Sermon Questions | Advent

Advent 4 | Dec. 20, 2020 - Luke 2:1-20

Pastor David tried to come up with contemporary parallels to the shepherds in Luke 2. He suggested fast-food workers or perhaps our homeless neighbors. Do you agree with these suggestions? Why or why not? Can you come up with a better parallel?

1. Where have you experienced God speaking to you in unexpected ways or through surprising people?

2. We are encouraged to live life expectantly.

   1. If someone came up to you expectantly and said, “Brother/sister, can you please give to us a Word from God?”, what would you say today?

   2. What does it mean to live expectantly when it comes to God speaking to you in every encounter/relationship? How would that change those encounters? How can you help yourself to remember this?

Advent 3 | Dec. 13, 2020 - Luke 1:26-38

1. It is so easy to think that our current situations (Covid, presidential elections, etc) define our identity. How could it change your perspective to remember that our timeline is first and foremost defined by God's story?

2. Mary is a person that would not be significant or important in the world's eyes. What does the angel's greeting ("Greetings favored one, the Lord is with you") tell us about the nature of God?

3. In what ways can you personally respond to God by saying "Here I am servant of the Lord?" How can Blacknall as a community inhabit the identity of servant of the Lord?

Advent 1 | Nov. 29, 2020 - Luke 1:5-25

1. What gets your attention in this story?

2. Waiting for Zechariah means persevering through doubt. Waiting for Elizabeth mean offering praise, even in uncertainty. Waiting for John means preparation and repentance. Which of these kinds of waiting do you most easily recognize in yourself and/or our congregation? How might we grow in these other areas?

3. The church is a people who are waiting on God to fulfill his promise. What tempts the church to stop waiting on God? What kind of community does it become?