Christmas Pack #9 - Make Room at the Inn
Getting Ready for God
Table of Contents- Author
- Introduction
- Session One: Hear God's Promise
- Session Two: Get on the Right Road!
- Session Three: What Shall We Do?
- Session Four: Praise God!
Getting Ready for God
Advent: A Time of Preparation
A Four Session Resource Activity Guide for Leaders of Intergenerational Groups
by Marvin Simmers
Author
Marvin Simmers is a staff associate for curriculum development for the General Assembly Mission Board of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. He is experienced in leading intergenerational groups, ranging from brief sessions following a church night dinner to weekend retreats.
Introduction
The King is coming! The King is coming! If these words were addressed to us, and if we had time to prepare for the King's arrival, would we? The answer is no doubt an obvious and resounding YES! In fact, preparations-or thoughts about them-would be uppermost in our thinking and acting until the King's arrival. There's no question about it, we would prepare carefully for the arrival of an earthly king, a mortal like ourselves.
Upon the arrival of the king, what celebration and rejoicing! When he has departed from us, what splendid memories we would have!
What, then, about the coming of a heavenly king? For too many Christians, Advent has been a period of acting as if Christmas were a hurdle to be overcome or an event to be endured until all the fuss is over and life returns to "normal." The King is forgotten, or at best consigned to a few Christmas Carols and worship services. Where has been the preparation for his arrival?
Well, then, how about starting over...?
The King is coming! The King is coming! Prepare the way of the Messiah! The four sessions suggested here, along with the daily activity for home, are designed to help make this the best Christmas ever because Advent will have been the time for the best preparation ever.
PURPOSE
The purpose of these Advent sessions is to help persons for all ages prepare for and receive at a deeper level in their lives God's miracle of incarnation in Jesus Christ.
PARTICIPANTS
Activities suggested for the sessions and through the week during this Advent Season are appropriate for lower elementary children, through older adults. Single persons, couples, families with children and/or youth, and adults whose children are no longer at home are invited to participate. The daily activity could be done as families, but can just as well be done by childless adults or adults who live alone.
SCHEDULING THE SESSIONS
Since these four sessions are based upon the Advent lectionary readings from the Gospel of Luke, they would best achieve the purpose of the unit if they were held during Advent. The proposed sessions are brief enough to:
- Fit into the typical church school hour if you wanted to have a special intergenerational study;
- Follow congregational meals together, such as Sunday lunch or dinner; or
- Be scheduled one evening each week during Advent if such a schedule best fits the church calendar and individual schedules.
PREPARING FOR THE SESSIONS
Review the other materials in this series, especially the Bible study session for adults, written by William Stringfellow. Leaders of this unit will profit by having read the adult Bible Study sessions prior to beginning this unit. While the focus of each session may not be exactly the same as that for adults, there will be an effort to deal responsibly with each passage at a level that is appropriate for participants spanning a broad range of ages.
Look over all four session plans for the unit and collect the materials you will need. Prepare the calendar sheets for the daily activity at home or obtain enough large commercial calendar sheets for each household to have them
ADVENT DAILY PRAYER CALENDAR
A major emphasis of this unit is daily preparation for Christmas. One meaningful way to do this is to develop a daily prayer calendar for use during the four weeks. The calendar should be at least 8 /2"x 11" (9"x 12" would be better), and could be made easily For example.
| Nov 28 | 29 | 30 | Dec 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
Make numbers fairly small so that there is maximum room for writing. At each session the group will have opportunity to fill in a week of the calendar with prayer topics for the coming week, thus you will want to encourage each household to bring its calendar each week. If you are so inclined you may want to make u large calendar (22" x 28" perhaps) for the wall of the classroom and keep it filled in as the weeks go by.
Suggestions for selecting prayer topics will be included with the session plans.
Session One: Hear God's Promise
GOALS
- To get acquainted.
- To explore the meaning of God's promise for Christians.
- To make daily preparations for Christmas.
PREPARATIONS
- Review the session plans and study Luke 21:25-36 and the commentary by Stringfellow (adult Bible study).
- Arrange the room with tables and chairs so that participants have an adequate space for making name tags, posters or collages, and for filling in the first week of their calendars.
- Obtain supplies for name tags, posters or collages, and have on hand a supply of the blanks for making calendars.
SESSION PLANS
- Welcome: Be on hand to welcome people as they arrive and enlist early
arrivals in preparing and helping others prepare name tags. Ask the participants
to put month of their birth on the name tags.
Ask members to get into four groups according to quarters of the year in which they were born (Jan.-Mar.; Apr.-June; July.-Sept. Oct.-Dec.) and to meet one another. Ask them to share in their small groups responses to the questions, "What would you do to get ready if you knew a king was coming to visit you?" "How would you feel if you didn't know when the king was coming?"
- Bible study: Ask someone to read aloud Luke 21:25-36 and another to follow with reading Jeremiah 33:14-16. Share information and insights gained by your reading of Stringfellow's study on the Luke passage. This passage, and others like it, have often been used by those who want to pinpoint the time of the End. Avoid getting caught in needless controversy by keeping the focus on God's promise of redemption in the midst of a world that seems on the brink of chaos.
- Interpreting the theme of promise: Ask members to select one activity
listed below and to work with others who choose the same activity. Their
work will be shared as a part of the closing worship.
a. Make one or more collages that illustrate God's promise of salvation and security (provide scissors, old magazines, glue, markers, poster board).
b. Write a new verse to "Hail to the Lord's Anointed." (Provide hymnals or copies of the hymn, pencils and paper, and newsprint for writing the verse large enough for all to see.)
c. Compose Haiku and/or Cinquain poems. A Haiku poem has three lines, totaling seventeen syllables:
Line 1-5 syllables
Line 2-7 syllables
Line 3-5 syllables
Haiku poems express fleeting response or impressions about the subject.A Cinquain (sing can) poem has five lines, as follows:
Line 1-one word (title)
Line 2-two words (description of title)
Line 3-three words (actions concerning title)
Line 4-four words (feelings about the title)
Line 5-one word (meaning same as title) - Selecting topics for prayer calendar: As a total group decide upon seven emphases related to God's promise. Then distribute the blank calendars (one to each household) and have members of households enter the topics (one for each day) in the blanks for the first week of Advent. Request them to include these topics in their daily family worship. If some are not having worship as a family, this would be an excellent time for them to begin.
- Closing: Ask participants to share briefly their work from the small groups, and invite all to join in singing "Hail to the Lord's Anointed," including the new verse. Conclude by reading these words of promise from Luke 21:28: "...Look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Session Two: Get on the Right Road!
GOALS
- To experience the forgiveness that follows repentance.
- To continue daily preparation for Christmas.
PREPARATION
Review session plans, study Luke 3:1-9, and commentary by Stringfellow (adult Bible study). Prepare the room and obtain supplies necessary to complete the activities.
SESSION PLANS
- Welcome: As members arrive ask them to wear name tags from the previous session, or to make new ones. Greet new members and briefly describe the last session.
- Bible study: Ask one or two people to read aloud Luke 3:1-9. Share information and insights gained by your reading of Stringfellow's study on the passage. In preparation for interpretation of the theme, focus on John's call for repentance in the midst of a world where many felt secure with the way they were living, even though it was not according to God's call to them.
- Interpreting the theme of repentance: Ask members to select one activity
listed below and to join with others who choose the same activity. Their
work will be shared as a part of the closing worship.
a. Prepare a call for repentance from John to today's world. Try to keep the message to 50 words or less. To whom will it be addressed? Appoint someone to deliver the call at the closing of the session. (Provide pencils and paper.)
b. Make acrostics of PROMISE and REPENTANCE. On newsprint write the words vertically, one letter under the other. Then fill in appropriate words, beginning with the respective lepers, to describe PROMISE ant REPENTANCE.
c. Role play a family conversation that takes place after they have heard John's message. How do the people feel about John? What questions do they have about him? Do they want to be baptized? Why or why not?
- Selecting topics for the prayer calendar: Continue the process that was used in the previous session. This week, however, focus on topics for repentance and confession, and encourage all participants to engage in daily prayer that include these, along with praise and thanksgiving.
- Closing; Ask participants to share briefly the results of their small group work. You may want to post the messages and acrostics for future sessions as reminders of this study. Conclude by reading Luke 3:4-6 and join in praying the Lord's Prayer.
Session Three: What Shall We Do?
GOALS
- To discover some of the ways we are called to serve God in our vocations.
- To continue daily preparations for Christmas.
PREPARATION
Review session plans, study Luke 3:10-20, and read commentary by Stringfellow (adult Bible study). Prepare the room and obtain supplies needed to complete the activities.
SESSION PLANS
- Welcome: As members arrive, ask them to prepare name tags, and to include vocation on the tag (those in school have the vocation of "student").
- Ask one or two people (don't overlook children who can read well) to read aloud Luke 3:10-20. Share information and insights gained by your reading of Stringfellow's study on the passage. In preparing for interpretation of the theme, focus on John's answer to the question "What shall we do?", point out that salvation includes faithfully responding to God by serving others in our daily living.
- Interpreting the theme of practicing our faith: Ask members to select
one activity listed below and to join with others who choose the same activity.
Their work will be shared as a part of the closing worship.
a. Prepare a paraphrase of Luke 3:10-14 by using contemporary vocations and groups of people (include vocations of those in the study group) and what John's response might be to them. Be prepared to share this as a dramatic reading for the closing. Groups might be children, young people, men, etc. Vocations would be those identified on name tags of class members (entire class).
b. Prepare a press conference with John the Baptist. Make a list of questions and John's answers. Select someone to be John and persons to ask the questions. (As reporters ask questions in the dramatization for closing the session, have them identify themselves, e.g. "Sir, I am Miriam Menna of the Jerusalem Herald. My question is...")
c. Prepare "On the Street" interviews about reactions to John's imprisonment. Select a person to be a reporter, and decide who will hold what opinions, and reasons for their views. As a group, try to develop different viewpoints and reasons. Be prepared to share your dramatic presentation at the close of the session.
- Selecting topics for the prayer calendar: Continue the process that was used in previous sessions. This week, however, focus on topics of petition for guidance and faithfulness in our daily vocations.
- Closing: Ask small groups to share their work in the interpretation of the Bible study theme. Conclude the session by singing together a prayer and dedication hymn, such as "Seal Us, O Holy Spirit."
Session Four: Praise God!
GOALS
- To celebrate the imminent arrival of the King.
- To continue daily individual and family preparation for Christmas.
PREPARATION
Review session plans, study Luke 1:39-56, and read commentary by Stringfellow (adult Bible study). Prepare the room and obtain supplies needed to complete the activities.
SESSION PLANS
- Welcome: As members arrive give each a balloon to inflate and tie (have
a few extra balloons, and someone to help with the tying). Ask each to write
her or his
name on the balloon and also to write a "happy word" such as JOY! PRAISE!, etc., using a felt tip marker. Collect the balloons and keep them until the closing of the session.
- Bible study: Ask a member of the group to read aloud Luke 1:36-45. Ask all to join in reading Luke 1:46-55, and then have the lone reader conclude with verse 56. Share information and insights gained by your reading of Stringfellow's study on the passage and invite class members to describe briefly how Mary's song makes them feel.
- Interpreting the Theme of Praise: Ask members to select one activity
listed below and to join others who choose the same activity. Their work
will be shared as a part of the closing celebration.
a. Prepare a choral reading of Luke 1:46-55, using all members of the group in one way or another. Be prepared to share this as a part of the closing celebration.
b. Prepare an interpretive pantomime of Luke 1:46-55. As a group work out the motions for the different lines and select a reader, or readers, to read aloud while other members of the group do the pantomime. Plan to share your interpretation as a part of the closing celebration.
c. Prepare a collage or two or different portrayals of Mary. You will want to get a large and varied collection of Christmas cards that portray Mary. Also have on hand poster board, glue, scissors, etc.
- Selecting topics for the Prayer Calendar: Continue the process that has been used in previous sessions. This week, however, focus on topics of praise and thanksgiving for God's goodness and love. Also include groups of persons to be remembered daily in individual and family prayers of Intercession.
- Closing: Ask members to share the results of their small group work. Distribute balloons so that each person has her or his own balloon. Then invite members to exchange balloons with words such as, "Mary, I want you to have the gift of joy... (or whatever word is on the balloon)," etc. Make additional exchanges with others' balloons by saying words such as, "Mary, John shares with you the gift of joy (or whatever word is on the balloon)..." Join together in singing "Joy to the World!" and read Ephesians 3:14-21 as a closing prayer.
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