Christmas Bible study for small groups.

1. Advent week 1

   Genesis 3: Where are you?

   Read Genesis 3:1-24

   The first sin starts with a question that turns God's yes into a no. God's first words afterwards are a question too, "Where are you?", and inside the judgment he puts a promise: the woman's offspring will bruise the serpent's head.

   “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”

   Where it leads to JesusIn the text

   Genesis 3:6 → Romans 5:19: One man's disobedience, one man's obedience

   Paul sets Adam and Jesus side by side: "as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous." "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive."

   To talk about

   1. The serpent's first move was to make God's generous yes sound like a no. Where are you tempted to see God as holding out on you?
   2. The man blames the woman, and the woman blames the serpent. What makes owning our part so hard?
   3. Before sending them out, God clothed them. Where have you seen God's kindness in the middle of the consequences of a mistake?

   The full Genesis 3 study →Print this week →This week's quiz →

2. Advent week 2

   Isaiah 7: Ask a sign

   Read Isaiah 7:1-25

   The LORD told Ahaz to ask a sign "either in the depth, or in the height above" (7:11). He wouldn't, and the answer was that "the Lord himself will give you a sign": Immanuel (7:14), words Matthew says were fulfilled in the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:22-23). And the place the LORD sent Isaiah to meet Ahaz (7:3) is where, in chapter 36, Rabshakeh stood (36:2).

   “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

   Where it leads to JesusIn the text

   Isaiah 7:14 → Matthew 1:22-23: God with us

   In the days of Ahaz (Isaiah 7:1), the word came: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Matthew tells of the birth of Jesus: "After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). Then he says, "Now all this has happened that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”" (Matthew 1:22-23). Joseph "took his wife to himself" (Matthew 1:24), and "He named him Jesus" (Matthew 1:25). Matthew doesn't name Isaiah in these verses; he gives the words of Isaiah 7:14 and says the birth of Jesus fulfilled them. The WEB words the two a little differently: will conceive, and bear a son and shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son, shall call and They shall call. Christians read the sign in Isaiah's own setting in two main ways, and the chapter's honest question sets out both without choosing; both hold Matthew's words as Scripture.

   To talk about

   1. When the news came, "His heart trembled, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the forest tremble with the wind" (7:2). The word to Ahaz was, "Be careful, and keep calm. Don’t be afraid" (7:4). What helps you keep calm when news shakes you?
   2. "If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established" (7:9). What is one thing you are facing now where you want to stand firm by trusting God?
   3. The LORD told Ahaz, "Ask a sign of the LORD your God" (7:11), and he answered, "I won’t ask" (7:12). What makes it hard for you to ask God for help, and what would it look like to ask this week?

   The full Isaiah 7 study →Print this week →This week's quiz →

3. Advent week 3

   Isaiah 9: A great light

   Read Isaiah 9:1-21

   The last of three reasons for joy is a child: a staff lay on a shoulder (9:4), and the government will be on his shoulders (9:6), in Hebrew the same word. And the refrain says his anger is not turned away (9:12) because the people have not turned (9:13): in Hebrew one verb, shuv.

   “For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

   Where it leads to JesusIn the text

   Isaiah 9:1 → Matthew 4:14-16: The people who sat in darkness saw a great light

   Isaiah says, "In the former time, he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali; but in the latter time he has made it glorious, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations" (Isaiah 9:1), and "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). Matthew tells that "when Jesus heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee" (Matthew 4:12). He came and lived in Capernaum, "in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali" (Matthew 4:13), and Matthew writes, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sat in darkness saw a great light; to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned.”" (Matthew 4:14-16). Matthew names Isaiah and says his words were fulfilled when Jesus came to live there, and goes on, "From that time, Jesus began to preach" (Matthew 4:17). The WEB words Isaiah and Matthew differently in places: walked and sat, nations and Gentiles.

   To talk about

   1. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light" (9:2). When has light come to you in a dark time, and what did it look like?
   2. "His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (9:6). Which of these names means most to you right now, and why?
   3. When the bricks fell, Ephraim said, "we will build with cut stone" (9:10), and "the people have not turned" (9:13). What helps you turn to God when something falls apart, instead of just building again?

   The full Isaiah 9 study →Print this week →This week's quiz →

4. Advent week 4

   Matthew 1: Son of David, son of Abraham

   Read Matthew 1:1-25

   Matthew's list runs "Abraham became the father of Isaac" (1:2), father after father, down to Joseph. Then the words change: "Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus" (1:16). And 1:18 tells how: Mary "was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit" (1:18).

   “She shall give birth to a son. You shall name him Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”

   Where the Old Testament leads hereInterpretation

   Genesis 17:6 → Matthew 1:1: A promise kept

   "Kings will come out of you" (17:6). Matthew opens with "Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham", and his list runs from Abraham through "King David" to Jesus (1:1-16). Matthew doesn't quote 17:6, so this pairing is an interpretation many Christians make; the verse can also be read of the kings of Israel who came from Abraham.

   To talk about

   1. Matthew's list runs through kings, through the exile to Babylon (1:11-12), and through people whose stories the Old Testament tells, on to Jesus (1:16). What does it mean to you that his line runs through all of that?
   2. Joseph was "a righteous man" and "not willing to make her a public example" (1:19). Where could you protect someone's name this week rather than expose it?
   3. Matthew says Immanuel means "God with us" (1:23). Where do you most need to know that this week?

   The full Matthew 1 study →Print this week →This week's quiz →

5. Christmas week

   Matthew 2: Born King of the Jews

   Read Matthew 2:1-23

   The wise men asked for the one "born King of the Jews" (2:2), and Matthew doesn't give that title again until the governor's question (27:11), the soldiers' mocking (27:29), and the words set over Jesus's head on the cross: "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS" (27:37). And Matthew never says how many wise men there were.

   “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

   Where it leads to JesusIn the text

   Micah 5:2 → Matthew 2:5-6: A promise kept

   Micah has, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me who is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:2). When Herod asked "where the Christ would be born" (Matthew 2:4), the chief priests and scribes answered, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet, ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah; for out of you shall come a governor who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’" (Matthew 2:5-6). Matthew names no prophet, and the WEB words the two differently. Matthew's quotation goes on with words, "who shall shepherd my people, Israel" (Matthew 2:6), that are not in Micah 5:2, and Matthew names no passage for them.

   To talk about

   1. The wise men came "from the east" (2:1) "to worship him" (2:2), and when they found him, "they fell down and worshiped him" (2:11). What would it look like for you to come to Jesus this week to worship him, and not only to ask him for something?
   2. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy" (2:10). What has God used to lead you toward Jesus, and how did it feel when you saw where it was leading?
   3. Twice an angel told Joseph in a dream, "Arise" (2:13, 2:20), and twice "He arose" (2:14, 2:21), once "by night" (2:14). What helps you act on what God asks when you can't yet see the whole way?

   A note for leaders: this chapter includes Herod's killing of the boys of Bethlehem (2:16-18). Read it ahead, especially with children in the group.

   The full Matthew 2 study →Print this week →This week's quiz →

Luke 1 and 2, the angel's visit to Mary and the shepherds, join this study when Luke is ready in Favor.