This powerful introduction to Advent challenges us to reconsider what we're truly preparing for during this season. Drawing from Psalm 130:5 and Isaiah 40:3, we're reminded that Advent isn't about preparing tables or shopping lists—it's about preparing our hearts to receive our King. The message walks us through three transformative themes: preparation, anticipation, and spiritual reflection. We learn that just as John the Baptist cried out to 'prepare the way of the Lord,' we too are called to make our hearts ready, not just during December, but as a continuous lifestyle. The sermon beautifully illustrates how we often spend more time preparing for things that will break than for the One who has already come and will come again. Like a bride preparing herself while her bridegroom prepares a place for her, we are called to sanctify ourselves through the Holy Spirit's work in us. This isn't passive waiting—it's active participation in becoming more like Christ. The call to 'Maranatha'—come, Lord Jesus—becomes our rallying cry, reminding us to live with hopeful anticipation while working diligently in the darkness, being light bearers to a world that desperately needs to see Christ reflected in us.