These advent sessions are designed to go alongside the Advent ‘Share the Light’ campaign from CPO. https://www.sharethelight.co.uk/ This website explains it fully. The past 18 months have been difficult and at times isolating. Share the Light encourages people to gather together this Christmas, and celebrate the good news that darkness has not overcome the light, and never will.
The campaign centre’s around a short, imaginative Share the Light film. Through it we’d encourage you to have fresh confidence in the amazing message of hope that is wrapped up in the birth of Jesus. We believe it will touch hearts and bring a smile to faces across the nation
Start the session with a social time, perhaps with some festive food and drink. Who doesn’t love a warming hot chocolate and a mince pie! This ice breaker question may help warm people up.
Two truths and a lie…. name your 3 worst Christmas gifts, 2 are true and one is false. The group needs to guess which is false.
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NIV)
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day
Luke 2: 8-20 (NIV)
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
The shepherds were minding their sheep, just like they did every night. They were ordinary people, probably cold and fed up and would have been huddled around a fire the night the angels appeared to them. They were afraid, however, the message delivered by the angels’ grabbed their attention so much so that they had to move into action and go and find the baby in the manger.
The main message from the video is that we are called to persevere, to keep going, even if we feel as if we can’t, as that is where God can step in. We can keep fuelled and on fire for God with the help of the Holy Spirit.