Sermon Based Group Homework
For the message on December 17, 2017
Passage: Luke 2:41-51
QUICK REVIEW
Looking back at your notes from this week’s message, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
1. Which of the below have you lost (even for a short period of time)?
___ Your car in a parking lot
___ Your wallet or purse
___ Your pet
___ Your keys
___ Your wedding ring
- How did you react when you realized that you couldn’t find it?
2. What is the best gift you could find under the Christmas tree this year?
LET’S GO DEEPER
1. Mike talked about how easy it is to allow the hectic pace of the Christmas season to distract us from focusing on Jesus, the One whose birth we are celebrating. During this last week before Christmas, how might the following verses help you keep your eyes on Him as you prepare to celebrate His birth?
Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at
the right hand of the throne of God.
Psalm 119:6 (ESV)
6 Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
Luke 5:16 (ESV)
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
- Which one of these passages spoke to you the most?
- What is one practical thing you can do to keep Jesus in view this week?
2. When we find ourselves absent from fellowship with God, it isn’t because He moved, it’s because we drifted away from Him. Mary and Joseph had to return to the place where they left Jesus to reconnect with Him. Why do you think God wants us to return to the place where we left fellowship with Him? Why doesn’t He sweep our disobedience under the rug and let us move on without our having to repent? What do the following verses tell us concerning next steps to connecting with God following disobedience?
Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV)
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be
reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Psalm 32:1-5 (ESV)
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of
summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Selah
James 5:16 (ESV)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
- Which is closest to the true definition of biblical repentance – feeling remorse or change?
- Can you think of a time when you experienced the joy of repentance?
3. We can find the true reason for Christmas when we realize that Jesus is God’s Son who came into the world as one of us to seek a relationship with us. Have you ever thought about what Jesus gets for a gift at Christmas? He gets us! Spend a few moments expressing to those in your group what Jesus means to you and how you feel about being Jesus’ gift.
TAKE IT HOME
1. Looking back at this week’s teaching and study, what one thing is most important for you to remember and why?
2. Are there any changes you’d like to make as a result of this week’s message and study?
Prayer Requests:
