-
The
December
24, 2017 – Finding Christ in Christmas
Finding Christ in
Christmas
Micah 5:2-5a - New International Version (NIV)
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
3 Therefore Israel will be abandoned
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
until the time when she who is in labor bears a son,
and the rest of his brothers return
to join the Israelites.
4 He will stand and shepherd his flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
5 And he will be our peace
Who
will come out of Bethlehem (verse 2)?
When
will the abandonment of Israel end (verse 3)?
What
will He do in the “strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God” (verse 4)?
What
will He be (verse 5)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Matthew 2:1-12 - New
International Version (NIV)
1 After Jesus was born in
Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the
east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one
who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come
to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard
this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When
he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law,
he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In
Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the
Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He
sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As
soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the
king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went
ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When
they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to
the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and
worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of
gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned
in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another
route.
Where
did the Magi come from (verse 1)?
Who
were they looking for (verse 2)?
In
your opinion, why was King Herod and all Jerusalem disturbed (verse 3)?
Who
did King Herod ask “where the Messiah was
to be born” (verse 4)?
How
did they know that the answer was “in
Bethlehem in Judea” (verse 5)?
Who
was to come out of Bethlehem (verse 6)?
In
your opinion, why did Herod ask for “the
exact time the star had appeared” (verse 7)?
What
instructions did King Herod give to the Magi (verse 8)?
Where
did the star stop (verse 9)?
How
did they feel when the star stopped (verse 10)?
What
did they do when “they saw the child with
his mother Mary” (verse 11)?
Why
did they go home “by another route” (verse
12)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, how does “the child with
his mother Mary” in Matthew 2:1-12 fulfill Micah’s prophecy “until the time when she who is in labor
bears a son” in Micah 5:2-5a?
1 Corinthians 1:22-25
– New International Version (NIV)
22 Jews demand signs and Greeks
look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but
to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and
the wisdom of God. 25 For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength.
Who demands signs (verse
22)?
In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he says that “Greeks look for wisdom” (verse 22)?
Who is “a stumbling
block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (verse 23)?
What is the “stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” to those God has called (verse 24)?
What is “wiser than
human wisdom” (verse 25)?
What is “stronger than
human strength” (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how does the Magi, going to Jerusalem to
find the “one who has been born king of
the Jews” then continuing to follow the star in Matthew 2:1-12 demonstrate what
Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25?
In your opinion, how is Micah’s statement “and the rest of his brothers return to join
the Israelites” in Micah 5:2-5a fulfilled in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25?
Revelation 5:9-14 –
New International Version (NIV)
9 And they sang a new
song, saying:
“You
are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
11 Then
I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon
thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and
the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice
they were saying:
“Worthy
is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
13 Then
I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the
sea, and all that is in them, saying:
“To
him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”
14 The
four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.
Why
is Jesus “worthy to take the scroll and
to open its seals” (verse 9)?
Who
will be “a kingdom and priests to serve
our God” (verse 10)?
How
many angels did John hear (verse 11)?
In
your opinion, why is “the Lamb, who was
slain” worthy to receive “power and
wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (verse 12)?
Who
does John hear saying “to him who sits on
the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever
and ever” (verse 13)?
How
do the four living creatures respond (verse 14)?
How
do the elders respond (verse 14)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what does Revelation 5:9-14 reveal to us about what is
accomplished by “Christ crucified” that
Paul preaches of in 1 Corinthians 1:22-25?
In
your opinion, who, of all the people who are mentioned by Matthew in Matthew
2:1-12, will join the Magi in uttering the praise that John reveals in
Revelation 5:9-14 “to him who sits on the
throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and
ever”?
In
your opinion, what does Revelation 5:9-14 reveal to us about how the anticipated
Son in Micah 5:2-5a will bring the peace Micah promises?
In
your opinion, how do these passages from Micah, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and Revelation
help us to find the significance of the baby whose birth we celebrate this
Christmas season?
In
your opinion, how can the Magi’s celebration of Jesus’s birth guide our
celebration of Jesus’s birth today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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