Christ in the Carols We Three Kings January 10, 2018

START BY REVIEWING THE RELATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR LIFE GROUPS

• Confidentiality: What’s said in the group stays in the group. • Listen: Let’s value one another during the discussions by really listening to what is being shared. Try to avoid thinking about how you are going to respond or what you are going to say next. • Pause: Allow a pause in conversation after someone shares to give the person sharing a chance to finish and give the group an opportunity to consider what was shared before responding. • Silence: It is important to allow silence in the group as it provides an opportunity for someone to share and for members in the group to process the topic or question being considered. • No Cross Talk: Be considerate of others as they are sharing. No side conversations. • No Fixing: We are not here to fix each other. does that. Give encouragement, speak truth, and point to Jesus. Don’t try to fix each other. • No Rescuing: When people are sharing something deeply personal, there can be a tendency to make them feel better about themselves or the situation by providing immediate condolences. This will often cause them to stop sharing. Resist the temptation to rescue people. • Sharing: Be sensitive about the amount of time you share. • Use “I” statements: It’s easy to talk about the issues of others, but for our purposes, we want you to put yourself on the table. Try to use “I” statements rather than “they,” “the church,” “us,” “we,” etc. • Household Rules: We appreciate those who open their home up to life groups and out of respect to them we need to… (e.g., take shoes off, clean up toys afterward, put chairs back, leave by 8 pm, etc.)

THEN REMIND EVERYONE OF THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE GROUP:

“The purpose of this group is…”

1) to do life TOGETHER; to commit to be together in the joyful and difficult moments of life 2) TO GATHER with others who will disciple us, encourage us and help us to mature in Christ 3) for each of us TO MATURE in our relationship with God 4) to be here FOR OTHERS; to encourage them, to help disciple them 5) to INVITE OTHERS to share in our community, which means our group will branch at some point. When that time comes, if you would like to lead or host a group, let the leader know.

Upcoming Sermons 1/14/18 – Be a Better Person in 2018 (a biblical guide to the most popular New Year’s resolution) 1/21/18 through 2/11/18 – Remember: 2nd Timothy Ash Wednesday through Easter – The Cross

We Three Kings

Verse 1 We three kings of Orient are Bearing gifts we traverse afar Field and fountain, moor and mountain Following yonder star

Chorus Oh, star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to thy perfect light

Verse 2 Born a king on ’s plain Gold I bring to crown Him again King forever, ceasing never Over us all to reign

Verse 3 to offer have I Incense owns a deity nigh Prayer and praising, all men raising Worship Him, God on High

Verse 4 is mine, its bitter perfume Breathes a life of gathering gloom Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying Sealed in the stone cold tomb

WARM-UP When do you traditionally end your Christmas celebration in your home? When does the tree get taken down? When do you transition from Christmas to New Year?

HEAD (KNOWLEDGE) o • January 5th is traditionally known as the : the coming of the Epiphany. • January 6th is the Epiphany. • The Twelve Days of Christmas are the days of December 26th – January 6th. o What does Epiphany mean? • Merriam-Webster defines it as (1)“a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something” or (2) “an intuitive grasp of reality through something such as an event, usually simple and striking”. • The Church uses this season to reflect on the manifestation of the divine as well as the magi traveling to bring gifts to the baby Jesus. • Whether or not you grew up recognizing Epiphany, discuss the wisdom of taking time to celebrate this time before moving directly into the New Year. • Read verse 1 of We Three Kings. § What do we know about the magi? (how many, were they kings, how long did they travel?) • Read verse 2 of We Three Kings. § The first gift is gold, symbolic of royalty. § Discuss ways gold was used to represent royalty to the Israelites (the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, the golden calf) § How do we use gold? • Read verse 3 of We Three Kings. § The second gift was Frankincense. The resin of the Frankincense tree was a treasured form of incense used in the ancient world. The burning of the resin symbolized the rising of prayers to God. § Read Psalm 141.2 aloud. § Frankincense reminds us that Jesus is divine and worth of worship (John 1:1,14). It also reminds us of Jesus’ humanity. § Frankincense resin and oil (distilled from the resin) are still used today and have incredible health properties. (Ask Lenny and she’ll tell you more than you probably want to know ;o} ) § Discuss how Jesus’ divinity and humanity coexist. • Read verse 4 of We Three Kings § The third gift was Myrrh, primarily used for embalming the dead to prepare them for burial. § Read John 19:38. Discuss the significance of Myrrh being given as a gift at Jesus’ birth. How was Jesus’ mission clear from birth?

HEART (TRANSFORMATION) o We can’t know what the magi understood about the gifts they took to Jesus. All we know is that the Holy Spirit had them travel with them and present them to Jesus. • They tell us that Jesus is King. • They tell us that Jesus is our High Priest, the only one we worship. • They prophesy the sacrifice Jesus will make for us, to reconcile us with God. o How does that impact you? o Knowing all this, how do you look at Epiphany differently now?

HANDS (MISSION) o Discuss how the message of these gifts can give us direction as we begin a new year. • Gold: We can make sure that Jesus is the king of our life. § Do you rule over your life or does Jesus? § Does everything you own belong to Him or do you struggle over it? § What about your time? • Frankincense: We can worship and rely upon our Great High Priest. § We can make a priority of weekly worship. § We can set aside a time for daily Bible reading and prayer. • Myrrh: We can offer our life as a living sacrifice for Him. § Read Romans 12:1-2. § Is there an area in your life that you know you are being called to sacrifice for Him and for His Kingdom? § A pastor taught me (Lenny) many years ago that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it tends to crawl off the altar time after time. Think on that one for a while!

CLOSE IN PRAYER Before you close in prayer as a group, consider challenging the group to go into 2018 spending more time praying as a group. I know I will be challenging our group to step up and pray for one another more boldly.