Sent Leader Guide: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas (Sent Advent) - Softcover

Acevedo, Jorge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501801066 ISBN 13: 9781501801068

Verlag: Abingdon Press, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them . . . —John 17:18 God sent Christ into the world as our Savior. That’s what Christmas is all about. In turn, Christ sends us into the world. But do we really understand how, where, and why we are sent? This five-week, churchwide Advent study challenges us through story, art, and Bible study to discover what it means to be Christ’s hands, feet, head, and heart. Centered around a DVD with 8-10 minute videos created by a group of dynamic young pastors, Sent is appropriate for adults and youth. The study includes a Participant Book, a Leader Guide for adult small groups, a Youth Study Guide for students ages 13-18, and The Children’s Leader Guide for use with kids 12 and under. A companion book, Devotions for the Season, offers four weeks of personal daily reflections. You’ll find everything needed to lead a small group for adults in the 64-page Leader Guide. Session plans, discussion questions, and Scripture readings are centered around the book and the videos...it’s all included. And you’ll especially appreciate the multiple format options that allow you to choose what works best for your class.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Jorge Acevedo is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida. Jorge led a group of young clergy in the creation of the book and Bible study Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas and is author of Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World. He is a contributor to Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine, and Our Faith Today.

Justin LaRosa is a United Methodist Deacon and a licensed clinical social worker. He has served Hyde Park United Methodist Church in Tampa since 2005, first as the Minister of Discipleship and now as the Director/Minister of The Portico, a community gathering space where people come together for conversation, connection, and community change. Justin has co-authored three studies for Abingdon Press: A Disciple's Path: A Guide for United Methodists; A Disciple's Heart: Growing in Love and Grace; and Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas. He and his wife Caroline have a daughter, Isabella, and a son, Russell.

Jacob Armstrong is the founding pastor of Providence Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Providence's vision is to see those who are disconnected from God and the church to find hope, healing, and wholeness in Jesus Christ. Jacob is the author of Renovate, A New Playlist, Treasure, The God Story, Upside Down, Loving Large, Interruptions, and The New Adapters.

Rachel Billups is a visionary, leader, speaker and author. Currently she serves as Senior Pastor at Ginghamsburg Church multi-campus ministry in Tipp City/Dayton Ohio. Rachel draws on her love of people and passion to explore new venues for ministry and mission. Rachel is an ordained Elder within the United Methodist Church and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Bible/Religion and History from Anderson University and a Master of Divinity Degree from Duke Divinity School. Most days you can find Rachel reaching out - praying online, hosting Open Table gatherings in her home or enjoying moments with husband Jon and their four loves: Adeline, Christopher, David and Sarah. She also might be cheering for those Duke Blue Devils and The OSU Buckeyes. Rachel is a popular speaker for national gatherings and has recently authored BE BOLD: finding your fierce as well as co-authoring Down to Earth: Hopes and Fears of all the Year Are Met in Thee Tonight and Sent: Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas - all published by Abingdon Press. You can find her on social media at: @rlbillups.

Lanecia Rouse is the author of numerous articles on Christian formation for Upper Room Ministries and Abingdon Press. She has held pastoral roles in the United Methodist and British Methodist Church, most recently as Project Manager of the Art Project, Houston, a therapeutic art ministry with those experiencing homelessness. Lanecia earned a Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School and currently lives in Houston, where she continues her ministry as a writer, artist, photographer, and workshop leader.

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Sent: Leader Guide

Delivering the Gift of Hope at Christmas

By Jorge Acevedo, Jacob Armstrong, Rachel Billups, Justin LaRosa, Lanecia Rouse, Martha Bettis Gee

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2015 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-0106-8

Contents

To the Leader, 
1. Jesus Reconciles, 
2. Jesus Sets Us Free, 
3. Jesus Is God With Us, 
4. Jesus Brings New Life, 
5. Jesus Changes Everything, 

CHAPTER 1

JESUS RECONCILES

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• respond to an Advent story about those on the graveyard shift;
• explore through Scripture how God calls the unsuspecting, the unqualified, and the undeserving;
• examine how our deepest longings for reconciliation are connected with God's desire to reconcile others;
• confront how our fears limit our response to God's call; and
• begin to explore how, where, and to whom group members believe they are sent.

Biblical Foundation

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11 NRSV)

Special Preparation

• If possible in advance of the first session, tell participants to bring either a notebook or an electronic means of journaling, such as a tablet. Provide writing paper and pens for those who may need them, as well as Bibles for those who did not bring one.

• On a large sheet of paper or a board, print and post the following statement: "Sometimes when you do something you don't normally do, you see something you don't normally see."

• Get an Advent wreath with four candles, as well as a lighter or matches (electronic candles are an alternative). Or if you prefer, simply place one candle on a table.

• If you decide to do the reenactment of Waffle House, set up a table with chairs on one side to serve as the counter of the restaurant. If your group is fairly small, this will be sufficient scenery. If you have twelve or more in the group, you may want to set up two or three smaller tables to act as booths.

• Prepare index cards with the following names: Mary, shepherds, Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph. Make multiple copies of each card so every participant can have one card.

• Post the following open-ended prompt: When I was terribly afraid and (longing for reconciliation, faced with a call, walking through the valley of the shadow of death), I experienced God's presence when ...

• If you plan to use incense or a candle in the closing prayer, check to be sure that no one in the group is allergic or sensitive to strong fragrance.

• Get hymnals with "Silent Night! Holy Night!" and accompaniment for the hymn. If a piano or other instrument is not available, accompaniment can be found on the Internet.

• The closing prayer is a litany. You can photocopy the litany from page 23 and pass it out at before the closing prayer.

• Go over the session in advance and select or adapt the activities you think will work best for your group in the time allotted.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, welcome them to the study. If group members are not familiar with one another, make nametags available. Provide Bibles for those who did not bring one.

Gather together, and invite group members to introduce themselves. Then call attention to the statement you posted. ("Sometimes when you do something you don't normally do, you see something you don't normally see.") Invite any volunteers who have had an experience like that to describe it and to tell what they saw. Discuss:

• If you've had such an experience, what was the result? Did you learn something new about yourself or someone else? Did you have a new insight?

• If you've never had an experience like this, why do you think this is true? Is it because you rarely do something outside your normal routine? Or is it perhaps because you are often too busy to see things from a new perspective?

Tell the group that in this session, they will hear a story of some people who departed from their normal routine and, as a result, found that it changed the way they viewed things.

Opening Prayer

Light one Advent candle. Pray the following or a prayer of your own choosing:

Come, Lord Jesus. Make us aware of your presence here with us today. As we have encountered you in the parables you told, open our hearts to new understandings through the stories we hear today. In your name we pray. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

Introduce the group to Jorge Acevedo, lead author and host of the study and lead pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida. Grace Church is recognized as having one of the largest and most effective recovery ministries in America, with over seven hundred people involved in weekly recovery ministries. Participants can learn more about Acevedo and his church at their website, www.egracechurch.com.

To set the stage for the study, invite participants to think about how, where, and to whom they believe they are sent. Explain that this Advent study is story-based. Each week, a different presenter will tell a story about a memorable Advent or Christmas.

The first story is told by Jacob Armstrong, pastor of Providence United Methodist Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Ask participants to attend particularly to what Jacob's story has to do with those who work on the graveyard shift. Then watch the video. Following the viewing, discuss:

• In their conversation, Acevedo and his four coauthors discuss what it means to be in ministry to those on the third shift. What reasons do they give for people sometimes hesitating to minister to this group? How might we break those bounds and minister as Christ might have?

• How have you experienced both giving and receiving in your ministry as a disciple of Christ?

Bible and Book Study and Discussion

Roleplay the Third Shift

As a volunteer reads Luke 2:8-20, invite the group to listen for what the angels announced. In the book chapter, Jacob Armstrong points out how the angels use the word you in the announcement. Ask someone to read verses 10-11 again, emphasizing that word. Jacob suggests that the shepherds might have wondered why such a message was coming to them.

If they have not already done so, invite the group to read the short sections under the headings "Jesus Comes to the Unsuspecting," "Jesus Comes to the Unqualified," and "Jesus Comes to the Undeserving."

Recall that Jacob poses the following rhetorical question:

If that grand announcement came tonight, would God go to Waffle House while it was still dark and tell the ladies who work all night?

Tell participants that they can participate in a roleplay of what might happen if the angels made their announcement at Waffle House. Ask for two or three volunteers to be the cooks and servers, and have them stand behind the "counter." Ask two or three others to agree to take the parts of those who have come in to eat at Waffle House — truck drivers, nurses, police officers, and so forth. Others could take...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Abingdon Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1501801066
• ISBN 13: 9781501801068
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 64
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar