[INTRODUCTION] ADVENT The Advent Conspiracy began The Advent Conspiracy began with the intention to reframe how we celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. In an effort to recover the profound story of our Savior’s birth from the grips of consumerism, Ecclesia and a few other churches set out to redefine a faithful response to the birth of Christ. For many who decided to take these first steps a few years ago, it undoubtedly has changed our perspective and reshaped our entire lives. The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and revolutionary love that has captivated the Ecclesia community. As a church, tremendous stories have come out of our participation and involvement in [AC] since it began in 2006; an end to the water crisis in the Mount Barclay region of Liberia, countless water wells installed in India, previously unemployed women finding work in Nicaragua, and well rehabilitations in Port au Prince. And these are just scratching the surface. However in the midst of these stories, the most miraculous part is the reality of our community joining hands with brothers and sisters around the globe to celebrate Jesus well. With a united voice, we have found comfort at Christmas proclaiming together that God is not distant. In fact, He stepped into our lives and revealed a deeper understanding of His love for us all. Our celebration of Jesus’ birth has expanded beyond socio-economic lines, physical borders and into new communities both here in Houston and across the globe. Today, tens of thousands of Christians in countries all around the world are taking seriously the invitation to fully explore how the birth of Jesus can deeply impact our lives. You are invited into the conspiracy. How will you embrace Advent differently this year? How will you celebrate the birth of the Savior in new ways this year? Where will you find yourself in this story? Learn more at ecclesiahouston.org/advent [BIBLE STUDY] Following is a four-part bible study on the four tenants of the Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All. Families are encouraged to through these lessons week by week. These lessons are designed to instigate meaningful conversations about this season of Advent. Take time to walk through these stories and questions over the course of each week. There is about 30 minutes of material per lesson. Our prayer is that you and your students would engage in the Christmas story in new ways this year, and that we will celebrate Jesus’ birth with a sense of anticipation and awe. We would love to hear about your Advent experience, so please feel free to share your stories with us at [email protected] WORSHIP FULLY | WEEK 1 - December 1st- 5th There are few things harder to do than wait. I hate waiting. There are only a few things that I am good at waiting for. Recently, a couple of my favorite people in the world, who I hadn’t seen in a while, announced that they were coming for a visit. Instead of going crazy waiting for them, I started to get ready. I cleaned my house. I got the guest room ready. I bought food that I knew they liked. I cleared my schedule for the time they would be here. I began to orient my life and my world around what I knew they wanted. Advent is a season of expectation and preparation, waiting for the arrival of Christ in the world. This is a time for us to slow down and refocus on Christ, preparing our hearts and making room for Him as we anticipate His coming. [TALK] 1. Why is waiting so hard? Why does God ask us to wait, and how are we invited to wait well in this season? 2. Have you ever known somebody who was pregnant and expecting a baby? What kinds of things did they have to do (or stop doing) to make room for that baby in their life? [READ] When we read the Christmas story in scripture, you start to notice something remarkable. Nearly every character who hears the news of Jesus’ arrival has the same response -- worship. Mary (Luke 1:26-38, 46-55), Shepherds, (Luke 2:8-20), the Magi (Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11), Simeon (Luke 2:25-35), and Anna (Luke 2:36-38) all responded by reorienting their lives around Jesus’ arrival. Everyone stopped and worshipped. You could even say that Joseph offered his obedience, and sacrificed his reputation (Matthew 1:18-25)- both acts of worship. And baby John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb when he heard the news (Luke 1:39-45)! Worship is our response to God’s presence with us, his power in us, and his provision for us. [TALK] 3. Take time to read these stories. Talk about how each person responded. Which story did you connect with? 4. Why is it important for us to stop and worship, especially during Advent? [READ] Advent is a season when we celebrate God’s arrival on earth in the form of baby Jesus. Just like he came once before, thousands of years ago, Jesus has promised to return again someday, and restore all of creation to the way he always intended it to be. In light of Christmas, all of life is now a celebration, an expectation, a preparation for his coming a second time. Matthew 25:31-45 tells us he’s looking for the kind of world where hungry people are fed, thirsty people are given something to drink, strangers are welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick are looked after, and those in prison are visited. In the same way that I prepared for my beloved guests, and in the same way a family prepares for the arrival of a baby, we prepare our world for his return. [TALK] 5. What should your response be to the news that Jesus is coming? 6. Read Micah 6:8 and Romans 12:1-2. What do these verses teach us about how to worship? [CHALLENGE] The Psalms were the worship songs of the Hebrew people. Write a psalm together that expresses your response to the good news that Christ has come, and that Christ will come again. It can be short (like Psalm 117), or long (like Psalm 119). Maybe you want to choose a word that has special significance and write a Psalm where each line begins with the next letter of that word. Be creative. Be personal. Be honest. SPEND LESS | Week 2 - December 6th -12th Christmas is a season of excess. Unfortunately, this is more a slap in the face and cut at our hearts than most of us are willing to admit. Now spending less at Christmas doesn’t mean we should stop giving gifts. Instead, this is a challenge to stop spending money and time on things that we won’t remember in less than a year. Giving gifts and getting gifts has always been a part of Christmas tradition, but it should never have become the focus over the arrival of our Savior. We must allow Jesus to prepare room within our lives for Himself. Every year, Americans spend around $450 billion on Christmas. Now there are roughly around 316 million people living in the US. That is roughly around $1400 per person. Much of that is spent on meaningless gifts that will be returned, broken, or shoved in a closet. There is nothing wrong with wanting the newest video games, but first we must ask, “How does getting this stuff, help me celebrate the birth of Christ more fully?” If our schedule and shopping list during Advent are already full and “more stuff” becomes our first thought during the season, where do we invite Jesus in? Maybe we need to evaluate how we spend our money and time, and intentionally cut out the extraneous, even choosing to make a sacrifice in our spending. As we clear out space in our lives and in our finances, we get to better engage in the story of Advent. [TALK] 1. What extravagant gifts do you really want this Christmas? What over-the-top gifts are you planning on buying for others? How much money do you hope people will spend on you this Christmas? [READ] 1 Corinthians 10:23 says everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial. Thinking about that verse, have you ever received a gift that didn’t turn out to be that great? Have you ever spent money on something that you later regretted? Have you ever opened a present Christmas morning, played with it for a week, only to have it break or become super boring? This Advent evaluate the value of the gifts you give and receive. Where does your treasure lie? And does this satisfy? [TALK] 2. Read Psalm 37:4 and talk about how you can shift your focus this Christmas 3. Read Matthew 6:19-21 and talk about the ways you can avoid falling into the “buy, buy, buy” trap this Christmas. [READ] Everyone has an opinion on how we should spend our money. If we are following Jesus, then He will help us to know how and where to be spending and investing. Since we are God's stewards, we get to invest our money (God's money) in ways that honor God and build His Kingdom. If you had a personal banker that you trusted to invest your money and instead he went out and bought a lifetime supply of chocolate and ate it all himself, you'd fire him immediately.