In this second week of Advent, Colin led us in reflecting on the theme of peace. We turned to Matthew 3, where John the Baptist calls the crowds and religious leaders to prepare themselves because “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Advent is a season of preparation, an invitation to ready our hearts for God’s arrival.

John’s message is simple and challenging: repent—turn away from false securities—and open ourselves to the transforming work of God. He reminds us that the Holy Spirit baptises with fire, a symbol of renewal, refining, and cleansing so that our lives can reflect God’s love and goodness.

Colin encouraged us to look honestly at our own hearts and approach repentance not with striving, but with surrender. As we yield to God’s plan and purpose, we allow Him to strip away what holds us back and shape us into people marked by hope, peace, love, and joy. Advent invites us to give our hearts to the Holy Spirit and let Him renew and refine us.

On Sunday, Ruth opened the Advent season and launched the Christmas series Let There Be Light. As we journey through Advent’s four themes, hope, peace, joy, and love, she reminded us that this season is about more than remembering Christ’s first coming. It also points us toward the promise of His return.

Ruth’s message on hope centred on waiting and being ready: waiting in hope, living prepared, and walking in the light of the Lord. We live ready by grounding ourselves in the Word of God, staying rooted in community, and sustained by the hope that Christ will come again.

Ruth closes the Habakkuk series with the fourth and final sermon.

This week’s message invited us to consider a challenging question: Are we willing to trust God even when it leads us through trouble or hardship? Looking at the prophet Habakkuk, we saw a man who trembled at God’s warnings yet remained confident in God’s ability to lead His people through judgment and into deliverance. Habakkuk models a righteousness rooted in trust—trust in God’s mercy and in His ultimate salvation.

We too, are called to trust that God brings salvation through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Life brings both joys and celebrations as well as worries and trials, but we are invited to walk through all of it with Jesus every single day.