scripture Passage: L U K E 2 : The power of silence Setting the stage The curtain opens Extraordinary invading ordinary The favor of God

Transcription

1 breaking the silence The birth of jesus TEACHING WHY STU LESSON: DESIRED OUTCOME/ PRACTICE: In the fullness of God s timing, Jesus Christ entered the world, born of a virgin, the Son of God and Son of Man, to deliver His people from their sins. When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of woman, born under the law (Gal. 4:4). The incarnation of Jesus is the profound truth that Jesus, the long expected Messiah, has come to us as God in human form. That students understand the circumstance in which Jesus entered the world as both God and man according to the sovereign will and plan of God. Background Passage: L U K E 2 : scripture Passage: L U K E 2 : The power of silence Setting the stage The curtain opens Extraordinary invading ordinary The favor of God Memory Verses: G A L AT I A N S 4 : 4-5 When the time came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. page 1 3 breaking the silence

2 PREPARING TO TEACH Begin your preparation by reading Malachi 4:4-6 (Travelogue, pp. 9-10), God s warning to His people before 400 years of silence from God. He had promised a Messiah would come, but now His people had heard nothing for 400 years. Read the Venture Up Travelogue (pp ) and other sources about the historical period between the Old and New Testaments. Imagine you were alive during this period of silence. Make notes on what some of your questions, feelings, and thoughts might have been regarding God s silence. Consider whether there have been times in your life when you felt your prayers never got beyond the ceiling and the silence you felt from God was overwhelming. As appropriate, be prepared to share one of those experiences with your small group. As you review the familiar Focal Passage, consider ways to challenge adults to open their minds to new truths God may desire to teach them. As you develop your teaching plan, you may wish to use some of the following items: a picture of the Nativity or a Nativity set including Mary, Joseph, Jesus, angels, and shepherds. Display the set in a prominent place in your meeting area so adults will be drawn to it as they enter. In advance enlist an adult to read Luke 2:1-7. For the conclusion, search the Internet for the lyrics or a video of the Christmas carol, Some Children See Him, by Wihla Hutson and Alfred S. Burt. If you have a group member who is comfortable singing solos, consider asking the person to prepare to sing the carol as the closing for this study. Regardless of the time of the year when you plan this lesson, consider ways to make this not only a Bible study but also a worship experience. TEACHING SUGGESTIONS THE POWER OF SILENCE Ask adults to recall times in their childhood when one or both parents spoke loudly to them about something they had done page 1 4 breaking the silence

3 wrong. Call on volunteers to respond. Call on volunteers to recall occasions when their parents said little and left them alone to consider their behavior. Ask: Why is silence sometimes more powerful than angry chastisement? Teaching Option Search YouTube or other Internet video sites for examples of both the loud parental response to a child s misbehavior and the silent treatment parental response to wrongdoing. Show the two videos, with brief introduction as seems appropriate to the video and the group you lead. Following the videos, ask which response group members were most likely to receive when they did something wrong as a child. Ask which approach they are/were most likely to take at a wrong deed of their children. Ask: Why is silence sometimes more powerful than angry chastisement? Lecture briefly on the 400-year period of silence from God that ensued at the conclusion of the Old Testament. Call on a volunteer to read aloud Malachi 4:4-6 (Travelogue, pp. 9-10), a message of warning that ended the Old Testament. Lead adults to brainstorm some of the questions people may have voiced during those years of powerful silence. Record the responses on the marker board or a tear sheet. Discuss. Teaching Tip Remember that the point of brainstorming is to get learners engaged in the subject matter and participating in the learning process. Do not, nor allow others to, evaluate the merits of any person s contribution during brainstorming. You do not want to discourage participation or cause adults to think their ideas and contributions are not worth being shared. Describe a time when you felt your prayers weren t reaching God and you felt abandoned by Him. Ask if a volunteer would like to share a similar experience that person has had. Mention page 1 5 breaking the silence

4 the caution from the Travelogue (p. 10): Be sure that you don t mistake God s silence for His absence. Ask: How can we continue to trust God through the periods of silence? SETTING THE STAGE Use the Travelogue (p. 11) comparison of the 400-year silence of God to the intermission between acts of a play. Ask: What might it have been like to live in the Holy Land as a follower of God during this period of silence? Call on a volunteer to read Galatians 4:4-5 (Travelogue, p. 11), this lesson s memory verses. Ask: Based on this text, what do you think God was doing during the 400 years of silence? What did Paul mean in saying God sent His Son to earth when the time came to completion? Draw from the Travelogue (p. 12) to point out differences between God s timing and ours. Also from the Travelogue and a commentary or Bible dictionary explain how the coming of the Roman Empire had changed the world. Ask how the varied aspects of change mentioned in the Travelogue can be understood as being when the time came to completion. That is, how did they facilitate the coming and spreading of God s message in Jesus? Ask: How can believers accept that God s timing is always perfect? Discuss the significance of the phrases Paul used in Galatians 4:4-5 to describe Jesus: (1) born of a woman, (2) born under the law, (3) to redeem those under the law, and (4) that we might receive adoption as sons. Ask: What does each phrase contribute to our understanding of Jesus identity and purpose on earth? THE CURTAIN OPENS Call on the enlisted adult to read aloud Luke 2:1-7. As the verses are read, list on the board or tear sheet the names of people and towns mentioned: Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, Joseph, Nazareth, David, Bethlehem, Mary, and Jesus. As you review each person or place, include facts about the people and places. With Mary and Joseph, page 1 6 breaking the silence

5 include God s appearances to each of them, assuring them that what was happening in their lives came from Him. Ask: How much did Caesar Augustus understand about how God was using him to break the silence and introduce His Son to the world? Discuss what we learn about God from the truth that He has the power to use even those who don t believe in Him to accomplish His will and purpose. Ask: Does God still use people who don t know Him to achieve His purposes today? Explain your answer. Discuss how believers today can be comforted in accepting this truth, trusting that God is always at work. EXTRAORDINARY INVADING ORDINARY Call attention to the picture of the Nativity or the Nativity scene you have displayed. Ask: Why do you think God chose to send His Son to a poor and powerless couple and in the form of a newborn baby? Why did God choose to have Jesus born in Bethlehem rather than Jerusalem or even Rome? What can we learn about God from these actions? Read aloud Luke 2:8-14. Point out that the scene of the angels appearing to the shepherds represents another example of the extraordinary invading the ordinary. Explain that shepherds were among the lowest on the social scale and yet God chose them to be the first to hear the announcement of the birth of Jesus and to relay it to others. Ask: Why do you think God made this choice? How did the response of the shepherds illustrate the wisdom of the choice? Reread verse14, the words of the angels to the shepherds. Ask: Whom were the angels describing in the phrase people He favors? Call attention to the Travelogue scale (p. 15) in which adults are asked to rate their lives as ordinary or extraordinary. Ask: Why does God choose to use ordinary people who have accepted His grace gift of salvation to do extraordinary things in His kingdom? page 17 breaking the silence

6 THE FAVOR OF GOD Lead adults to brainstorm names of people in the Bible to whom God spoke directly and sought intimate relationship. Record responses on a tear sheet or the marker board. Ask if these were the only people in the Bible whom God favored. Point out that the recorded names represent many others in Scripture upon whom God s favor rested. Ask: As you look at the Son of God lying in a manger, how do you know God wants an intimate relationship with you? Consider the story of Katie Davis, who, as a high school senior, went on a short mission trip to Uganda and returned to Middle Tennessee convinced God wanted her to go back to Africa and make a difference in the lives of children. She has adopted 13 children and started a ministry in that country. In her book, Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption (Howard Books), she described her mission of making a difference in the lives of people, one person at a time. Point out that Katie likely would have been described as an ordinary teenager and follower of Christ when she went on that first mission trip. But God is using her in extraordinary ways. Read aloud the paragraph from the Travelogue (p. 18) that begins, This is the story of God. Ask: What are you doing now for God? What does He want you to do through your church? In the community? How can you count on His support as you do it? CONCLUSION Reference the Christmas Carol, Some Children See Him, by Wihla Hutson and Alfred S. Burt. The text points out the truth that when the children of the world look at Jesus, they see Him like themselves. They may be white, brown, black, or yellow. Likewise, craftspeople from around the world that make or paint Nativity scenes create the characters to look like themselves. Point out that these illustrate the power of Incarnation, Jesus coming to earth, fully God and fully man. Read aloud the last verse of the hymn or call on the learner enlisted to sing the carol to the group. page 1 8 breaking the silence

7 Close in prayer, thanking God for sending His Son to earth. Teaching Option To obtain the complete lyrics of this carol or for a video of it being performed, do an Internet search for Some Children See Him. You may wish to play the video to close the session. FOLLOW THROUGH Communicate by or other means with group members during the week. Encourage them to praise God daily for the many ways He communicates with them and responds to their needs. Urge them to begin preparation for next week s lesson by reading the Focal Passage, Luke 4:16-22, and follow that up by studying the Travelogue and responding to the questions and activities in it. As you prepare for next week s lesson, compare the similarities to the people involved in Jesus birth to those involved in His ministry. Consider how these circumstances should inform our involvement in reaching out to others. page 19 breaking the silence