We draw into Luke's Gospel where we see a story filled with unexpected characters chosen as the first recipients of the good news. How does Jesus’ arrival challenge what the world sees as power and influence? What fears might God be inviting you to release as you remember that God is with us? We celebrate Christ, the Savior and Lord.

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:1-20, John 1:9-14 (second reading, Children’s ministry)

Reflect together:

• Consider the difficult realities surrounding Jesus’ birth: the Roman census, traveling while pregnant and giving birth in a manger. How might these realities help shift the way I endure challenging circumstances in my life? What might the Spirit be birthing in my story?

• All who heard the Shepherds were amazed, but Mary held these things close to her heart and considered them seriously. This advent season, what is the Spirit inviting you to treasure and ponder?

• In what ways has ‘God with us’ been good news and brought great joy in your story? In what ways can your presence, speech and actions embody and extend that same joy to others?

• The angels opened the announcement with "Do not be afraid." What fears or anxieties might God be inviting you to surrender?

Our songs together:

• Peace Has Come - Hillsong

• Joyful Joyful

• All Glory Be To Christ

• Go Tell It On The Mountain

Life was messy for Mary after saying that she was the Lord’s servant and humbly accepted the role of being mother to the Messiah. Her dreams and plans took a distant second place to the role God wanted her to be part of. Life can get messy for us as well. Having a real relationship with Jesus does not mean that all the broken parts disappear or that no hard times will come. We live in a broken world and in broken stories. What it does mean is that the Love of the Lord will carry us through all of these moments in ways we could never have expected.

Scripture reading: Luke 1:26-38

Our songs together:

• God with us - All Sons and Daughters

• Behold (then sings my soul) - Hillsong

• O Come O Come Emmanuel

• Living Hope - Phil Wickham

Is it possible to find comfort in discomfort, to cling to hope in despair? When we find ourselves in the wilderness, how might Isaiah’s promises of restoration resonate in our own story of healing and expectation. Join us for the second Sunday of Advent.

Scripture reading: Isaiah 40:1-11

Reflect together:

• Where can I see glimpses of God's comforting presence in the midst of my own wilderness What new beginnings or new possibilities might God be birthing in my story as an outcome from this wilderness?

• What ‘mountains,’ ‘valleys’ or obstacles in my life need to be leveled or raised to prepare for a deeper experience of God’s presence this Advent?

• How have I experienced God’s comfort or transforming power in wilderness seasons? How can I offer God's comfort to others who are walking their own wildernesses? In what practical ways can I embody the comfort that Isaiah speaks of?

Our songs together:

• King of Kings - Hillsong

• Peace Has Come - Hillsong

• Come Thou Fount

• Goodness of Jesus - CityAlight

The Israelites have returned from exile only to find the Temple is destroyed and Jerusalem lay in ruins. In Isaiah 64, the prophet begs that God would tear open the heavens, that he would come down and make things right. In the midst of disappointment and longing, he invites us to look in the mirror and see our collective need for redemption. Join us for this first Sunday of Advent.

Scripture reading: Isaiah 64

Reflect together:

• Isaiah expresses a longing for God to “rend the heavens and come down.” How does this vivid imagery resonate with your own desires for God's intervention in your life and in the world?

• How does the metaphor of our righteousness acts being like “filthy rags” challenge your understanding of personal righteousness and self-sufficiency? In what ways might this prompt you to rely more deeply on God's grace rather than your own efforts?

• The prophet speaks of God as the potter and us as the clay. When God, in his sovereignty, first imagined you - who did he see? What may need to change in your posture or perspective to become more malleable in the hands of the Potter?

Our songs together:

• All Who are Thirsty

• O Come O Come Emmanuel

• It is Well - Bethel

Advent

This week, we read about Jesus’ birth according to Matthew. Unlike other accounts, this gospel has no manger scene, no angel song and no shepherds. It’s a portrait of how God is truly with us among all of the mess and complexities that we find ourselves in. That God is with us means that we can have hope in one that will bring an end to sin and injustice, that there is peace available to us, that the good news of the kingdom is among us. That God is love."

Scripture: Matthew 1:18-25

Respond:

• Joseph walked in faith despite lacking the full picture of the hardships ahead. In what areas or uncertainties might God be calling you to a deeper surrender and trust in this season of your life?

• How do you react when we are confronted with highly unusual circumstances that disrupt our understanding of things? Has God called you to participate in something that seemed impossible or frightening? In retrospect, have you found that God was present and faithful in the midst of those strange and difficult times?

Advent

“Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” This honest question and doubt from John the Baptist echoes in the hearts of many of us. It reflects the difference between people’s expectations and the reality of the true character of Jesus - God with us. This time of year, we are saturated with manufactured cheerfulness; we can have joy in the promises of God and His kingdom despite our experiences of loneliness and despair.

Scripture passage: Matthew 11:1-11

Respond:

• The advent of Jesus Christ comes with good news. It’s an invitation to be transformed.  What is the Holy Spirit inviting to be transformed in you? Is it a relationship in your life? Is it how you steward your time, finances and abilities? Is it an invitation to slow down and listen to your gut, your soul? Is it a fundamental change of heart?

• Emmanuel, God with us, does not remove all our troubles but enters our suffering and accompanies us through them. Does this make a difference in your experience? How can God’s people faithfully accompany others through troubles?

• Jesus made a habit of bringing those who were excluded and marginalized (lepers, strangers and outsiders) into community and healing. As Jesus asks, what do you hear and see? In what ways do you see God’s kingdom at work and how can you participate in it?

Advent

For a Christmas story, the birth of Jesus, that brings so much joy and hope it is interesting that in its initial announcements to the main people in the story, the joyful news is preceded with the words “Do Not Be Afraid”. Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and finally the Shepherds all get the same words in their opening dialogues with the Angels. The Promise of Peace is there for us. But what is this Peace that is being offered? For one thing it is not always how we picture it!

Scripture Passage(s): Luke 2:8-14, Philippians 4:7, Romans 15:13

Respond:

• Re-read one of the narratives surrounding the birth of Jesus: Zechariah (Luke 1:11-25), Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25), Mary (Luke 1:26-38), and the Shepherds (Luke 2:8-14). Take notice of the scene, their reactions and the exhortation from the angels “do not be afraid”. What do you see? What details stick out?

• When we look at the biblical witness, we find stories of men and women that continually experience fear and anxiety within circumstances out of their control. Times of suffering and brokenness is a common thread for God’s people. “There are no exceptions even for Jesus”, notes Paul Racine. What has your experience of fear and anxiety look like in your life? How might you distinguish between trusting in a change of circumstance and trusting in God?

• When have you experienced God’s nearness in a particularly trying time. What happened? What scripture comes to mind? Or perhaps a biblical story. Take time sharing and giving praise.

• Jesus, prayed the lament of Psalm 22 on the cross. Choose a portion of the Psalm (verses 1-21 petition, verses 22-31 praise and thanksgiving) and put it into your own words.

• Read Psalm 22 as a closing prayer together (or pray Psalm 22 in your own words)

Advent

The certainty of hope is not what you are hoping for but it is in whom your hope is placed.

Passages: Psalm 119: 116, Romans 4:18, Romans 15:13