Advent conspiracy @ the Naz!
Week #4:
Four Words That Could Change Your
Christmas: Receive
Luke 2:8-18 & 18:17
NOTE: If you would
like to read the manuscript of Pastor Ken’s sermon you can find it here on our website.
Luke 2:8-18
8And there were shepherds living out
in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the
Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you
good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he
is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You
will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13Suddenly a great company of the
heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on
whom his favor rests.”
15When the angels had left them and
gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16So they hurried off and found Mary
and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what
had been told them about this child, 18and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Luke 18:17
"I
tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a
little child will never enter it."
In Pastor Ken’s sermon last Sunday (December 18) he said, “There is something powerful in the act of
receiving. It brings the offer of a gift full circle. It brings fulfillment to
both parties. It kindles relationship. It honors the gift as valuable. Refusing
the gift humiliates both the giver and the receiver.”
With this in mind, think about the following questions. We
encourage you to leave responses and engage in the conversation.
• Think
back to a time when someone paid you a warm compliment, did an act of kindness
on your behalf, or gave you an unexpected and generous gift?
s How did that make you feel?
s How do you respond?
• Why
do so many people find it hard to graciously accept a gift, compliment, or a
good deed done on their behalf?
s How does learning to receive bring
fulfillment to both parties?
s How does refusing to graciously
receive a gift humiliate both parties?
• Miroslav
Volf said, “In wanting to give without recognizing our need to receive we
become arrogant.” (Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture
Stripped of Grace, p. 63).
s What are some of the gifts God has
given u.?
s What does refusing to acknowledge the
gifts of God say about humankind?
s What is the proper response (s) to the
gifts God gives us?
• Read
the following four passages of Scripture. What do they teach us about God, His
gifts, or the proper human responses to those gifts?
s Luke 18:17 “I tell you the truth, anyone who
will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
s John 1:12 “Yet to all who received him, to
those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
s Luke 22:17-19 “After taking the cup, he gave
thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not
drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ And he
took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them …”
s Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Can
allowing God (or people) to give you gifts, and learning to receive them more
graciously, help enrich your Christmas this year?