Free for small groups · 5 weeks

Christmas Bible study

Five weeks to Bethlehem: three promises made long before, then the birth of Jesus in Matthew. Each week your group reads one chapter, with its meaning, its line to Jesus and three questions to talk about.

Start the week of November 29, the first Sunday of Advent, and finish in Christmas week.

Advent week 1

Genesis 3: Where are you?

Read Genesis 3:1-24 before you meet.

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.” Genesis 3:15

To talk about

  1. 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. 2. The man blames the woman, and the woman blames the serpent. What makes owning our part so hard?

  3. 3. Before sending them out, God clothed them. Where have you seen God's kindness in the middle of the consequences of a mistake?

Advent week 2

Isaiah 7: Ask a sign

Read Isaiah 7:1-25 before you meet.

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.” Isaiah 7:14

To talk about

  1. 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. 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. 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?

Advent week 3

Isaiah 9: A great light

Read Isaiah 9:1-21 before you meet.

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.” Isaiah 9:6

To talk about

  1. 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. 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. 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?

Advent week 4

Matthew 1: Son of David, son of Abraham

Read Matthew 1:1-25 before you meet.

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.” Matthew 1:21

To talk about

  1. 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. 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. 3. Matthew says Immanuel means "God with us" (1:23). Where do you most need to know that this week?

Christmas week

Matthew 2: Born King of the Jews

Read Matthew 2:1-23 before you meet.

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.” Matthew 2:2

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.

To talk about

  1. 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. 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. 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?