Abby Odio, Pastor of Teaching and Formation, abbyo@churchbcc.org
This week’s scripture focuses on King Herod and his response to Jesus’s entrance into the world. Instead of welcoming this baby as king, Herod’s response is full of fear. Unable to see himself and Jesus with clarity, Herod sadly misses the good and transformational reality of God-with-us. In a time when fear is all around us, may we not miss the beautiful and hopeful truths of this season:
- The Motivation of God
- The Invitation of God
- The Peace of God
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Discussion Questions
Before questions, attempt to give the group a bit of a summary of the main points of the sermon and then choose a few questions that fit your group’s needs and style. We don’t intend for you to use all of these. Three to five questions may be a good number.
- What is your favorite carol or Christmas song?
- Pastor Abby reminds us in the examples of Herod and in her own life, just how easy it is to miss the things that mean the most.
- What role does the pace of our life have on our ability to remain attuned to these things?
- How have you noticed God’s arrival/presence in an unexpected way so far this advent season?
- In a year of such disruption:
- What plan or timeline have you had to change or let go of?
- What has this created new space for?
- How would you describe your understanding of the word “calling” currently?
- Trying to control the narrative is a natural feeling and as Pastor Abby puts it, “there is a little Herod in all of us” that desires control.
- How has 2020 revealed this in your own life?
- How might you ask God to reveal an answer to this question for you, for our community and world?
- Comparing the three snapshots in history - this present moment, the end years of Herod and July 1962; how can we align with Pastor Martin Luther King Jr’s response that in a year of palatable fear, love ought to be our response to cast out fear?
- Break into pairs for this next activity. What is your “fill in the blank” word for how you need to be reminded you are loved, even when you are ____? Share that with your prayer partner and take turns praying that reminder over your partner, affirming that they are loved by God in all circumstances. “NAME, you are loved, even when you are BLANK”
- As part of our collective growth towards wholeness, consider spending time in proximity with Christ for 5 minutes each day this coming week. Christmas is our reminder that God- THE God of the universe- is with us! Read Mary’s prayer aloud in Luke 1:38: “let it be for me according to your word.” At the start of each day, with honesty and vulnerability, write where you are at and what you are feeling. Commit to sharing one excerpt with the group the next time you are together.
- God’s promise of peace is extended to us as we recall that he is always with us whether we can see or feel His presence. How are you reminded of the fact that Jesus is present? (Ex. Abby’s Grandma D’s mountain reminder).