Welcome
Bring your family’s Advent wreath to the center of your gathering. Make sure you have matches or a lighter.
One: Our first week we lit the Advent candle that invited us to wait during this special season.
(light the candle from the first week)
Our second week we lit the Advent candle that invited us to prepare for the coming of Jesus.
(light the candle from the second week)
Our third week we lit the Advent candle that invited us to hope for the coming of Jesus our Messiah.
(light the candle for the third week)
Our fourth week we lit the Advent calendar that invited us to remember the joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
(light the candle for the fourth week)
On Christmas Eve we lit the Christ candle.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
(light the center candle)
One: This season of Advent, our circle reminded us of God’s unending love and presence.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The evergreens reminded us that the hope we find in Jesus is eternal.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The four candles marked the four weeks of joy and anticipation as we waited for the babe in the manger and the coming of Christ again.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The candles reminded us that Jesus is the light of the world.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: Four candles were [blue or purple – use the word for the color of your candles] as a reminder to prepare for Jesus’ coming.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: One candle is white, in the center of our wreath, a symbol for the purity of Jesus.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: Advent has come to a close and Christmas has been celebrated. Today we give thanks that Christ has come and Christ will come again and in between what has already happened and will happen, we rejoice in …
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
God sightings and prayer offerings
Invite each person to share where they saw or experienced God this week. Invite each person to share something — a person, community, experience, event, etc. – for which they want to offer prayer.
Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the ways you were and are present in our lives and in the world. [Invite each person to say aloud the sighting they named earlier.] We bring our prayers to you, prayers for… [invite each person to say aloud the prayer need they named earlier]. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Connecting with Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14
Read the Scripture aloud the first time using the New Revised Standard Version or the Common English Bible.
As you listen to the Scripture read a second time, make a list of all the things God does and all the ways in which God acts in this passage.
Connecting through story
Watch and listen to Nancy Tillman’s “The Crown on Your Head.”
- What does the crown mean or symbolize?
- What should we remember when we think about the crown on our heads?
- From whom does our crown come?
Connecting with our lives
Engage in dialogue:
- What do you think it means that God chose you?
- When did God choose you?
- What is the significance of being chosen before the foundations of the world?
- For what were you chosen?
- How do we receive forgiveness and redemption according to Ephesians?
- Why are we forgiven and redeemed?
- What is the relationship between redemption and service to God?
- How does being chosen by God change the way you live your life?
- How do we “live for the praise” of God’s glory?
Teaching points that can be incorporated into your discussion:
- The Bible readings from last week and this week focus on the meaning of God’s incarnation (God becoming flesh and walking among us in Christ) for our lives.
- In Reformed Presbyterian beliefs, the understanding that we are “chosen by God” is more about God than about us. It is God who does the choosing and it is God’s grace that motivates the choosing — not our own accomplishments or merit. The emphasis is always on God’s sovereignty.
- Thus, that is why Presbyterians emphasize that while we are chosen (or elected) for salvation, it comes with the expectation that we are also chosen (or elected) for service. They go hand in hand.
- This sets the stage for the Reformed pattern of grace then gratitude. God loved us so much that we were given the free gift of unmerited grace in Jesus Christ before the foundations of the world, before we could carry casseroles to potluck suppers, go to Sunday school or profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Therefore, we spend our lives saying “thank you” by living in ways that glorify God and are consistent with God’s priorities (love of God, love of neighbor and love enacted in justice).
Spend some time exploring the Reformed pattern of grace and gratitude. List all the ways you experience God’s grace as a chosen child of God and then all the ways in which you say “thank you” through the actions and attitudes of your life.
Prayer
Close your time together by praying for one another, your neighbor, community and the world.
REBECCA DAVIS is the associate professor of Christian education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. A teaching elder and certified educator, she served congregations for over 20 years before moving into academic teaching. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, her passion is child advocacy and ministry.
