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Overview:  The Year of Promise!

Why would 2010 be the year of promise?  What is different about the coming year in relation to other years?  Well, it’s all in the name!  It is a NEW Year.  God is in the business of renewal.  With the Lord Jesus as our Good Shepherd, we are always being led into new possibilities, new awareness of the ancient and endless promises found in the Word made Flesh (John 1).  The promises we are so graciously offered by the Lord of Life can go unexplored if we chose to camp out in the present or stagnate on our past achievements and/or failures; however, if we “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and… run with perseverance the race marked out for us… and fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), then by that very faith he has charted for us, we can follow Jesus into the promised land of hope for our future (Jeremiah 29:11-13) and the prosperity that comes from abiding in shadow of the Almighty! (Psalm 91). 

For your study this week, meditate upon the following two passages of Scripture and prayerfully consider what God is saying to you personally through them:

DISCUSSION: 

Read Isaiah 6:1-8 and contemplate Isaiah’s response to this question God asked:

            “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?” 

Who is the Lord referring to when he says “us?”  What is your answer to this question?

 1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;  the whole earth is full of his glory.”

 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.  5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”

 6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”  8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”  And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Read 1 Peter 2:4-10 below.  Consider that as we respond to God’s call to be sent and to go (Isaiah 6), that the “spiritual sacrifices” we are offering to God are in the context of the community of the saints, the church (notice the highlighted words in the text below).  What does this say to us about the importance of being united with other believers in the body of Christ?

 4As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,  a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”7Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,  ”The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,” 8and,  ”A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.  9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Taking Action:

In your devotional time, ask God to give you fresh faith, insight and courage to respond to his call for you to live for his glory and purpose in 2010 and for his wisdom and guidance in how to pursue that within the context of the church family he has placed you in.

Ministry Time

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 Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship
 
TEXT:  Luke 2:13-14 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

OVERVIEW OF THE WEEKEND MESSAGE “The People in Your World”
In looking at this verse in Luke 2 again, it is interesting to consider the significance of the timing of the angel’s announcement.  Think about it: this was the introduction of heaven breaking through to earth in the form of God’s Son being born.  This event would forever change the course of human history, opening the doorway of eternity to mortal man.  Given these realities, it is safe to say that the choice of words proclaimed by the angels is no accident.   A closer look reveals the Great Commandment reflected in the angel’s declaration.  It is this commandment upon which Jesus said “hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:36-40).

“Glory to God in the highest” speaks of our response to God, to glorify Him by loving Him with all of our heart, mind and soul.  “Peace among men with whom He is pleased” speaks of human beings finding the blessing of God’s peace as they live their lives in such a way as to please God.  So, how is it that we please God?  Is it through religious diligence?  Doing good deeds?  The scriptures are glaringly clear; it is not by works that we find favor with God.  There is one fundamental way to please God and thereby receive His pleasure and His peace: it is in loving one another.  We please God when we “love our neighbor as ourselves.”

As we contemplate the message of Christmas this season, and as we encounter friends and family that we may not have seen in awhile, consider the message of the angels on that first Christmas night.  Talk in your groups this week of ways we can be ambassadors of peace to the glory of Christ this holiday season.

DISCUSSION:  Read 1 John 4:7-21
Notice how this passage talks about what pleases God.  Compare that with what we read in Luke 2 about the promise of peace to those who please God.  It stands to reason to conclude that the discovery of peace in our life is directly related to our willingness and pursuit to love others.  How does this apply to your situation this Christmas season?  Are there people in your family that you need to grow to love?  Anything you would like to share with the group and have them agree with you in prayer about?

Read Matthew 5:9
What do you notice about this beatitude that is unique from the others.  Notice that the promise is not like all the others.  Instead of “getting something”, the promise offered to the peacemaker is to be identified with God himself.  To be called the offspring of God.  Could it be that this further magnifies the high premium God places upon love and relationships above all else?  “and on earth, peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Have a blessed Christmas, and may you be filled to overflowing with the love of God for those he has placed in the proximity of your life.

Taking Action:
In your devotional time, pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to your heart the people in your life who need a special touch of God’s love this Christmas.  Pray for them, and ask the Lord how he can make you a conduit of love and peace to them this year.
Ministry Time

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Opening Prayer, Confession of Faith & Worship
 
Overview:
Nehemiah 8:10 says “the joy of the Lord is our strength.”  In the Christmas account in Luke 2:10 the angels told the shepherds, ““I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” In Christ, we have a deep abiding joy that is offered to us to sustain us and propel us into God’s goodness, grace and provision.  Let’s discuss more deeply the five reasons we celebrate the coming of Jesus that were talked about in last weekend’s message.  Consider how living in these truths serve to sustain in us the joy of the Lord that brings us strength.

DISCUSSION POINTS:

ONE: God is in control
 Read Romans 8:26-28 and discuss it in light of the statement below.
“If the coming of Christ tells us anything, it tells us that God is in control of all things in spite of the way it appears. Now, of all the messages given to us in the Christmas story—and for that matter, in the Bible—this may well be the most difficult to accept, because it seems counterintuitive to what we see all around us in the world.”                                                               —Pastors Terry and Judith Crist (from Dec. 13 message) 

TWO:  God always makes a way
He devises means. He creates opportunities. He positions and repositions people. He is always working to bring about His great plan for our lives, even when we are slow to cooperate with Him. There is no sin that is too great for Him to forgive. There is no shame that is too great for Him to erase. And there is no one too far gone to be restored to a place of love and acceptance in Him.
   —Pastors Terry and Judith Crist (from Dec. 13 message)

Read Isaiah 43:19 and talk about your life experiences that show how God is faithful to make a way for us.

THREE:  God uses ordinary people (like Mary and Joseph)
Read 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 and discuss how and why God uses ordinary people to do his extraordinary work in the earth.  Talk about how God used an ordinary person to impact your life at some point.

FOUR: God Accepts the outcast.
Read Luke 4:14-21 and talk about the target audience Jesus is saying he came to reach.  Reflect on how our culture honors the opposite kind of people who Jesus identifies as the focus of his mission.

FIVE: Good Triumphs Over Evil
Read Revelation 19:11-21 and talk about the contrast between the two comings of Jesus.

Taking Action
Take time this Christmas season to read the book of Revelation and look for a fresh perspective of the powerful purpose of why this baby was born in a manger in Bethlehem on that first “Silent Night.”

Ministry Time

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 Opening Prayer
 
TEXT for the Day: Luke 2:8-14
“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

OVERVIEW: (from Pastor Terry’s message):
“When the angels proclaimed peace on earth, they were describing something more fundamental to our human make up. They were talking about peace from the war within. They were addressing the fact that we were born into a sinful world and from our first breath we entered a conflict between what is good (aligned with God) and what is sinful (contrary to God). We were born into a fallen environment that is against the way God intended things to be. As a result we cannot find true lasting peace in the deepest part of our souls until we come to peace with His plan for our lives.”

DISCUSSION: To begin the discussion, talk about the statement above.  What does it say about how we must seek true peace?

Consider the scriptures and thoughts below and talk about how we can experience this angelically proclaimed peace by living in the “way and the truth and the life” that Jesus brought from heaven to earth.

Read Luke 17:20-21 below: How can this passage help us to discover the peace on earth the angels told the shepherds about?
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”  
       
Read Hebrews 11:6.  Then read Jeremiah 29:12-14.  Most people have Jer. 29:11 memorized, but the peace comes not only through the promise but through our diligent pursuit of God’s heart.  In your group, discuss our part in pursuing the Prince of Peace.  Compare it with the example of the Shepherd’s who, upon hearing of Jesus, 1) believed, 2.) Ran to him 3), Worshiped him 4) went and told others what they had encountered.

Read Galatians 5:16-18 below from the Message translation, then reread the paragraph under the heading “overview” above.  1.) Talk about how the two are related.  2.) Talk about ways that we can discipline ourselves to consistently “live by the Spirit.”
My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don’t you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

Taking Action:  In your devotional time this week, ask God what 2 things you could do to encourage discovering the peace of God’s kingdom within you.
Prayer and Ministry Time