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Christmas Gifts for the Small Group Leader

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by Deborah Spooner

What if you could do more than spread holiday cheer to your group this Christmas season?

What if you could give gifts that spread faith, hope, and love? Relieve fear, stress, and anxiety? Point to Christ through Scripture?

You can.

These Christmas resources will equip your group members to finish off 2018 with a focus on Christ and catalyze them into Gospel-centered living as they enter 2019.

10 Minute Audio Devotions: Finding Strength in Faith, Hope, and Love (Only $5!)

This 10-Minute Audio Devotions CD contains twelve audio devotions by best-selling authors that will inspire you to find strength in God as you set your mind on eternal truths from His Word.

In the hurry and stress of life today, strength often seems to be in short supply. Maybe you feel that you’re running on empty. But God has an endless supply of spiritual resources to give you strength, perseverance, and victory. These twelve short audio devotions by best-selling authors will set your mind on eternal truths from God’s Word, inviting you to drink deeply of the faith, hope, and love that are always available to you in Jesus Christ.

10 Minute Audio Devotions: Finding Victory over Fear, Stress, and Anxiety (Only $5!)

This 10-Minute Audio Devotions CD can help you deal with the crazy twists and turns on the road of life, especially when you’re on the road. They can be perfect for commutes but can also be used anytime you have a free ear and a few minutes of downtime: exercising, folding laundry, tinkering in the garage.

Brief but powerful, these audio devotions will help you navigate through fear, stress, and anxiety while covering topics such as renewing your mind, overcoming various fears, the role of suffering, and battling temptation. The two-disc set containing 12 devotions, each about 10 minutes in length, features teaching from some of today’s best Christian communicators including Tony Evans, David Jeremiah, Matt Chandler, and more.

Gospel Foundations: A one-year journey through the storyline of Scripture

Jesus’ first appearance in the Bible was not in a manger. This new small group Bible study series will lead believers on a one-year journey through the entire storyline of Scripture, showing how Jesus is the Hero from beginning to end.

Used in sequence, you’ll journey through six volumes, seeing the Gospel from Genesis to Revelation. Used individually, you can journey through any section of scripture through a stand-alone volume. There’s even a student version.

What makes it even better? You can try it now, for free. You can download the first two sessions of volume one, take a peek at the sessions of volume two, get free sermon outlines, and see the method behind it all. Find the free content here.

Merry Christmas!

Deborah Spooner is a Minnesota-born analytical creative serving as a Marketing Strategist for LifeWay’s Groups Ministry. As a pastor’s daughter with a background in Digital Communications and Media and Biblical & Theological Studies, you can find her at her local church, in deep conversation, or with a book or pen in hand as she seeks to know Christ more and make Him known.
Church Leadership

25 Advent Verses to Reflect On With Your Family This Christmas

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Instead of slipping candy canes in your Advent calendar boxes, fill your 25 days with Scripture. Below are Bible verses to open and unwrap each day, all glorifying the One whom Christmas is about. Try getting the whole family involved by starting a Scripture memory contest each day. In need of an advent calendar? Visit your local LifeWay store.

  1. Isaiah 40:9-11

9 Zion, herald of good news, go up on a high mountain. Jerusalem, herald of good news, raise your voice loudly. Raise it, do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” 10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,and his power establishes his rule. His wages are with him, and his reward accompanies him. 11 He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.

  1. John 1:9

The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

  1. Isaiah 7:14

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.

  1. Numbers 24:17

I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will smash the forehead of Moab and strike down all the Shethites.

  1. 1 Peter 1:19-20

19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was revealed in these last times for you.

  1. Galatians 4:4-5

4 When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

  1. Micah 5:2

Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.

  1. John 7:42

Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Messiah comes from David’s offspring and from the town of Bethlehem, where David lived?

  1. Genesis 3:15

I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

  1. Isaiah 40:3-5

3 A voice of one crying out: Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4 Every valley will be lifted up, and every mountain and hill will be leveled; the uneven ground will become smooth and the rough places, a plain. 5 And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

  1. Isaiah 11:1-5

1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight will be in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, he will not execute justice by what he hears with his ears, 4 but he will judge the poor righteously and execute justice for the oppressed of the land. He will strike the land with a scepter from his mouth, and he will kill the wicked with a command from his lips. 5 Righteousness will be a belt around his hips; faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

  1. Zechariah 6:12-13

12 You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Armies says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; he will branch out from his place and build the Lord’s temple. 13 Yes, he will build the Lord’s temple; he will be clothed in splendor and will sit on his throne and rule. There will also be a priest on his throne, and there will be peaceful counsel between the two of them.

  1. John 1:10-13

10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

  1. John 1:14

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

  1. Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. 30 Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” 35 The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

  1. Luke 1:39-45

39 In those days Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah 40 where she entered Zechariah’s house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped inside her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “Blessed are you among women, and your child will be blessed! 43 How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”

  1. Luke 1:46-56

46 And Mary said: My soul praises the greatness of the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy. 50 His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. 51 He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. 53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors. 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.

  1. Luke 1:57-66

57 Now the time had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she had a son. 58 Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her his great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. 59 When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But his mother responded, “No. He will be called John.” 61 Then they said to her, “None of your relatives has that name.” 62 So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote: “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came on all those who lived around them, and all these things were being talked about throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard about him took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the Lord’s hand was with him.

  1. Matthew 1:18-21

18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

  1. Matthew 1:22-23

22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

  1. Luke 2:4-7

4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

  1. Matthew 2:1-2

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

  1. Luke 2:25-35

25 There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples—32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. 33 His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary: “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed—35 and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

  1. Isaiah 9:2-5

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness. 3 You have enlarged the nation and increased its joy. The people have rejoiced before you as they rejoice at harvest time and as they rejoice when dividing spoils. 4 For you have shattered their oppressive yoke and the rod on their shoulders, the staff of their oppressor, just as you did on the day of Midian. 5 For every trampling boot of battle and the bloodied garments of war will be burned as fuel for the fire.

  1. Isaiah 9:6

For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Caroline Case is a proud Nashville transplant from Naples, Florida, who serves as the Production Editor for LifeWay’s smallgroup.com and custom Bible study teams. Caroline has a Bachelor of Communication from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. She is pursuing her Master of Arts in English at Belmont University in Nashville, where she will go on to pursue her doctorate and teach.
Group Leadership

If Jesus Was Santa Claus: Approaching Perfectionism in Your Small Group

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Like most Americans this past week—in hopes of amping up my Christmas cheer—I began decorating my house for December 25th. Naturally, Bruce Springsteen’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was on the holiday decorating playlist. But as I listened to the music, I began to hear the lyrics differently. Although I didn’t grow up in a house that preached “Santa,” I never questioned the veracity of the lines:

He’s making a list, he’s checkin’ it twice, 

He’s gonna find out whose naughty or nice

Santa Claus is coming to town

I never believed in Santa, but I found this man’s desire to “check his list” for the good kids and the bad kids absolutely plausible. Why wouldn’t the good kids deserve toys and the bad kids deserve coal? That’s called justice.

And now, twenty years later listening to the song, I began to wonder, “What if Jesus had a list?” Turns out He does.

“And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” – Revelation 20:15, CSB

God’s got His own list of names, and the placement of your name determines the status of your eternal destination. But thankfully, Jesus manages His list a lot differently than Santa Claus. Santa knows if I’ve been bad or good, erasing my name if I don’t meet his standard. Jesus never erases my name because He met the standard for me and paid the price for my own shortcomings.

“In the same way, the one who conquers will be dressed in white clothes, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and before his angels.” – Revelation 3:5, CSB.

I can confidently say that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life—not because of anything that I’ve done, but because I have trusted in the Lamb that was slain for me. I laugh at the thought that I could ever scribble my worn, sinful name onto His holy list.

And yet sometimes in our small groups, we unintentionally preach perfectionism. At times, we view God as the Big Man Upstairs who’s checking His list, separating the rule followers from the rule breakers. Hear the accusation in this holiday tune:

He knows if you’ve been bad or good

You better be good for goodness’ sake

Can you imagine if Jesus were more like Santa? What if He’s looking down from heaven, waiting to cross our names off His list when we sin? This Christmas, as group leaders we have the opportunity to seriously question some of the core beliefs we have about God—and how we communicate them to our group members. Do we really preach grace? Do we subconsciously think God expects perfection? Do we think God is keeping score? How can we better preach the God of second chances and erasers?

How much more enriched would our small groups be if we reminded our group members of the freedom that is imperfection? Of the freedom that is grace? We can remind them of the spotless Lamb who came down to save us from ourselves.

And finally, when we no longer live aiming for perfection, we can aim a little higher. Jesus knows our every thought and move. Jesus “knows if we’ve been bad or good,” but by His grace, we are good for His sake—not goodness’ sake.

Caroline Case is a proud Nashville transplant from Naples, Florida, who serves as the Production Editor for LifeWay’s SmallGroup.com and Discipleship in Context teams. Caroline has a Bachelor of Communication from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. She is pursuing her Master of Arts in English at Belmont University in Nashville, where she will go on to pursue her doctorate and teach.

Group Leadership

My Beef With Santa

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DISCLAIMER. I am not a Scrooge. I enjoy Christmas.  I am not opposed to kids and families enjoying the story of Santa, reindeer, trips down chimneys, and Buddy the Elf.

What’s not to love about Christmas?

But I don’t love what we do with Santa Claus.

First, there’s the whole “Santa Claus is real” thing. Why do we keep insisting with our children that Santa Claus is real, even when their young minds see some of the inconsistencies in the story?

Before you scroll down to the comments section and leave a scathing remark that I don’t like children: we did the whole Santa Claus routine when our sons were little… and I plan to do it again when grandkids enter the picture. We had fun with Santa Claus—as a story.

Did I rob my kids of any joy? Far from it. It’s no different than the way we enjoyed The Wizard of Oz without once thinking it was real. I never lied to my sons.

“Dad, is Santa real?”

“He is just a fun story we tell. Now let’s put some milk and cookies by the fireplace and enjoy the story of Santa and his reindeer.”

The thing I really dislike, though, is the way parents use Santa to make kids behave. You know, the whole naughty or nice list.

Consider the words of my least favorite Christmas song:

He’s making a list
And checking it twice
Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you’re sleeping
He knows when you’re awake
He knows if you’ve been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

We’ve made Santa a little too godlike.

Because we’ve painted Santa to be godlike and all-knowing, we’ve painted the wrong picture of God. Too many people already view God as a keeper of a naughty or nice list. Be good, go to heaven. Do more bad than good, and you go to hell. Most religions and Eastern philosophies follow that thought, which is why a person has to work hard to make it to heaven.

To be fair, the Bible also calls us to be good to go to heaven, but with one big difference. God calls us to always be good, to never falter or fail. God’s standard is perfection, and it is a demanding standard that far exceeds what any other religion calls for. And it’s a standard we can’t meet. Only the perfectly righteous make it to heaven, and we don’t cut it. None of us.

The good news in all this is God’s love. He knows no one can meet that standard, so Jesus met it for us. That’s the whole point of the cross. He met the standard for us… and took the punishment we rightfully deserve for not meeting that standard.

Scripture calls this justification. You may have heard people define being justified as “just as if I’d never sinned.” (Unlike Santa, Jesus removes us from the naughty list.) But justification carries an additional truth; it also means “just as if I’d always done right.” (Jesus puts us on the nice list!)

In your group, discuss ways parents can help their kids have fun with the story of Santa Claus, without subtly teaching bad theology! Some ideas for discussion are:

  • How do we help our kids separate the fiction of Santa Claus from the truth of Jesus Christ?
  • What are some ideas to avoid when dealing with the traditions surrounding Santa Claus?
  • What are some good principles we can derive from the story of Santa with which we can communicate biblical truth? (Example: the generosity practiced by the historical figure Nicolas).

Lynn Pryor is a team leader for adult resources at LifeWay. He and his wife, Mary, lead a Bible study group for young adults and have survived raising two sons to adulthood. A graduate of Southwestern Seminary, Lynn has previously pastored and served churches in Texas. Read more from his blog at lynnhpryor.com.

Group Leadership

Advent: Embracing the Rhythm in a Season of Crazy

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The anticipation in my household is palpable: Christmas is almost here. The heightened sense of expectation in my home with four children began some time back in October when we had our first cold snap and we had to scrape ice off of our windshields. “Daddy, since there is ice on your truck, that must mean Christmas is coming soon!” Already she has learned the rhythms of our world, and the joy that comes with living according to them.

Her enthusiasm for rhythm and a steady pace reminds me of the poem by Wendell Berry entitled, “The Peace of Wild Things.” The poem speaks to our need to connect to that “Something Greater,” that rhythm of life to which we naturally belong that helps give perspective to our lives.

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things,

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water,

and I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world and I am free.

There is something powerful about submitting to the rhythms God has established in our world…to live according to the pace that God gives us through the earth’s solar orbit and its tilted axis. This rhythm that we symbolize through the use of a calendar encourages Christians to cease their striving, not just on a weekly basis with the Sabbath, but periodically throughout the year with holidays like Christmas.

Stopping to “rest in the grace” is especially necessary when we find ourselves submerged in the myth that we are sovereign over our experiences and relationships. We run around like chickens without heads pretending to conquer this or that, especially in the early part of the Christmas season. We rush to accomplish and achieve, oftentimes “for the Lord.”

Why should a small group meeting contribute to this madness? Better yet, how can a small group help its members embrace the rhythms and pace God’s world brings during a season of crazy? Consider these two things.

First, preach perspective. The advent season is an excellent time for resetting the pace of our lives because it reminds us that the world was changed forever through the humble barnyard birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Lowly (that is, despised by men) shepherds ignored their flocks for a view of the newborn Jesus. Wise men recognized something significant was afoot and set about a 900-mile journey to witness the miracle. Herod perceived a threat and went to great lengths to eliminate. The birth of Jesus changed everyone’s perspective about what was important, and every year we have this season on our calendar to help us do just that: preach perspective. What better relationships for calling attention to this than the ones with whom we do community on a regular basis?

Second, model the message. There is a temptation during this season of finals, projects, and retail insanity to break the rhythm of church attendance and group gathering in the name of “spreading liberty” to stressed-out people who could use one less obligation. But if the small group is the place where perspective is preached, then the regular gathering of that group is a model for that perspective. Model the message. Keep meeting as a means of reinforcing the truth that living in a rhythm protects us from believing the lie that we control our lives.

I was recently playing in the yard with my youngest two, taking their hands into mine and spinning around and around until I got dizzy enough to believe I could no longer safely whirl them. Isn’t it funny how you don’t feel the earth’s rhythm until you try to replace it with your own? And once you figure that out…once you stop and rest your rhythm to the earth’s…it’s all good. May we do the same this Christmas—may we settle our lives to the rhythm the Advent season brings and reap the benefits as a result.

Rob Tims has been married to Holly for 17 years. They have four children: Trey, Jonathan, Abby, and Luke. He has served in the local church for 20 years as a children’s pastor, student pastor, and senior pastor. He currently serves on a team at LifeWay Christian Resources that develops customized Bible studies for groups and teaches two classes for Liberty University School of Divinity Online. He is the author of the book Southern Fried Faith: Confusing Christ and Culture in the Bible Belt.