O Come, O Come Emmanuel

*THERE ARE NO FILL-IN POINTS THIS WEEK*

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS

• Welcome back from the Thanksgiving break. Go around and share your favorite memory from the holidays.

• Next week is the last week of small groups for the year. Now is your group’s time to plan a celebration. You can have dinner together, go bowling, have a game night, do a service project or whatever your group decides.

What do you think?

This past Sunday’s sermon was a creative message by Pastor Aaron introducing our new series ‘Christmas Playlist’ as we breakdown the rich theology in many of the classic Christmas hymns.  As a group review the main points of Sunday’s message. After you’ve refreshed everyone’s memories, share what particular point stood out to you, challenged you, or raised a question for you.

The story of your life.

1. Emmanuel means God with us. Pastor Aaron highlighted how even in the most difficult of circumstances God is still with us helping us get through it. Share a time in your life where you knew you only got through because God was with you.

2. Another point Pastor Aaron emphasized was that God’s plans sometimes don’t happen immediately. When Jesus was born, it still took 33 years till he fulfilled his mission on the cross and resurrected. Share something good God did in your life that took patience to finally get fulfilled.

Digging deeper.

1. One of the most famous stories of God being with someone in difficult circumstances was the story of Daniel in the Lions Den. Read the following verses from Daniel 6:1-28  and answer the following prompts. 
   1. Have a few people recap the main tenets of the story.
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   2. What is a remarkable insight that stuck out to you within these verses?

   3. What does this story tell us about God? Obedience in the face of fear? People? You?

2. Daniel 3:1-30 is the story of God being the fourth man in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Read the story and answer the following prompts. 
   1. Have a few people recap the main tenets of the story.
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   2. Have you ever personally felt like God was with you during a “fire” in your life?

   3. What does this story tell us about God? Obedience in the face of fear? People? You?

3. The following verses remind us that God is with us no matter what. Read them one by one and answer the following prompts: 
   1. Isaiah 41:10.
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   2. Deuteronomy 31:6.
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   3. Psalm 23:4.
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   4. Matthew 28:18-20.
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   5. Zephaniah 3:17.
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   6. Hebrews 13:5.
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   7. Romans 8:38-39.
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   8. Which of the verses struck a chord with you the most?

   9. In light of everything said during this small group, is God prompting you to do anything different this next week?

Personal reflection and application.

1. Have everyone share one thing someone else shared in this discussion that struck a chord with you.

2. Break up for prayer, preferably men with men and women with women if possible.