Coming out of Sunday December 13th’s teaching, “The Gifts of Advent: JOY”, spend some time in prayerful reflection and dialogue with your Home Church/Friends/Family around any combination of these questions:
Read Luke 2:8-20 before starting. Pray and ask God to speak.
- How did God speak to you about JOY through Sunday’s message and/or through the passage we just read? How do you define joy?
- What details strike you the most about the Angel’s birth announcement (in Luke 2:8-14)? What do you think this announcement reveals about about the message of Jesus and God’s excitement around the birth of Jesus? Where is ‘joy’ in this part of the story?
- What do you think the fact that God chose the Shepherds to hear/see this announcement reveal to us about the good news of Jesus?
- Consider how the Shepherds responded to the announcement of “good news of great joy”:
- They went to go see Jesus for themselves (V15&16)
- They told everyone about their experience (V17-18)
- They returned to their flock, glorifying and praising God (V20)
- Which of these three responses most resonate with you? Why? What might it look like for you to live in to these ‘joyful responses’ this Christmas? Be as specific and practical as you can. (i.e. What does it look like for you to have a fresh experience of the manger this Christmas? Who is God inviting you to share joy with this Christmas? What might that look like for you? What does worship look like for you this Christmas? What do you do when you don’t feel like worshipping?)
- Spend some time praying together as a group. Make sure to make some space to ‘glorify and praise’ God together by giving thanks for this “good news of great joy”.
