Advent 2023 - God With Us
Advent is the season leading up to Christmas, when the church gives attention to the coming of Jesus and gives reflection to what it means for us. The weeks leading up to Christmas can be a flurry of to-do lists & stress. The season of Advent is a chance to step out of a worldly approach to Christmas and center ourselves on the importance of Jesus’ arrival.
Teaching Series: God With Us
When the birth of Jesus was announced, He was called Immanuel, which means "God is with us." This Christmas season, we will look at Bible stories from long before the birth of Jesus to understand what it means for us to have a God who is with us. Sometimes we wonder where God is or why He feels so far away. Because of Jesus, God is closer than you think. We hope you'll come each Sunday this season to experience and celebrate God with us!
We encourage you to use the following Scripture guide along with the teaching series this Advent season. This four-week guide provides five days of Scripture readings both from the Old and New Testament. Be sure to pick up a bookmark on a Sunday and use the SOAP method of Bible study and reflection questions to support your time in Scripture.
God With Us - 2023 Advent Guide
4 week Reading Plan
S.O.A.P. Bible Study Method
Use a journal and put the S.O.A.P. method to work through any passage of Scripture. If Scripture reading isn’t a regular rhythm we encourage you to reorder your daily routine to make it a priority.
Silence
Take a moment to be silent, pray and listen to the Spirit before you start.
Observation
Read the text and ask the following questions:
• What sticks out to you? (main point, repeated words, key concepts, etc.)
• What does this reveal about God’s desire to be with His people?
• What does God expect or require for people to be with Him?
Application
Write down how the passage applies to your life
• How should this change the way that I think?
• What does this challenge me to do?
Week 1 - God wants to be with me.
How can I be sure that God really loves me? Is it really possible to be close to God? The Bible begins and ends with a picture of God delighting in being to His people. And at the center of the story is what God was willing to do to make that possible. God loves each person so much that He came from heaven to earth as Jesus, Immanuel, so that all who believe in Him can be with Him now and forever.
Genesis 1 & 2
Genesis 3
Genesis 12
Luke 1:26-56
Luke 2: 1-35
Week 2 - God wants to walk with me.
It is often the pain in our own lives or the problems in the world around us that make us feel like God is not close. But the times actually provide a unique opportunity to experience God's presence. For the people of Israel, God most powerfully revealed His presence when things were at there worst. They came to know God as the One who is always with them to guide and protect them. Through faith in Jesus, we can come to know God in the same way, no matter what we face.
Exodus 3 & 4
Exodus 13
Exodus 19 & 20
John 1
John 14
Week 3 - God wants to forgive me.
Sin is the greatest and only threat to our relationship with God. Not only does the offensiveness of sin break the relationship, the guilt of sin can often keep us from coming back to God to reconcile the relationship. Even long before Jesus, God offered forgivenss to His people so that they could live with God. Through Jesus' life and death, God forgives sin once and for all for those who believe in Jesus.
Exodus 25 & 26
Exodus 40
Leviticus 16
Matthew 1
Matthew 2
Week 4 - God won’t give up on me.
God's love never fails. He never gives up on the possibility of life with His people. He continues to initiate, promise, and pursue. No matter how far someone runs from God, there's always a way back. No part of Scripture makes this more clear than the prophets of the Old Testament. God's promises find their fulfillment in Jesus, who assures us of God's love and makes the way for us to come back.
Isaiah 9:1-7, Zechariah 9:9-17
Isaiah 53
Jeremiah 31
Acts 2
Romans 8