One Wednesday in July I was looking through a pile of papers on my desk at Covenant Christian Reformed Church where I work as the worship coordinator. It’s not really my desk; it’s the pastor’s desk, but more often my pastor, Joel Kok, uses his office at home and assures me that the office at church is ours to share. Under a pile of magazines and old worship committee minutes I found a hand-written copy of one of our former pastor’s sermons. Here’s the story.
The last sermon Pastor Herm Van Niejenhuis preached at Covenant was an Advent message he offered when he returned for his niece’s profession of faith. It was on Isaiah 40:1–11, entitled ”Advent Hope.”
I had not ever read this copy of the sermon. I heard the sermon on that Sunday and found the copy left on the pulpit after the service. I brought it to Pastor Herm, and with a wink he told me to keep it. I did—in a pile on “our” desk. But Herm had been on my mind on this particular July morning because we had recently gotten a prayer request that he was in his final days. I remembered that I possessed a hand-written copy of one of his sermons, so I went digging. And it didn’t surprise me—and if you knew Pastor Herm, it wouldn’t surprise you—that what I found, when I found it, was good news. And poetry. And the whole story of God and God’s people—all hallmarks of Pastor Herm’s sermons.
Before I finished reading the sermon, the phone rang in our church secretary’s office. “Pastor Herm has died,” she told me. I went back to reading the sermon and found what felt now like a letter from someone who had just climbed a mountain and was looking over to the other side.
Dear friends,
with ups and downs,
weaknesses,
failures,
tears,
Go—climb—see
the coming of your God
stretch your eyes,
your faith.
Let there be evidence of Christ’s royal power and his incredible gentleness.
Let there be people who continue to witness to Christ’s rule.
Let our lives and the works of our hands keep stubbornly showing his Lordship.
Don’t give up.
The new creation is on the way.
Um…says who?
Says who that all of this is true and worth living toward?
Here: Isaiah 40:26–31 (NIV).
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
—Herm Van Niejenhuis, “Advent Hope”
Each year during Advent we remind ourselves that we live as “those who hope.” And each year we rightfully look for hope in the same place–in the promise that the Christ child born so many years ago will some day return and make all things new. Yet as worship planners and preachers, we try to present this hope in a new light. This was our new light this year—this found poem from one of God’s faithful servants.
We decided to use the poem (not including the Isaiah passage and with an expanded beginning) as a charge each week. We worked with readers to bring out the thrill of hope in these words, so that we could all leave feeling eager to play our part in the fulfillment of the promise of Advent.
We also gave these words to a high school sophomore in our congregation—Sevriena Postma—and asked her to consider what this looks like. Where is the evidence of our coming King’s royal power and incredible gentleness? Who are the people who are continuing to witness to his rule? What are those works of our hands that are stubbornly showing his Lordship? Using her iPad and iPad pencil, she created five beautiful and thought-provoking images, one for each of the Sundays of Advent and one for Christmas. In them, we found sparkling glimmers of Hope, Love, Joy and Peace. Members of our congregation told me they couldn’t wait to see what Sevriena would have for us the next Sunday. Others took the bulletin images home and studied them after their Sunday dinners. Through the images and the words and the Word made flesh, we all became again those who hope.
Advent Charge
The impossible climax of our story is on the way!
While you are waiting, keep preparing—with Hope*—
a way for the coming-once-more-Lord.
Raise every valley,
smooth every hill and mountain,
even out the rough places.
When Christ’s Kingdom fully comes,
we will never again have to walk the rugged road.
The forever-word is NeverAgain!
Never again hurting tears
or pain
or hunger
or sinful brokenness.
Dear friends, with ups and downs,
weaknesses,
failures,
and tears,
Go—climb—see
the coming of your God.
Stretch your eyes, your faith.
Let there be evidence of Christ’s royal power
and his incredible gentleness.
Let there be a people
who continue to bear witness to his rule.
Let our lives and the work of our hands
keep stubbornly showing
Christ’s Lordship.
Don’t give up.
The new Creation is on the way.
—Rebecca De Vries and Herm Van Neijenhuis © 2026 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
[* add additional words each week: Love, Joy, Peace]
Images
The images are available for free download in the resource section and may be used with the appropriate attribution as found below each image. Advent [XX] | Painting by Sevriena Postma © 2026 ReformedWorship.org, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
