Advent and Sabbath are deeply connected because both invite us to resist the idea that everything depends upon us.

Sabbath is, at its heart, a practice of stopping. We stop our work, our striving, our consumption, and our endless attempts to make the world conform to our plans. We stop because the world does not depend upon us. God is God, and we are not. Sabbath reminds us that creation continues, even when we cease our activity.

Advent carries that same posture into the story of Christ. Advent is a season of waiting. We do not rush Christmas into being. We do not manufacture the incarnation. We wait for what God is already doing and what God alone can accomplish. The coming of Christ is not our achievement; it is God's gift.

This Advent, we will explore that connection together in a three-week Bible study, asking what it might mean to experience Advent as a kind of Sabbath—a season of slowing down, paying attention, waiting, and receiving God's presence.

Dr. Nate Stucky, Director of The Farminary at Princeton Theological Seminary and Author of Wrestling With Rest

Our study will draw on resources from The Playground at Flagler College and the work of Dr. Nate Stucky, Director of the Farminary at Princeton Theological Seminary, helping us reconnect Scripture, creation, embodiment, and the rhythms of rest and renewal.

Wednesdays During Advent

December 2, 9, & 16, 2026
6:30 PM
Fireside Room — First Congregational Church

In a season when everything tells us to hurry, Advent tells us to wait.

In a culture of production, Advent invites us to receive.

And in the midst of our constant striving to become something, Advent reminds us that God is already coming to us.

Come join us as we make a little room to stop, listen, wonder, and wait together.

All are welcome. No prior Bible study experience necessary.