Advent Expectation: Be Ready in the Everyday

Advent begins by asking whether we are truly living with expectation. We anticipate gifts, reunions, and even change in ourselves and our families, but the deeper invitation is to expect Christ—to remember that He has come and that He will come again. I named how this season can stir both hope and dread: some of us long for relief from addiction, conflict, and loneliness; others brace for the ache the holidays can expose. Into that mix, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 call us away from apathy and away from anxiety. We don’t know the hour. We are not asked to predict it. We are asked to be ready.

Jesus compared His return to the days of Noah—life humming along, ordinary tasks filling ordinary days, and then a decisive moment. Two people doing the same work; only one is prepared. That image presses a crucial question into our everyday: Are we paying attention? Readiness is not frantic sky-gazing or elaborate end-times charts. Readiness is faithfulness where we are—at the hand mill, in the field, brushing our teeth, on the commute, at the project deadline—when no one is applauding and nothing feels dramatic.

Matthew 25 helps us picture what readiness actually looks like. Some have oil for the long night and some do not. Some invest what they’ve been given and some bury it. And in the most searching scene of all, the King names Himself in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. Our love for the least reveals our love for Him. Each day becomes a kind of “little judgment,” not to crush us with fear but to awaken us to the real opportunities to love our neighbor now.

We don’t have to know everything—even Jesus said He didn’t know the day. We do have to trust that God is finishing His work in us and through us. Advent hope is not passive; it is a hope that prepares. So let’s look up with confidence—and look around with compassion. Let’s be a people whose expectation is evident to everyone we meet. If you’re not ready, today can be your first step: believe, come for prayer, step into the water, or simply open your hands to begin again. What God has started, He will complete.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Expectation that resists apathy and anxiety Advent hope trains us to live awake without becoming alarmist. Predicting dates feeds control; trusting Jesus frees us to be present and faithful today. Real readiness anchors us in hope, not headlines. It refuses both shrugging indifference and spiraling fear. [49:18]
• 2. Faithfulness is forged in the mundane God trains our hearts in the small, hidden spaces where no one is keeping score. The field, the hand mill, the morning routine—these are altars where love becomes a habit. If we wait for dramatic moments, we will miss the daily chances to become the kind of people who are ready. [61:35]
• 3. Readiness looks like loving the overlooked Jesus locates Himself in the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and imprisoned. To prepare for His return is to move toward those people with food, presence, and dignity. Love that costs us convenience is the clearest sign that our hope is real. [58:48]
• 4. We don’t know when—so trust and act Ignorance of the hour is not a handicap; it is an invitation to faith. Live as if today matters eternally because it does—for your neighbor and for your own soul. Trust God to complete what He began, and let that trust become concrete in mercy and courage. [46:52]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:45] - Advent: Are we really expecting?
• [02:30] - Opening prayer of gratitude and hope
• [04:10] - Holiday longings and honest fears
• [07:05] - Christ has come and will come again
• [10:15] - Reading Matthew 24:36–44
• [15:20] - Like the days of Noah
• [23:40] - Apathy, anxiety, and readiness
• [31:10] - Date-setting and misplaced confidence
• [39:50] - Living in the now-and-not-yet
• [48:30] - Faithfulness in ordinary places
• [56:10] - Matthew 25: Loving the least
• [64:40] - Invitation to trust, love, and act

1. In Matthew 24:36, who knows the day or hour of the Son of Man’s coming, and who specifically does not?
2. In Matthew 24:37–41, what ordinary activities are people doing, and what surprising separation happens between people doing the same work?
3. In Matthew 24:42–44, what are the two commands Jesus gives, and what everyday image does He use to make His point?
4. In the modern example shared, what happened when people followed a date-setter into the forest to wait—“yelling and screaming, waiting, and nothing”—and what details stood out to you? [49:18]

1. If even “the Son” does not know the hour (Matthew 24:36), what does that teach about the posture followers of Jesus should take toward control, prediction, and trust?
2. Jesus says His coming will be “like it was in the days of Noah” (ordinary life, then a decisive moment). How might that sharpen what “paying attention” means in the middle of normal routines? [52:49]
3. Two people can be side by side doing the same job, yet only one is ready (Matthew 24:40–41). What truly makes the difference between them?
4. If “each and every day is a day of judgment” that reveals whether love is present, how does that reframe what readiness looks like right now? [55:58]

1. Where are you tempted to chase predictions or headlines instead of practicing steady readiness? What is one small habit you can start this week to move from alarmism to presence (for example, a daily prayer of trust, or a tech fast one evening a week)? Think about the real story of people “waiting, and nothing” as a caution. [49:18]
2. Look at your daily rhythms—commute, dishes, email, school pick-up, bedtime. Choose one moment and name a simple way to practice faithfulness there so that your “expectations [are] evident to everyone [you] meet.” What will you do differently tomorrow? [01:01:35]
3. Name one “least of these” person or group you can move toward this week (hungry, thirsty, stranger, under-clothed, sick, imprisoned). What exactly will you do, and when—bring a meal, make a visit, write a note, offer a ride, give a coat? [58:48]
4. Not knowing the timing is not a handicap; it’s an invitation to trust (Matthew 24:42–44). What decision in front of you needs to be made by faith without all the answers, and what would trusting God look like in that decision this week? [46:52]
5. Who near you is easy to overlook because they’re different from you (politics, immigration status, theology, or even someone who has spoken poorly of you)? What concrete, relational step will you take toward them—listen over coffee, a kind text, an apology, an invitation? “Loving your neighbor who does not” [agree] belongs in readiness. [01:04:01]
6. If you sense you’re not ready, what is your first step today—believe, ask for prayer, pursue baptism, or simply open your hands and begin again? Who will you tell, and when will you take that step? [01:04:01]