Advent Series 2025: Week 1 — Hope

“The Promise in the Garden: Hope from the Beginning”

Genesis 3:1-15

I. Introducing Advent (5–7 minutes)

A. What Advent Means

Advent = “coming” or “arrival.”

A season when the church remembers Jesus’ first coming and looks forward to His second coming.

Advent is about waiting, longing, and hope — all fulfilled in Christ.

B. Why Advent Matters

Advent slows us down and points us back to the heart of the gospel.

Advent forces us to ask:

Why did Jesus come?

What kind of Savior did we need?

Advent reminds us that God keeps His promises and finishes what He starts.

II. Introducing the Sermon Series (5 minutes)

Series Title: The Miracle in the Manger: God’s Story of Redemption

A. The Story We Will Follow (Overview)

Week 1: The Promise in the Garden (Our need + God’s first promise)

Week 2: The Promise Preserved (God keeps His covenant through Abraham, David, the prophets)

Week 3: The Fulfillment Arrives (The miracle of the Incarnation — God takes on flesh)

Week 4: The Savior Has Come (The birth of Christ and the joy of salvation)

B. Emphasize the “Grand Story” Thread

The Bible is one story about one Savior with one purpose: God rescuing sinners through Jesus Christ.

Christmas is not just the beginning of the Gospel— it’s the moment the whole story has been leading toward.

III. Transition to Genesis 3 (Smooth and Natural)

“To understand why the coming of Christ is the greatest miracle, we must start with why we needed Him in the first place.”

“Advent begins not in Bethlehem, but in the Garden.”

“Before we celebrate the birth of Christ, we must understand the darkness into which He came.”

IV. The Fall and the Need for a Savior (Genesis 3:1–13)

A. Humanity’s Rebellion

Satan’s deception

Eve’s and Adam’s disobedience

The brokenness and shame that follow

B. The Consequences of Sin

Separation from God

Broken relationships

Pain, death, and exile

The world is no longer as it should be

C. The Pastoral Connection

Every grief we feel, every sickness, every funeral, every fear of aging — all trace back to this moment.

Genesis 3 explains the world as we know it.

V. The First Promise of the Gospel (Genesis 3:14–15)

A. God Speaks a Word of Hope into the Darkness

Before Adam and Eve can fix anything…

Before they even cry out for help…

God promises a Savior.

B. The “Seed of the Woman”

One day a Child will come

He will crush the serpent

He will undo the curse

The entire Bible will build toward this moment

C. The Heart of Advent in One Verse

Advent is the celebration of this promised Child arriving.

Christmas is heaven saying: “The One I promised has finally come.”

VI. Gospel Application (Warm, Accessible)

A. We Need the Savior God Promised

We cannot undo our sin

We cannot fix our brokenness

We cannot rescue ourselves

B. God Provided the Savior We Needed

Jesus is the promised Seed

He lived the life we could not live

He died the death we deserved

He rose to give us eternal life

C. The Invitation of Advent

Remember what Christ has done

Rest in His finished work

Renew our hope in His coming again

VII. Conclusion: Advent Begins in Hope

In the darkest chapter of the Bible, God gives the brightest promise.

Advent begins with need, but leads us to hope.

“The promise made in the garden finds its fulfillment in the manger.”

———————

This is a very special time of year.

Not just because of the decorations and the Christmas spirit.

Not just because of the excitement of giving and receiving gifts.

And not just because of family traditions and gatherings with loved ones.

All of these are wonderful blessings — but they aren’t what make this season truly special.

There is a deeper reason for our joy — the real “reason for the season.”

This is the season of Advent: that time of year when we remember Jesus’ first coming, while also looking forward to His second coming.

Advent is a season of waiting and anticipation — not the anxious kind we feel in the doctor’s office or in slow traffic on I-93 — but a hopeful, confident waiting. Just as the saints of old waited generation after generation for the promised Messiah, we now wait for the day when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, to make all things right, all things new, and to welcome His people into everlasting joy.

That’s what Advent is all about. That’s why we celebrate — because we can trust God to keep His promises.

. . .

Advent also meets us in our sorrow and our pain.

Because while this season is filled with joy, we know it can also be difficult. For some, this may be the first Christmas without a spouse, a parent, a child, or a dear friend. For others, the holidays stir up memories of better days, or remind us of pain, loneliness, or relationships that aren’t what they once were. Christmas can shine a light on both our blessings and our sorrows at the very same time.

And that’s exactly where Advent meets us — in the tension between joy and grief, celebration and longing. Advent reminds us that Christ has come to save, yet the fullness of His work will not be complete until He returns. In that tension, we find comfort — because the sorrow we feel now, will one day be swallowed up in eternal joy. Advent tells us that the tears we shed this year are not the final word — Jesus is.

. . .

In many ways, Advent is like the spiritual warm-up before Christmas — a time when we slow down and prepare our hearts for celebrating the birth of Christ. It’s a season of expectancy, preparation, and longing — filled with anticipation, much like a child eagerly waiting for something wonderful.

Think of Advent as a deeper kind of countdown to Christmas. It reminds us how God’s people longed for the Messiah to come, and it reminds us that we are still waiting too — waiting for Jesus to return and finish what He began.

Advent is about making room for Christ — not just decorating our homes, but preparing our hearts and minds.

Just as you would ready your house for an honored guest, Advent calls us to ready ourselves — spiritually.

So let’s embrace this season. Let’s intentionally slow down — to step away from the busyness and the noise — and remember what matters most. Let this be a time to prepare, reflect, and give thanks — a time to receive the Gospel as God’s gift to us. Jesus came to shine light in the darkness and bring hope to a broken world.

—

So far, we’ve talked about Advent as a season of hope, light, and preparation. But to truly understand why we celebrate Jesus’ coming, we have to start at the very beginning — not Bethlehem, but the Garden of Eden — where it all began.

Before we celebrate Christ’s birth, we must see the darkness into which He came. The story of Christmas is the story of God’s plan: to bring light into the darkness and hope to a broken world. It is His sovereign work of redemption through His Son, Jesus. And that redemption only makes sense when we first see the darkness we were in.

That darkness — the brokenness, the pain, the separation from God — all begins in Genesis 3. Sin enters the world through the first human rebellion. And yet, even then, God promised a Savior — the One who will crush the power of sin and bring light to a dark world.

Here, in Genesis 3:1–15, we see God speak hope into the darkness.

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’”

4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!

5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

8 Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

9 Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 And he said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.”

13 Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 And Yahweh God said to the serpent,“ Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than any of the cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;

[and here’s the key verse]

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

—

This is the story of the Fall — where everything in God’s perfect creation went wrong. This is where sin entered the world and brought a curse upon all of humanity.

When God made Adam and Eve, He placed them in a Garden that had everything they needed — not just for survival, but for flourishing. Even more, they had peace with the God who created them. They had such a relationship with Him, that they could walk with Him. It was paradise. There was nothing Adam and Eve lacked. And yet, they were deceived into thinking that God was withholding something good from them — something better.

The serpent in this story is no ordinary serpent. As we learn through other parts of Scripture, this is Satan — the great dragon of Revelation, whom Jesus calls “the serpent of old, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.”

In the Garden, Satan deceived Eve into disobeying God, and Adam joined in the rebellion. They were assured by the great deceiver that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they would not die, as God had said. They believed the lie that by eating the fruit, they would be like God.

And here’s the irony: Adam and Eve were already like God — made in His image, set apart from the rest of creation. Satan deceived them into doubting God’s goodness and questioning God’s Word. And so they rebelled. That peace with God was lost. They became enemies of God — and through them, all humanity inherited a sinful nature. Because of Genesis 3, all of creation feels the effects of the curse.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s wrong with this world — why evil exists, why “bad things” happen to “good people,” why there’s pain, suffering, and death — this is the reason. We live in a fallen, broken world because our first parents disobeyed God. People in every generation have continued to rebel against Him. Because of our sin, we need reconciliation. And because of our sinful nature, no one is truly good — not even one. Just like Adam and Eve, we all sin and fall short of God’s glory. We have a serious sin problem, and we naturally desire to walk in darkness because of our love for sin.

And yet, we also feel a tension — a longing for a world where everything is made right. We desire love, justice, and mercy. We desire beauty, peace, and goodness. We know something is missing. We try to fix it ourselves, but often we make things worse. The more we try, the more we fail. Humanity has been pursuing what was lost since Eden, and we keep falling short. We feel empty, discouraged, and at times, filled with despair. All hope seems lost. Every step forward seems to result in two steps back. Our sin problem remains. The world seems darker than ever.

. . .

But the story of the Bible reveals something the world resists. Though all our efforts to restore paradise fail, God has a plan to redeem us. His plan does not rely on us pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. His plan requires a Savior — One who is truly good, able to accomplish what we cannot. This Savior must be fully God to live a perfect, sinless life, and fully man to do what Adam failed to do.

This God-man is the only hope for humanity. We see Him arrive in the grandest miracle of all: the Incarnation — the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to undo the works of the Devil in the Garden, and to undo the works of the Devil in the world around us. Jesus came to bring light into the darkness and to restore hope.

In fact, the Bible says of Jesus:

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.” Jesus declared Himself to be the “Light of the world . . . so that everyone who believes in [Him] will not remain in darkness.”

And Jesus came to fulfill the promise God made in Genesis 3:15, when He says:

“I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

—

Here, God is speaking to the serpent — Satan. In this pronouncement, we see the first promise of a Savior: the One who would crush the serpent’s head. Jesus is that seed of the woman. That’s why the genealogies in His birth narrative are so important — they show that He is the promised One.

He is the One who would come to reverse the curse, to bless His people, to reconcile humanity to God, and to bring peace between God and humanity.

But this victory came at a cost. Just as Genesis 3:15 foretold, the One who would crush the serpent’s head would also be bruised on the heel. The cost for our peace was Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The Bible says, “By His stripes we are healed.” In other words, it took the agonizing pain, suffering, and precious blood of Jesus — poured out for us on the cross — to make atonement for our sin.

In order for God’s justice to be satisfied, sin can’t simply be swept under the rug to be forgotten about. While that might sound merciful, it isn’t justice. And because God is just, He cannot compromise justice for the sake of mercy. Sin must be paid for and His wrath must be displayed.

In order for us to be saved from this wrath on account of our sin, we need a substitute — someone to take our place. Since there’s no sacrifice we can offer to God to atone for our sins, our only hope is the sacrifice of another. We need a Redeemer.

And Jesus is that Redeemer — the perfect, spotless Lamb who was slain on our behalf. Through His death on the cross, the price for our redemption was paid in full. We know this sacrifice was accepted by God because Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day. He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and now reigns as King above all kings, Lord above all lords.

For those who confess Him as Lord — truly believing in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead and trusting in Him alone for salvation — they are saved. Forgiven. No longer enemies of God. Finally at peace with Him — forever.

Jesus came to undo the works of the Devil, and the Bible also says that “Having offered one sacrifice for all time . . . He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.”

Because Jesus reigns as King, every enemy of God will be defeated. No weapon formed against God’s people shall prosper. We can live in the victory of Christ.

Do you live your life in this victory?

Think about what that really means. Living in the victory of Christ doesn’t mean life will be free from struggles, trials, or pain. It doesn’t mean that the darkness of this world disappears overnight. But it does mean that for those who are in Christ — no matter what happens, you are not ultimately defeated. Sin no longer has the final word. Death no longer has the final word. Fear no longer has the final word. Christ has already won.

To live in this victory means to trust Him daily — in your doubts, your failures, and your fears. It means surrendering the areas of your life that you try to control on your own and letting Jesus reign there instead. It means responding to life’s challenges with hope rather than despair, love rather than bitterness, forgiveness rather than resentment.

It’s not just a future hope — it’s a present reality. Every time you believe God’s word and trust in Jesus, every time you turn from sin and lean into His promises — you participate in the victory He has already secured for you. Through the power of God, you walk in light, even when the world seems dark. You walk in hope, even when everything around you seems hopeless. You walk by faith in the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

That’s what Advent is all about as we not only look back on the birth of Christ, but also looking forward to the day when Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, to make all things right, all things new, and to welcome His people into everlasting joy.

That’s why we celebrate — because we can trust God to keep His promises. He kept His promise in Genesis 3:15. Therefore, we can trust Him to keep all of His promises.

—

[Conclusion — slow down]

The Advent of Jesus changes everything. Because He lives and reigns, we can hope for tomorrow. Because He lives, fear loses its grip. Because He lives, even the darkest places of our lives are overcome by His light. Because He lives: sin, death, and every enemy of God have already been defeated.

That is the hope celebrated in the hymn we all know so well:

“God sent his son, they called him Jesus

He came to love, heal and forgive

He lived and died to buy my pardon

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow

Because He lives, all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives”

—

This is the reason for the season — to celebrate the arrival of the promised One.

From the very beginning, God promised a Savior who would crush the power of sin and defeat the enemy. Jesus is that promised One — the Savior who brings light into our darkness, peace with God and with one another, and hope to a broken world.

Advent reminds us that God always keeps His promises.

The promised One is here — Jesus has come to save, to heal, and to make all things new.

He is the seed of the woman, and the light of the world. The darkness will never overcome Him. He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

As Paul writes in Romans 16:20:

“And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

[Let’s pray]