God Is Expectant

Session Objective

Participants will reflect upon God as an eager Gift-giver who expects to break through to the world, bringing hope to the darkest places and forever changing our understanding of God's love and grace.

Main Themes

• Mary and Elizabeth were unlikely choices for lead characters in the Nativity story, but these expectant mothers said an obedient yes to God's invitation to tell God's great love story.

• God's people had waited for a Messiah for generations, but the arrival of Jesus was not what they expected. They had to adjust their expectations and let God's story unfold.

• God loves us with an expectant heart and is eager to lavish gifts upon us.

Key Scripture

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").

Matthew 1:22-23

Materials Needed

You will need the Under Wraps DVD, a DVD player, and a Bible.

Getting Started (10 Minutes)

Opening Prayer

Loving God, we are so grateful that you stepped down into our time and space to show us that you are love and light and hope and joy and peace. We thank you for loving us so perfectly well. Fill us with your presence as we immerse ourselves back into your amazing, world-changing story. Give us hearts to expect that you will work and move in us this holy season. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Conversation Starter

Say:

This week we read about the expectant nature of God, full of hope and eagerness to give good gifts to God's children. Today we will discuss and reflect upon God's eagerness to surprise us, and invite God to give us expectant hearts to receive his gifts.

Ask:

Choose one of the following:

• When have you been so excited to give a gift that you could hardly contain your excitement?

• Have you ever considered that God is expectant and eager to surprise you? How would you describe the idea that God is expectant?

• How have you received surprising gifts from God?

Video, Discussion, and Application (40 Minutes)

Note: This section allows approximately 25 minutes total for discussion (of video, Scriptures, and book). More questions are provided than you will have time to cover; select in advance those questions you would like to discuss, putting a checkmark beside each one.

The Video

Play: Session 1: God Is Expectant (running time: 13:45)

Discuss:

• What is significant about the relationship and the conditions of Mary and Elizabeth?

• What kind of Messiah were God's people looking for? How was Jesus different from those expectations?

• How was God described as expectant in the video?

• In an instant-gratification kind of world, how does Advent teach us to wait? Why is waiting good for us?

• What does God expect to happen at Christmas?

• What do you expect to happen at Christmas?

The Book

In Chapter 1, we discovered that we all have different expectations about what Christmas brings. Elizabeth, Mary, and even God himself had expectations for that first Christmas. God expected to change the world and to breathe new life into even the hardest of hearts.

Discuss:

• Why does Christmas bring with it so many expectations?

• Mary was pregnant unexpectedly because of her young age and unwed status. Elizabeth was pregnant unexpectedly because of her old age. How do these unexpected circumstances set the stage for even more unexpected details about the Messiah that were still to come?

• Name some of the ways that Jesus defied expectations from the very beginning of his life all the way to the end.

• Reflect on the idea that God is like an eager Gift-giver. He has the perfect gift for you and can't wait until it's time to give it you. How do you receive his gift at Christmas? How do you receive it throughout the year?

• Jessica wrote about "we" language her community used when she was pregnant with her first child. Why do you think we use "we" language when it comes to the arrival of new babies? What is significant about "we" language surrounding the birth of Jesus?

• Review the story of the farmer who refused to go to church and came to believe in Jesus after attempting to rescue a flock of birds. Who are some "farmers" in your life that need the gift of Jesus Christ in their lives? Who does your heart break for? Who do you want God to get through to this Christmas?

Bible Study

In Advance: Use a commentary or Bible dictionary as needed to help you prepare for this segment. Choose one or more of the following texts (depending upon time available and your group dynamics and needs). Be familiar with the text before the group session begins. Write down your own discussion questions in addition to those provided below.

Read Aloud: Isaiah 9:6-7

Discuss:

• How is the Messiah described in this passage?

• If you didn't know the full story of Jesus and you heard this passage, how would you have thought this Messiah would come into the world?

• How was Jesus an unexpected fulfillment of this prophecy?

Read Aloud: John 1:14

Discuss:

• Review the section in Chapter 1 about the Greek word for dwelling. What does it mean that God put on flesh?

• What is the significance of Jesus putting on our "tent" and moving into our "camp"?

Read Aloud: Luke 1:46-55

Discuss:

• What is unexpected about Mary's declarations?

• Mary mentions God's promises to Abraham. How would God's people, who had heard about these promises for generations, have been surprised at what the fulfillment of the promise looked like?

• Mary's song comes before she ever holds Jesus in her arms. With the child in her womb, she believes with all confidence in the fulfillment of God's promise and gives new imagery for what God has done by sending Jesus to live among us. What does she proclaim that God has done?

Conclude by reading Isaiah 25:6, 8-9 aloud. Remind participants that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus; and while Advent can feel more like a season of hurry-up-and-get-ready-for-Christmas, Advent is meant to cause us to slow down, to wait, and to seek God—to look for the coming Light. As preparing for Christmas fills up our calendars, let's redirect our hearts and minds to this truth: "This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

Life Application

Say:

We talked earlier about people in our lives who need to receive the gift of Jesus. Maybe you are the one who needs to receive the gift of Jesus, whether for the first time or as a renewed experience...