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.

In part 3 of Habakkuk: An Honest Faith, Dilys walks us through God's answer to the prophet's laments and woes he expressed in honest frustration and confusion.

God's answer is to wait in faithfulness. But how do we wait well? Dilys directs us to wait with connection, contentment, and courage. To faithfully wait on God's perfect timing we need to fill our time with prayer and praise to create a connection with God, learn to be content with where we are and what we have in the present moment, and to remain confident that the Lord will deliver His promises to His people. He is in His holy temple, you need only to be still and silent while He does the rest.

In Part 2 of Habakkuk: An Honest Faith, Rob explores what it means to be honest with God, which includes bringing Him your raw, honest questions in your anger, confusion, or grief.

The prophet Habakkuk demonstrated this type of honest faith in his prayers to God and promised to stand at his watch post and listen for God's response. Rob explained that faith means watching and waiting in hope, trusting God even when He seems silent.

This new series, Habakukk: An Honest Faith, will explore how the prophet Habakkuk brought his honest questions and struggles before God and how God's answers encourage Habakkuk to trust in God's ultimate plan.

In Part 1 of this series, Scott leads us through the beginning of Chapter 1 of the Old Testament book and breaks down the meaning of the word 'lament,' an honest expression of protest and sorrow to God. Scott tells us that lamenting is important because it deepens our relationship with God, transforms our pain, not transmits it, and is the only appropriate response to innocent suffering in the world. Scott shows us that God's answer to Habakkuk, and to us, demonstrates His presence with us and His purpose for us.

Wrapping up the Making Space series, Dilys explores what it means to make space for the stranger. Looking at Jesus’ example and His interactions in the Bible, especially with Samaritans, she shows how hospitality isn’t just something we do, but part of who Jesus is. When we welcome strangers, we’re also welcoming Him. But the idea of caring for the stranger doesn’t start with the Gospels. Dilys also looks to the Old Testament, where the Israelites knew what it felt like to be foreigners in a strange land. They experienced both the hardship of that and the hospitality of God in their deliverance to Egypt - and were commanded to reciprocate God's gracious care to others.

In this message, Ruth continues the Making Space series by focusing on the theme of hospitality, specifically, what it means to make space for your neighbour.

She challenges us, as Christians, to be intentional about creating connection, making a difference in our communities, and living as everyday examples of Christ’s love. Drawing from the Gospels, Ruth highlights how Jesus modelled what it means to be a good neighbour through how He spent his own time visiting with others, and through His parables and teaching moments.

Sometimes, being a good neighbour starts with something as simple as a smile, a wave, or a friendly hello. These small gestures can brighten someone’s day and open the door to deeper connection. Whether it’s someone at the bus stop, a barista handing you coffee, or a stranger you pass on the street, we’re all called to show kindness and warmth in our everyday encounters.

Each of us may express this differently, but the call remains the same: to live lives of hospitality and make space for those around us.