Community Group Discussion
12.04.2016 TO 12.11.2016
Series Overview:
Christmas is a season filled with cheerful decorations and colors.
That’s a good thing, because it sits right in the midst of winter —
when the sky is often gloomy, the trees are barren, and the grass is
brown. Off-setting this dreariness and emptiness is Christmas, with
all its bright colors — green, blue, gold, and white. These colors
also are also a great description of the Christmas story 2,000 years
ago, when hope arrived in the midst of darkness.
Getting Started:
Icebreaker: Tell us about your Christmas tree growing up. Any
memories stand out?
In Sunday’s sermon, “Green Christmas,” Senior Minister Darrel Land
talked about how the green decorations of this time of year speak to
the promise of new life in a season when things are dead and dying.
Jesus is our ultimate hope of making all things new. Let’s dive in and
talk about it.
Going Deeper:
Read Galatians 4:4-5.
1. What words or phrases do you notice there?
2. Let’s start here: What does the phrase, “But when the right
time came …” mean?
When Jesus was born, for the first time in human history everything
was right for God to spread His message to mankind.
When Jesus was born:
• There was a universal government in place. Rome ruled over all
the known world.
• The Roman empire produced one of the longest periods of
universal peace. In fact, it was so unique that historians still refer to
it as the “Pax Romana” — the Peace of Rome.
• Rome not only produced a lasting peace, they created a universal
system of roads throughout their empire — the first of its kind.
• And throughout the Roman Empire, there was a universal
language that practically everyone knew and used — Greek. God
used that one language to spread the Gospel.
In other words: There was ONE government, ONE peace, ONE
system of roads and ONE language shared by all.
3. While we can appreciate the historical authenticity
surrounding what Galatians 4:4-5 says now, 2,000 years ago the
timing seemed prolonged. Israel had been waiting for God to
deliver on his promises for hundreds of years. Let’s take a look.
Read Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:26-38, 2:1-7.
Leader note: When the promised child was to be born, He wasn’t
going to be the offspring of a man and woman. This child was to be
the offspring of a woman. God tells Satan that the conflict will be
“between your offspring and hers.” Thus Isaiah prophesied: “The
virgin (a woman who’s never slept with a man) will be with child and
will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” This child was
not going to be the offspring of man and a woman. He was to be
born of a virgin. Also, this promised child would suffer pain (his heel
would be crushed) — but in the process, He’d give Satan a mortal
blow from which he’d never recover (his head would be crushed).
That’s what took place when Jesus died on the cross for our sins,
and rose from the grave on the third day.
4. There is huge gaps of time between these prophesies (and
the hundreds of others in the OT) and Luke’s account. This
included the “Intertestamental Period” when God was silent for
hundreds of years in the midst of their hardship. How do you
think God’s people felt waiting? Describe.
Getting Real:
5. Darrel related this waiting to winter, and that the green of
Christmas foreshadows the coming spring. These promises were
like the decorations in the winter of God’s people’s existence. Can
you think of an example of this happening in your life, when you
had to hold onto the promises of God in the midst of waiting?
6. In The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
comments that it is, “always winter, never Christmas.” Is there
anyone here who can relate? Is there anyone here who
currently feels like they are in wintery season of cold and
hardship? Do you care to open up and share?
7. Why are these seasons so hard to deal with? Why do we
struggle to trust God in such moments in our lives?
Darrel remarked on Sunday that the incarnation helps us understand
that even in the winter of life we can trust God’s timing. Read 2 Peter
3:9. We’re going to do an activity. We’re going to spend the next 5-7
minutes searching God’s Word for promises God gives us. Use a
smartphone if you have to. Every person needs to find 2-3 verses of
promises from God for the winters in our lives. At the end of the time,
we will go around the room and share what we’ve found.
8. In light of what we’ve just read and your current situation,
what is one promise you need to hold onto in your life?
9. How does understanding all of this impact your view of
Christmas? How can “seeing green,” make us more intentional
in our worship over the next couple of weeks?
10. (For groups with families) – How could we help use the
“Green Christmas” imagery to teach our kids what Christmas is
really about this year?
Prayer Time:
Take requests.
Then spend time asking God to help you trust his timing, even in the
winter of your life. Pray specifically for the stories and instances
shares during your group time, and ask that God would help us see
and trust his promises. Finally, thank him for sending Jesus to
become one of us 2,000 years ago, rescuing us, and allowing us to
see how good of a father he really is.
Listen and watch sermons via RedemptionIN.com/sermons or the Redemption App for many
mobile and tablet devices as well as Apple TV: RedemptionIN.com/app. The app also has a
Bible reading plan we hope you can utilize as you continue to mature in your walk with Jesus.