Better Christmas - Embrace The Wait | Pastor John Ware

·53 min·5 clips

Pastor John Ware reveals why Christmas is centered on waiting, not just celebration.

This episode is the second part of a two-part 'Better Christmas' series from Lifehouse Church. Pastor John Ware opens by framing Christmas through the lens of Advent, a season of waiting, noting a 400-year prophetic silence before Jesus' birth. He argues that Christian life inherently involves waiting on God's promises. Ware critiques contemporary culture's emphasis on speed and efficiency, citing Chipotle as an example, and suggests this clashes with spiritual growth. He references John Mark Comer's book 'The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,' which identifies hurry as a cultural hazard to faith. The sermon explores 1 Corinthians 13 and 2 Peter 3 to highlight God's patient character. Ware then provides three practical ways to 'wait well.' First, learn to 'be where your feet are,' using a Bob Goff concept and Matthew 6 to address worry and regret, illustrated with a live demonstration involving volunteers. Second, embrace the journey and process, not just the outcome, discussing sanctification and the 'already but not yet' theology from Philippians 3. Third, embrace hope as an active practice, examining Simeon's story in Luke 2 and defining biblical hope as 'prosdechomai'—eager, active waiting. Ware connects this to the parable of the talents, urging listeners to invest their resources while waiting. The episode concludes with an altar call, inviting listeners to accept Jesus as 'living hope' and Lord of their lives.

As heard by us

A grounded sermon on waiting that turns Abraham's hope into present-tense, open-handed faith.

Waiting becomes a practice of facing reality without giving up hope. In part two of Lifehouse's Better Christmas series, the message moves from seasonal messiness into the harder discipline of staying present when regret or worry offers an easier exit.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want to wait without spiraling into regret, worry, or a dramatic ostrich impression.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Lifehouse