About This Guide: This weekly groups guide, “A Light Has Dawned,” is designed as a companion to our Epiphany 2022 teaching series, fostering discussion, study, and prayer, especially in a group setting. Join a group for a meaningful way to connect to our community.
the magi
Teaching Text: Matthew 2:1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Themes
Consider these themes and ask your group what else they see in the passage:
Epiphany centers around the question of worship.
What we worship shapes our lives. And everyone is worshiping something. Whether we have consciously chosen it or it has just become our life.
Presence
Meditate on these with others:
A question to consider when we consider our own worship: what has our time, attention, affection, devotion?
Take some time to consider the direction of these parts of our lives.
Audit these four elements of your life and consider the outcome. Are you happy with where your time, attention, affection and devotion lies? What does it say about what is most important to you?
Confess what you feel after that to God. He welcomes us with open arms, just as we are.
Formation
Thoughts and notes you can use for discussion:
Whether we flourish or languish will hinge in many ways on what we worship.
If you set your souls expectation and hope on something besides God you will eventual crush that thing and your soul will take the damage.
Because here's something else that's true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship… -is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things-if they are where you tap real meaning in life-then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already-it's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power-you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart-you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on. —David Foster Wallace
How to worship in 2022:
Get a look at Jesus - fix your attention towards him.
Change your posture - create a tangible place and time to be with Jesus.
Open and offer your gifts - you Can make Jesus real and personal in your space by serving and giving.
Adjust your course. Be willing to change direction in life as God leads
Love
Read these notes and discuss the questions below:
How is God inviting you to join in sharing His love in the world?
Demonstrating His kingdom
Showing generosity
Offering forgiveness
Speaking truth
How can you implement hear practices as acts of worship in your closest relationships? Or towards your colleagues or neighbors?
Pray for one another in the group.
