Group Time | December 17

The Point of Christmas: From Fear to Peace
 December 17, 2017
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Open:

Fear can immobilize us! It is terrifying to be in a situation where something horrific is happening, and we have no power to control the circumstances. Can you think of an example?

Our series for December has been asking, “What’s the point of Christmas?” This week we will look at the shepherds who were guarding their sheep, read of their frightful moment seeing an angel, and feel their fear. Their emotions run full circle when the events that began with fright turn them into witnesses that the Savior of the world has been born!

Focal Passage: Luke 2:8-18.

Discuss:

The shepherds were not expecting this arrival

  1. Read Luke 2:8-9a. If anyone in your group has farm animals, why is the night-watch so important?
  2. Imagine yourself guarding the sheep on a clear, cold night; how would you react if you saw an angel, sent from God, standing before you?

Fear was the first response

  1. Read Luke 2:9b. When something occurs that is totally out of your comfort zone or previous experience, why is fear the first response that you feel?
  2. Have you, or someone in your family, undergone a disruption to normal routine, and experienced something terrifying? What was the initial response of everyone close to them?

Alleviating fear requires listening

  1. Read verses 10-12. What was the correct reaction as the angel gave his message to the shepherds?
  2. Why is listening so important? Read James 1:19. Why would God command this in any situation we find ourselves in?
  3. Read verses 13-14. What message would they have missed if they had run in fear when the angel first appeared?

When fear vanishes, peace arrives

  1. Read verses 15-16. How do you know the shepherds believed the message given them?
  2. What was the other miraculous occurrence? How would this message bring peace to them?

When peace arrives, there’s a story to tell

  1. Read verses 17-18. Why would they have gone out, eagerly recounting what had happened?
  2. When you found that a Savior had come into the world to save you from your sins, did that give you a story to tell? Why? Do you honestly believe it is for others whom you love, and do you tell them? Why or why not?

 

Close

Most of us have never sat through the night on a hillside, guarding animals against predators who use the darkness to kill. However, most of us have sat through the night at some time, waiting—possibly interceding in prayer—for someone we love as Satan prowls, seeking “whom he may destroy.” We can learn so much from this short experience of the shepherds that wonderful night of Jesus’ birth. They were doing their job, not anticipating a change in their lives. We do the same. We get up, dress, and prepare for a normal day. But in a moment of time an angel from God stood in front of the shepherds, changing their normality to fear. Perhaps in our daily routine, we have an appointment where we get bad news, or have a death, or maybe a wreck occurs, and in that moment our day is changed. After the initial fear, the shepherds listened. Do you listen for God to speak, when you’re in that place where fear has taken hold? Suddenly, in an instant, the sky was filled with wondrous angels singing, and peace descended upon the shepherds. As God sends His “wonderful words, beautiful words of life,” does peace fill your heart? They immediately ran to find the Newborn Babe. Do you? Do you flee to Christ when darkness has come, fear takes over, and God disperses the fear, bringing peace? Do you want more of His attention, His love, His comfort? After they had tested and found the Truth was real, they had a story to tell. Hopefully, if you’ve found Christ to be real, your life has been changed. When that occurs, you have a story to tell. Draw a circle around the area where you live, and intentionally take your story to the ones who live within that space, and let them know the point of Christmas is the change in your life, when the Christ child who came as a baby became your Savior.

Key Verses: Luke 2:10-11: Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (NKJV)