Week 1 of Advent: HOPE
When Your Heart Feels Dim
Naming our “we had hoped…” and letting Jesus meet us on the road.
INTRO
Advent doesn’t start with warm feelings. It starts in the dark.
In Isaiah’s day, God’s people walked in deep darkness and longing. In Luke 24, Cleopas and his friend walked away from Jerusalem saying, “We had hoped…”
This week, we let Jesus meet us there—before anything is fixed, before all our questions are answered—and allow Him to awaken hope again.
CONNECTED TO FRONTIER THIS FALL: From Mission Series to Advent
This fall at Frontier, we’ve been talking about mission—how God sends ordinary people into everyday life with His hope.
On Sunday, we looked at the Emmaus story in Luke 24. Two disappointed disciples walk away from their place of calling. Jesus comes near, listens, opens the Scriptures, breaks bread with them, and then sends them back with burning hearts.
Week One of Advent is the same story, from another angle:
Before God sends us, He meets us in the very places where we feel disappointed, confused, or numb.
Advent begins where your heart actually is—not where you wish it was.
READ
Take a few minutes to slowly read:
Isaiah 9:1–7
Luke 24:13–24
Read them twice if you can.
Ask:
Where do I resonate with Israel’s darkness and longing?
Where in my life do I quietly say, “We had hoped…”?
REFLECT
Advent starts by telling the truth.
The first step of Christian hope is not “cheer up,” but “be honest.”
Hope becomes real when we stop minimizing the parts of us that feel disappointed—about faith, family, work, calling, or even church.
Ask Jesus:
What disappointment have I been carrying that You want to sit with right now?
Where have I been walking away, like the disciples on the road?
If it helps, write one sentence that begins:
“Lord, I had hoped…”
RECEIVE
If you can, light a single candle (or sit by a lit candle or tree).
Pray slowly:
“Jesus, shine Your light into the parts of me that feel dim.
Meet me in my disappointment, and awaken my hope again.”
Sit in silence for one minute.
If a person, memory, or situation comes to mind, bring it to Him without trying to fix it.
This is where Advent begins.
RESPOND
You don’t need a long list of new practices.
Choose one small step that fits how God wired you.
Pick the practice under the personality type that feels most like you.
PRACTICES BY PERSONALITY TYPE
Reflective / Interior Types
Practice: Naming Your Longing Out Loud
Share one “we had hoped…” with a trusted friend or family member this week.
Let someone else carry it with you instead of holding it alone.
Action-Oriented / Driven Types
Practice: The Unproductive Walk
Take one 10-minute walk with no goal, no podcast, no multitasking.
Simply ask, “Jesus, where are You on my road right now?”
Relational / Celebratory Types
Practice: Quiet the Room
One evening this week, sit for 5 minutes by your tree or a candle with no music, no phone, no TV.
Read Isaiah 9 out loud, then sit in quiet and let it land.
Analytical / Head-Driven Types
Practice: Scripture Out Loud
Read Isaiah 9:1–7 out loud each day for three days.
Afterward, ask, “What does this stir in my heart, not just my mind?”
BONUS SECTION: GROUP / FAMILY PRACTICE
Once this week, invite someone into a simple moment of presence:
a meal at your table
a walk around your neighborhood
a short prayer moment after a conversation
You’re not trying to impress anyone or force a spiritual moment.
You’re just choosing to walk the road with someone the way Jesus did—with presence and attention.
CLOSING PRAYER
“Jesus, awaken hope in me where it has grown dim.
Meet me on the road I am actually walking.
Open my eyes to Your presence,
and send me again with a heart that burns for You and for Your world.
Amen.”