17 Dec Discussion Guide: Searching for Christmas Week 3
PRAYER
Take the first few minutes of your time together to listen to what God is doing in one another’s lives and pray for any specific needs people in your group may have.
Today’s Discussion
This week we continue our Christmas series, Searching for Christmas. Over the next few weeks, as we draw nearer to the celebration of the coming of Jesus, we will be looking at the longing and the hope the story of Christmas arouses in the human heart. What is it that we are all so eager to experience, to know, to have? What is it that all the excitement and gifts and lights are ultimately pointing us to? Let’s find out together.
Discussion Questions
As the great Johnny Lee once sang, “I was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places, lookin’ for love in too many faces.” What are some ways people seek to find love and value in our culture today?
Como la gente busca el amor y valor en nuestra cultura hoy?
Dr. Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods
“No matter what we put our hopes in, in the morning, it is always Leah, never Rachel.” (See Gen. 29:25)
Why does that pursuit of love and value never end the way people want it to?
Why do you think we all long to know we are loved and valued?
Who, in your life, has ever made you feel truly loved? Why?
Dr. Timothy Keller, Dioses Falsos
“No importa en que ponemos nuestras esperanzas, en la mañana, es siempre Leah, nunca Rachel.”
Porque crees que todos anhelamos el saber que somos amados y valorados?
Hosea 3:1
“And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.“”
Have you ever felt betrayed or rejected by someone you loved? If so, how did you respond to that person?
Have you ever betrayed God’s love for you?
What idols are you most tempted to chase after? What is it you think that idol can give you?
How has Jesus responded to our unfaithfulness?
How has his response actually given us the thing that idol never could?
Oseas 3:1
”Entonces el S eñor me dijo: “Ve otra vez, ama a una mujer amada por otro y adúltera, así como el S eñor ama a los Israelitas a pesar de que ellos se vuelven a otros dioses y se deleitan con tortas de pasas.””
Alguna vez te has sentido traicionado o rechazado por un ser amado? Si te ha pasado, como respondiste a esa persona?
Como ha Jesús respondido a tu deslealtad/infidelidad, y como esa respuesta ha impactado tu vida?
alguna vez traicionado el amor de Dios para ti?
Closing Thought
1 John 2:7-10
‘Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. ‘
Who is someone you know who needs to understand the unconditional, covenantal love of God?
How can you help them to experience that?
Pensamientos de Cierre
1 Juan 2:7-10
‘Amados, no les escribo un mandamiento nuevo, sino un mandamiento antiguo, que han tenido desde el principio. El mandamiento antiguo es la palabra que han oído. Por otra parte, les escribo un mandamiento nuevo, el cual es verdadero en El y en ustedes, porque las tinieblas van pasando, y la Luz verdadera (Jesucristo) ya está alumbrando. El que dice que está en la Luz y aborrece a su hermano, está aún en tinieblas. El que ama a su hermano, permanece en la Luz y no hay causa de tropiezo en él. ‘
Conoces a alguien que necesita entender el pacto de amor incondicional de Dios?
Como podemos ayudarles a vivir eso?