Potsdam Church of the Nazarene

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?