LifeGroup Notes

BIG IDEA
This Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of hope. In fact, the whole season of advent is about hope, the hope of Israel that God will make good on His promises. We look back to, for example, the prophecies and promises of the book of Isaiah that say that a child is going to be born who will then become the Prince of Peace and bring peace to a needy world. In this season, we are reminded of a popular Advent hymn: “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus”:

Come thou long expected Jesus
born to set Thy people free,
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.

Israel’s strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth Thou art,
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

As we sing that hymn in the Advent season, we are reminded of Mary’s Magnificat, sometimes called “Mary’s Song of Praise.” Here we have Mary, the mother of Jesus, who’s just found out that she’s with child in a miraculous way.

This song is not just about Mary. In those first few verses, she reflects on the great things God has done for this nobody in a world full of powerful men. At the same time, six of the nine hymn verses are about what God will do through this child for the whole world. God will turn upside down the injustices she and many people around her have experienced.

One of the keywords that Mary uses in the song of praise is mercy. God is merciful, compassionate, and caring. You see, in Mary’s world, the gods of the nations were not known to be compassionate and merciful. But Mary remembers the tenderhearted nature of her God.

When we sing Mary’s song with her today, we’re not just looking back on what God has already done in the past. That’s part of it; that’s part of the hope we sing about at this time of year. It’s also about singing this song with hope about what God is still doing in His world.
(from Bible.com Great Expectations Devotional)

Passages we’ll review:
Luke 1:46-55; Isaiah 55:8-9; Deuteronomy 31:6; Isaiah 9:2

OPENING
What stood out to you from the message this week? What led you to really think? Did anything challenge you? Have you ever had to share something that you really loved, something that had immense value to you?

What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Are you familiar with Advent? Did you celebrate Advent growing up? Do you celebrate it now?

READ

Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” (NIV) Describe a time when your hope was deferred. What did God teach you through that experience?

Read Isaiah 55:8-9

How do you respond when things don’t go according to your plan? Be honest!

Even though we are made in the image of God, we are not exactly like Him. We can only see things in our limited scope, but God sees the whole picture! He knows all things. As our Father, He sees and understands things we can’t.

In what ways has God worked unexpectedly in your life? How has this encouraged you?

The time between when the Old Testament ends and the New Testament begins is called the Intertestamental Period, a four hundred-year time span when God seemed silent. The people depended on prophets to hear from God, but between Malachi and John the Baptist, there was no prophet speaking to Israel.

Read Deuteronomy 31:6

During Advent, we remember how God’s people waited for the promise of the coming Messiah. When have you experienced a long season of waiting? What emotions did you feel during that time Anticipation? Impatience?

Were you afraid of the dark as a child? If so, can you remember how being in the dark made you feel?

Read Isaiah 9:2

How does this verse give hope to God’s people?

Just as God used ordinary, imperfect people to bring Jesus into the world, He can use ordinary, imperfect people like us to bring the hope of Jesus to others.

LET’S PRAY

We have the privilege of knowing the full story. We know the promised Messiah came to earth, He died for the sins of the world and He is risen, conquering death and darkness, pain, doubt, and fear. He is our “thrill of hope.” He is the reason this “weary world rejoices.”

As you close in prayer, ask God to prepare your heart for the season of Advent. Pray for those who are in a painful season of waiting, that God would renew their hope and faith in Him.

(Taken from Advent: The Weary World Rejoices by Lifeway Women)