Connect What is one way this week you can grow your investment (through time, talent, and or treasure) in the future that God has prepared for you?

Warm-Up

1. What are the things you usually do to help you prepare for Christmas? What does advent mean?
2. What most helps you to remember and rejoice that Jesus has come and will come again?
3. What are the ways in which God has revealed himself to us? 

Read Luke 24:13-27 

4. What had happened up to this point in Luke’s Gospel? How do you think the disciples were feeling?
5. Had the disciples anticipated that Jesus would die? What were their hopes and what were they expecting?
6. How does Jesus respond to them? What does Jesus mean by ‘Moses’ and ‘all that the prophets have spoken’?
7. How do you think the ‘whole of Scripture’ points to and is fulfilled in Jesus? What’s the implication?
8. Why is it good news for the world that Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promises, plans, and purposes? How has it been good news for you personally?
9. What does it mean to read the Bible through the lens of Jesus? Why do Christians do this?

Read Luke 22:14-20

10. What was the original meaning of the Passover? As Jews celebrated the Passover, what were they remembering with joy?
11. How does Jesus change the words of the Passover to make it about himself? If the Israelites were rescued by God from enslavement to an earthly oppressor, what does Jesus rescue us from?
12. Why was it necessary for Jesus to die? How do we witness both God’s justice and mercy at the cross?
13. When did the pair of disciples recognise Jesus? When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, in what ways do we look back and look forward? How is the Lord’s Supper ‘edible Good News’?

Read Luke 21:25-28

14. How do judgement and the fulfilment of God’s Kingdom go together? How can we look forward to this?
15. How does Jesus’ death and resurrection guarantee us of New Creation? What will it be like?
16. As we wait for Jesus’ return, how are you empowered to proclaim the Good News of Jesus?

Apply How can you most helpfully prepare to celebrate Christmas this year—in wait of Jesus’ return?

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: “All that the prophets have spoken” by Chris Wright:
  https://www.allsouls.org/Media/AllMedia.aspx?show_media=287953&show_file=314852 
• Listen: “Bach’s Christmas Oratorio”
  https://open.spotify.com/album/1n31cAr8nkBLVb7XacDIqU?si=VHL3WJJMTHWznT4q-FiZtQ 
• Listen: “Can we trust the Christmas Story” with N T Wright:
  https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/ask-nt-wright-anything/id1441656192?i=1000591016651 
• Watch: “Chris Wright on his book, ‘Rejoice’”:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak18FIazmYY 

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