JESUS RECONCILES

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• respond to an Advent story about those on the graveyard shift;
• explore through Scripture how God calls the unsuspecting, the unqualified, and the undeserving;
• examine how our deepest longings for reconciliation are connected with God's desire to reconcile others;
• confront how our fears limit our response to God's call; and
• begin to explore how, where, and to whom group members believe they are sent.

Biblical Foundation

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11 NRSV)

Special Preparation

• If possible in advance of the first session, tell participants to bring either a notebook or an electronic means of journaling, such as a tablet. Provide writing paper and pens for those who may need them, as well as Bibles for those who did not bring one.

• On a large sheet of paper or a board, print and post the following statement: "Sometimes when you do something you don't normally do, you see something you don't normally see."

• Get an Advent wreath with four candles, as well as a lighter or matches (electronic candles are an alternative). Or if you prefer, simply place one candle on a table.

• If you decide to do the reenactment of Waffle House, set up a table with chairs on one side to serve as the counter of the restaurant. If your group is fairly small, this will be sufficient scenery. If you have twelve or more in the group, you may want to set up two or three smaller tables to act as booths.

• Prepare index cards with the following names: Mary, shepherds, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph. Make multiple copies of each card so every participant can have one card.

• Post the following open-ended prompt: When I was terribly afraid and (longing for reconciliation, faced with a call, walking through the valley of the shadow of death), I experienced God's presence when ...

• If you plan to use incense or a candle in the closing prayer, check to be sure that no one in the group is allergic or sensitive to strong fragrance.

• Get hymnals with "Silent Night! Holy Night!" and accompaniment for the hymn. If a piano or other instrument is not available, accompaniment can be found on the Internet.

• The closing prayer is a litany. You can photocopy the litany from page 23 and pass it out at before the closing prayer.

• Go over the session in advance and select or adapt the activities you think will work best for your group in the time allotted.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, welcome them to the study. If group members are not familiar with one another, make nametags available. Provide Bibles for those who did not bring one.

Gather together, and invite group members to introduce themselves. Then call attention to the statement you posted. ("Sometimes when you do something you don't normally do, you see something you don't normally see.") Invite any volunteers who have had an experience like that to describe it and to tell what they saw. Discuss:

• If you've had such an experience, what was the result? Did you learn something new about yourself or someone else? Did you have a new insight?

• If you've never had an experience like this, why do you think this is true? Is it because you rarely do something outside your normal routine? Or is it perhaps because you are often too busy to see things from a new perspective?

Tell the group that in this session, they will hear a story of some people who departed from their normal routine and, as a result, found that it changed the way they viewed things.

Opening Prayer

Light one Advent candle. Pray the following or a prayer of your own choosing:

Come, Lord Jesus. Make us aware of your presence here with us today. As we have encountered you in the parables you told, open our hearts to new understandings through the stories we hear today. In your name we pray. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Introduce the group to Jorge Acevedo, lead author and host of the study and lead pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida. Grace Church is recognized as having one of the largest and most effective recovery ministries in America, with over seven hundred people involved in weekly recovery ministries. Participants can learn more about Acevedo and his church at their website, www.egracechurch.com.

To set the stage for the study, invite participants to think about how, where, and to whom they believe they are sent. Explain that this Advent study is story-based. Each week, a different presenter will tell a story about a memorable Advent or Christmas.

The first story is told by Jacob Armstrong, pastor of Providence United Methodist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Ask participants to attend particularly to what Jacob's story has to do with those who work on the graveyard shift. Then watch the video. Following the viewing, discuss:

• In their conversation, Acevedo and his four coauthors discuss what it means to be in ministry to those on the third shift. What reasons do they give for people sometimes hesitating to minister to this group? How might we break those bounds and minister as Christ might have?

• How have you experienced both giving and receiving in your ministry as a disciple of Christ?

Bible and Book Study and Discussion

Roleplay the Third Shift

As a volunteer reads Luke 2:8-20, invite the group to listen for what the angels announced. In the book chapter, Jacob Armstrong points out how the angels use the word you in the announcement. Ask someone to read verses 10-11 again, emphasizing that word. Jacob suggests that the shepherds might have wondered why such a message was coming to them.

If they have not already done so, invite the group to read the short sections under the headings "Jesus Comes to the Unsuspecting," "Jesus Comes to the Unqualified," and "Jesus Comes to the Undeserving."

Recall that Jacob poses the following rhetorical question:

If that grand announcement came tonight, would God go to Waffle House while it was still dark and tell the ladies who work all night?

Tell participants that they can participate in a roleplay of what might happen if the angels made their announcement at Waffle House. Ask for two or three volunteers to be the cooks and servers, and have them stand behind the "counter." Ask two or three others to agree to take the parts of those who have come in to eat at Waffle House — truck drivers, nurses, police officers, and so forth. Others could take similar roles and sit in the "booths," or simply stand by and observe.

Set the stage for the roleplay by saying something like the following:

It's still dark in the early morning hours at Waffle House. The restaurant is empty at the moment, but soon the men and women who cook and serve food here will be hard at work — operating the grill, pouring coffee, taking orders, and clearing away the plates and cups.

As usual, it's brightly lit inside the restaurant. And as usual, it's dark outside, except for the lights of cars and trucks on the highway. Suddenly, the darkness is illuminated by a blinding light that makes the restaurant lights seem dim. What could it be — an explosion, a fire, a UFO? Then the cooks and servers hear a voice: "Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy." The voice continues with unbelievable news, and then the sky is filled with heavenly creatures singing, "Glory to God! Go and see — then tell everyone."

Ask the volunteers to take up the story there, with the cooks and servers discussing what has just happened. Then have the other volunteers come in and take seats at the counter or in the booths, joining in the conversation.

Let the scene play out, then pause to debrief the roleplay, discussing some of the following:

Why do you think God would choose those on the graveyard shift to be first to hear the good news of the Messiah's birth?

• In what ways were the people in this roleplay unsuspecting, undeserving, and unqualified?

• To whom do you think the workers in Waffle House first would deliver their good news? To whom do you think the shepherds would first have delivered the news of the Messiah's birth?

• In his chapter, Jacob observes that God does not call the equipped, but equips the called. Have you experienced this in your life as a disciple? If so, how?

If you choose not to do the roleplay, simply have a discussion using some of the questions above.

Explore Our Longing and God's Longing

Form pairs. Point out that Jacob refers to the film A Christmas Story, where Ralphie longed for one special gift, a Red Ryder BB gun. Ask each person to think of one Christmas gift they can remember longing to receive. Have them tell their partner about that gift, answering the following:

• Why did you long for that gift? What did it represent? What was its appeal?

• Did you receive the gift? If so, did it meet your expectations?

• If you did not receive the gift, how did you feel?

Invite participants to follow along in their Bibles as a volunteer reads aloud Luke 1:5-25. Then ask the group to scan the information in the text about Zechariah and Elizabeth. Discuss:

Jacob invites us to imagine the people assembled just outside the Temple as Zechariah performed his priestly duties. What do you think the people were longing for?

Point out that, just as in the case of the message to the shepherds, the angel in this account had a personal message for Zechariah, telling him that his prayer had been heard. Discuss:

• What did Zechariah long for? How was the deepest longing of his heart connected to the longing of all the people of God?

• Jacob observes that often our deepest longings for reconciliation are connected to God's desire to reconcile others. What does he mean? Do you agree?

Explore Fear

Remind the group that in the video discussion, Rachel Billups names fear as one of the factors that make people hesitate to get involved in ministry. Jacob points out that the phrases "Fear not" and "Do not be afraid" are among the most commonly recurring phrases in Scripture. Discuss:

• People often experience fear when they realize God wants to use them. Why do you think this is so? Have you had that experience?

In the Advent narratives, it is not those who are bursting with courage and confidence whom God seems to use, but those who are utterly terrified to be included in the story. Distribute the character cards you prepared before the session. Have participants form one or more small groups of five, with each person in the group holding a different character card. Ask each person in a group to tell which character from the account of Jesus' birth they are holding and then to respond to the following open-ended prompt from the perspective of that character:

• When I received the angel's message, I was afraid because ...

Wrapping Up

Closing Activities

Telling a Personal Story

Remind the group that in the introduction to the video, Jorge Acevedo asks:

• Do you have an Advent story? A story about Advent or Christmas that changed everything?

In the opening activity, you invited volunteers to tell a story about doing something they don't normally do, and as a result seeing something they don't normally see. Remind the group that in ending this chapter, Jacob tells of a time when he had a profound experience of Emmanuel — God with us — in a hospital waiting room. Call attention to the posted prompts: "When I was terribly afraid and (longing for reconciliation, faced with a call, walking through the valley of the shadow of death) I experienced God's presence when ..." Then invite volunteers to describe their responses.

Being Reconciled, Being Sent

Call the group's attention to the following questions in the text:

• What are you longing for?
• Where do you need reconciliation?

Ask participants to read the paragraph following those questions silently, reflecting on the suggestions Jacob poses as possible answers to those questions. Invite adults to record in their journals their own personal answers to the questions of what is longed for and where they need reconciliation.

Jacob tells us that the promise of Advent is not just that God hears our longings and sends Jesus to reconcile us. God also sends us as messengers of that reconciliation. He ends this chapter by challenging us to consider where we are being sent and who else needs to be reconciled. Encourage adults to write in their journals personal answers to those questions.

If group members find that answers to those questions are elusive, ask them to jot down the questions for later reflection.

Also encourage them to read Chapter 2 in preparation for the next session.

Sing a Hymn

Sing together "Silent Night! Holy Night!"

Closing Prayer

Remind the group that in the account of Zechariah's experience in the Temple, the text tells us that the burning of incense was a way of symbolizing the prayers of God's people being lifted up to God. If you like, light incense or a scented candle.

Nowhere is it more evident that Jesus came for all people than in Luke's birth stories. Hand out the photocopies of the litany. Invite the group to join in the litany, with individuals or small groups reading the responses. (If your group is small, participants can read more than one response.)

A Litany of Affirmation and a Prayer of ExpectationLeaderJesus came for all people:Reader 1people whose expectations for their lives have changed;Reader 2who find themselves physically uncomfortable;Reader 3who drive crowded streets;Reader 4who feel like they live where they work;Reader 5who are afraid, even terrified;Reader 6who need good news;Reader 7who are in a hurry;Reader 8who are amazed by some things happening in their lives;Reader 9who are still processing some things happening in their lives.LeaderJesus was sent to a people in need, a people who were desperate for help — to people just like us.ALLCome, Lord Jesus. Send us — unsuspecting, unqualified, and undeserving as we are. In your holy name we pray. Amen.

JESUS SETS US FREE

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• respond to an Advent story about someone who was able to see the divine in others;

• explore through Scripture Jesus' liberating mission and its implications for discipleship;

• examine how focusing on life circumstances can blind us to seeing the divine in others;

• recognize the many ways that they receive as well as give;

• use their gifts to express an understanding of how Jesus sets us free; and

• continue to explore how, where, and to whom they believe they are sent.

Biblical Foundation

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been raised. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue as he normally did and stood up to read. The synagogue assistant gave him the scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

(Luke 4:16-19 CEB)

Special Preparation

• In the center of a large sheet of paper, print the following: "Where do we need reconciliation in the world today?"

• Bring front sections of newspapers, or download and print information from Internet news sites.

• If possible, plan to show a YouTube clip of "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus." You will need a laptop and equipment for viewing the clip. You will also need hymnals that include the hymn, as well as accompaniment, for the closing.

• Again set up an Advent wreath, or place two candles on a table.

• On a large sheet of paper or a board, print the following: The purpose of Jesus' ministry, as he understood it, was to preach the gospel or good news to those whose life chances seem stifled economically, socially, physically, and/or mentally.