Connect What is one practical way (this advent) that can help you to grow in the wonder of the incarnation?

Warm-Up

1. Have you ever had to teach someone about the importance of a promise? 
2. Why don’t we always deliver on our promises? Why can we trust that God will?

Read Luke 4:14-21

1. Where has Jesus just been prior to him coming to the synagogue? What did people think of Jesus so far?
2. What part of Isaiah does Jesus read from? What is significant about this part of Isaiah?
3. What does Jesus say immediately after the reading? What is he claiming about himself?
4. How important is the mysterious Messianic figure described in Isaiah? If Jesus’ claim is false, what does that make him? If his claim is true, how central is Jesus in the history and future of everything?
5. If Jesus is exclusively the one who God has sent to bring comprehensive salvation, why is this such good news for those in search of God? Why might it also be confronting in our culture?
6. Who (according to Isaiah’s words) has Jesus come to? What are the clues that this doesn't only mean the materially poor? (Clue: reading further, what two examples are provided—were they rich or poor?)
7. In what way are we spiritually poor? Why are we sometimes resistant to acknowledging this? Why do you think we’d prefer to ‘make it on our own’ or ‘deny that we even need rescuing’?
8. What freedom can we find when we recognise the reality of our situation and the reality of who Jesus is?
9. What type of salvation does Jesus bring? How is it more (but not less!) than just individual salvation?
10. What did Isaiah mean by ‘the Lord’s favour’? How does this relate to the practice of a ‘year of jubilee’?
11. What debt and slavery does Jesus ultimately free us from? How will he do it?

Read Isaiah 61:1-3

12. Where does Jesus break in his reading from Isaiah 61? Given that Jesus did often teach that there would be a day of judgement (i.e., a day of vengeance), how is it evident such a day is not yet?
13. If we live in the era of the “Lord’s favour” — with the work of salvation on the cross complete —
    how should we live in anticipation of Jesus’ coming return to judge the world? 
14. In what way is salvation a gift? How do we receive that gift? Is there anything that we bring?
15. What does it mean to you to know that God delivers on his promises?

Apply Who this Christmas would you love to receive the gift of salvation? How can you encourage & pray for them?

On Your Front Line this Week

How can you bring grace and love to your interactions and transactions this week?

For Families

• Download: some of the family resources to use at home: stbartskids.org

Listen, Watch, and Read

• Listen: “The Saviour’s Manifesto” by William Taylor: https://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/talk/54070/ 
• Listen: “The Poor Have Good News Preached to Them” by Tim Keller: https://gospelinlife.com/sermon/the-poor-have-good-news-preached-to-them/ 
• Watch: “Gospel of Luke 4:14-30) by Tom Wright: https://www.udemy.com/tutorial/simply-jesus/luke-414-30-with-prof-nt-wright/ 
• Listen: “Jubilee: The Radical Year of Release” by the Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/podcast/jubilee-radical-year-release

Series Resources

• Read: “Rejoice: Advent in all the Scriptures” by Chris Wright & John Stott: https://bit.ly/46GUMi1  
• Read: “Advent (Fullness of Time Series)” by Tish Harrison Warren: https://bit.ly/3uGoy9r  
• Read: “The God who Became Human” by Graham Cole. https://bit.ly/3g68RBj  
• Read: “On the Incarnation” by Athanasius. https://bit.ly/3E5gLmB  
• Read: “Is Christmas Unbelievable” by Rebecca McLaughlin. https://bit.ly/3E6X79K  
• Watch: “The Word Becomes Human” by the Bible Project. https://bit.ly/3UEL8HB  ‍
• Listen: A Carols Playlist (curated by the St Bart’s staff team): https://spoti.fi/3OaJsTK