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Dec 06, 2020

Advent 02 - The Gift (Click Here for Resources)

Passage: Matthew 2:1-12

Speaker: Brian Land

Series: Advent 2020

Category: Grace Brevard

Keywords: worship, hope, advent, sacrifice, gifts

Last week Mary ADORED Jesus through a powerful song. This week we meet foreign magicians who laid down their power and status at the feet of the infant Jesus, ADORING him as the True King through worshipful giving.

12.06.20 GBV Livestream from Grace Brevard on Vimeo.

Click HERE for printable discussion questions.

Order of Worship

PRELUDE: It Came to Pass

WELCOME  / ANNOUNCEMENTS / OPENING PRAYER: 

CALL TO WORSHIP: Isaiah 60:5-6 & Psalm 95:1-2

SONG: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

SONG: What Child Is This

ADVENT CANDLE READING: Hope

  • Jeremiah 33:14-16
  • Matthew 1:18-24

MESSAGE TITLE: Advent 2 - The Gift

CENTRAL TEXT: Matthew 2:1-12

ILLUSTRATIONS: 12.06.20 Album

PRAYER:  Lord, because you have made me, I owe you the whole of my love; because you have redeemed me, I owe you the whole of myself; because you have promised so much, I owe you my whole being. Moreover, I owe you as much more love than myself as you are greater than I, for whom you gave yourself and to whom you promised yourself. I pray you, Lord, make me taste by love what I taste by knowledge; let me know by love what I know by understanding. I owe you more than my whole self, but I have no more, and by myself I cannot render the whole of it to you. Draw me to you, Lord, in the fullness of your love. I am wholly yours by creation; make me all yours, too, in love. - Anselm 1033-1109

BENEDICTION: Romans 12:1-2

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURES:

  • Psalm 8:1-9
  • Isaiah 60:3-5
  • Ephesians 2:12-13
  • Matthew 26:6-13
  • Isaiah 7:14
  • Daniel 2:2
  • Isaiah 60:5-6
  • Romans 12:1-2
  • Micah 5:2-5
  • Revelation 12:1-6

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Click HERE for printable version

The Magi:

These guys are “magicians” probably from Babylon.

Why do you think they took this long and risky venture?

    What made them so sure?

Why is it amazing that these were Babylonian Magicians?

The Star:

There are loads of theories about this star:

1) Maybe it was a “natural” occurrence, like Saturn and Jupiter converging or a comet -- in which case God set the course of stars and planets perfectly in motion countless years before just for this moment.

2) Maybe it was a “super-natural” event, like a special celestial light that God used as a beacon, or even an angel.

What are your thoughts on this?

    What does it SAY about God’s power and guidance?

The Gift:

What’s one of the best gifts you’ve received?

    What about one of the “worst” gifts?

    Do you remember how you reacted to each?

Verse 6 is a shortened version of Micah 5:2-5. Read that passage to learn about THE GIFT. Go through the passage and talk about:

    Who He Was

    What He’ll Do

Our Response(s):

Explain this: “Our response to a gift is in perfect correlation to how valuable we find that gift”

What was Herod’s response to The Gift (and why)?

What was “all of Jerusalem’s” response?

What was the response of the priests and scribes? Why?

How could they have been told that the prophecies Messiah had come, to whom they gave directions, but went away unmoved?

    How are you like that sometimes?

What does the Micah passage say about Who We Are?

    How does our view of ourselves impact our ADORATION?

    How does it impact our responses to receiving gifts?

Go through the gift-responses of the Magi with this in mind:

    Gold - a gift for a king

    Frankincense - a gift for a high priest

    Myrrh - a spice to embalm a body

Make this personal: During this season, what would it look like to sacrificially give a gift to God that honors:

    1) His Kingship

    2) His Priesthood

    3) His Death and Resurrection

OTHER RESOURCES:

Star of Bethlehem

Dr. Colin Nicholl | "The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem"

Piper Sermon