this season, our preparation begins and ends in prayerful relationship?

It’s been forty weeks since we launched our journey through the First Gospel series, tracking the thread of God’s goodness woven through every page of the Old Testament. Today, we reach the finale, as exile gives way to return—a story marked not simply by restored walls and temple, but by the rhythms, community, and expectation that define the people of God. The builders in the ruins remind us: true community is essential, worship is central, and our story is still unfinished. We wait, expectant, on the eve of Advent—for the King to make all things new. Let’s build, worship, and watch together.

It's been a little over two and a half millennia since Ezekiel found himself staring into a valley littered with dry bones—a vision both haunting and instructive. Why start here, in utter desolation? Because, as Josh Harrison reminded us, to truly grasp hope, we must first acknowledge the depth of our need. Israel’s story, our story, begins at the end of our own resources, when all attempts to save ourselves have failed. Into this lifeless valley God sends a person—Ezekiel—to speak life, to partner in resurrection. The Gospel always starts in the dark, but in the presence of the Resurrector, there is no such thing as hopeless.

"Exile" is not always a distant historical memory but, in many ways, the present condition of God’s people. Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves relocated, renamed, and tempted to bow to powers not their own, so too are we daily nudged toward forgetting who we are. Yet, the story reminds us: our call is not merely to survive Babylon, but to embody a distinct faithfulness within it. And what’s most stunning—God does not stand far off, but walks beside us in every fire, shaping even the flames into freedom.

We are nearing the end of our First Gospel series, having traced Israel’s journey through upheaval, conquest, and exile under empires like Assyria and Babylon. This week’s meditation on Jeremiah 29 casts exile not as abandonment, but as God’s severe mercy—a refining season, not a defeat. In Babylon, God instructs his people neither to assimilate nor isolate, but to become ambassadors: deeply present, building relationships, seeking the city’s shalom, yet never forgetting their true home. We too, as followers of Jesus, are exiles. Our mission is to love and bless wherever God sends us, citizens of heaven living for the good of the world.