Tonight, we will be celebrating the change from 2021 to 2022. We get excited about a New Year with the hope that the next 12 months will bring a change for the better. We do a self-reflection and make plans to change our lifestyle. May this new year be where your light shines brighter.


Questions for further thought:
1. What change do you want to make for the next year?

2. How will you allow the Lord to shine in your heart in the next year?


​Challenge: May you let the Lord shine in your heart in 2022, so you “know the glory of God is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.”

God is working in us every day. These lessons allow us to learn more about Him and we become wiser each time He works. Some lessons are tough, and cause us to rely on God in an uncomfortable fashion. But each time, we can let our light shine as we show our vulnerabilities and experiences with each other.


Questions for further thought:
1. What is a lesson God has shown you in the past that made you better in the end?

2. How can you share that experience with someone who may be going through a similar challenge?


​Challenge: Share your past struggles with someone new. It may be the encouragement that person needs or they might know someone who needs that encouragement.

In addition to teaching, Paul worked privately while living with the Thessalonians. He did not want to burden them while he was in residency. In working alongside with the people in the community, he was able to model the character of both hard work and encouragement while there. This is a form of worship: what we do every day.


Questions for further thought:
1. What type of character do you portray in your occupation?

​2. Does your character at your current vocation model the character you want to see in others?


​Challenge: Talk to the people you work with at your job (customers, co-workers and suppliers). Ask them how your character reflects on you, and what you can do to serve them better.

Just like you, the people around you go through trials and ordeals. Jesus teaches us to be a light that shines for each other. Our light reflects the Holy Spirit in us and guides people to the God we are to glorify. But our light will only shine when we allow it to shine. 


Questions for further thought:
1. Are there any people around you that you tend to hide your light from?

2. What can you do reveal your light to those you hide it from?


​Challenge: When someone comes to you with a trial they are going through, ask them how you can pray for them and assist them if you are able. Be the light they need to proceed forward.

The wise men travelled from a great distance to see the new Savior that was born in Bethlehem. God provided a light in the sky in the form of a bright star. The star preceded them showing the way to Bethlehem. The darkness of the night was no match for a simple light in the sky, showing them just enough to move in the right direction. 


Questions for further thought:
1. What situation has been a long ordeal that God has brought you through?

2. What light has God provided you through the long ordeal?


​Challenge: We have a faithful God who will always provide a light in the darkness to help you through all your ordeals. Turn to the wise men (and women) in your life and ask them to pray over you when you are in need.

When recently asking my kids what some of their favorite Christmas memories were, it was a little surprising to hear them recall times we shared as a family doing things, such as looking at Christmas lights while drinking hot cocoa, making gingerbread houses with their grandpa, and lots of laughs had with aunts and uncles during family game time. Presents did eventually come up. I know Christmas memories will always have presents involved, which is fine. I realized that their first and lasting memories involved their family’s presence first and presents/gifts second. We can learn from the wise men in this sense. They brought presents. But what did they do first? They spent time in His presence and worshiped Him.


Questions for further thought:
1. What are some of your best Christmas memories?

​2. Is there a Christmas tradition you have enjoyed for many years?


Challenge:  Try to be more present in your loved ones’ lives, rather than worried about the shopping and business of the season.

A lot of the details of the wise men’s journey is unclear. Over time we have put things into the magi’s story that aren’t in the bible but just assumed based on some of the things we knew. One thing we do know is nothing could divert them from their mission. King Harod, they were able to discern, had no intention of furthering their mission. When God gives us a mission, we need to be wise enough not to let anything get in our way!


Questions for further thought:
1. Have there been times you have become distracted from something you knew God wanted you to do?

​2. Have you let that distraction take you off course?


​Challenge: Ask God for the wisdom to stay on task with what God is asking from you.

I heard a song recently that for some reason I hadn’t heard before. (Which surprised me since it is 20 years old!) It is called “Mystery” And the first verse goes as follows:
“A child is born on Christmas Day,
Born to save the world
But long before the world began
He knew His death was sure.”
Even more incredible to me than the virgin birth itself is the fact that God created us in the first place- knowing that we would sin and that he would give His son to die in our place.


Questions for further thought:
1. What is your favorite Christmas song?

2. Do the words hold important meaning to you?


​Challenge: Listen to one of your favorite Christmas songs; really listen to the words and let them soak in this Christmas season.

How are we to receive God’s gift of Jesus? In the bible John says we must believe in Him, this means more than just agreeing with the bible. We are to live by faith that Jesus’ coming into this world frees us from sin and now we can live a new full life with Him. May it be clear in the way we think, work, live and love that Jesus is our most precious gift we could ever receive.


Questions for further thought:
1. Is God’s “gift” still waiting for you to receive it?

2. What is keep you from accepting Jesus?  


​Challenge: If you have not received Jesus or are unsure what to do, contact a pastor or trusted friend, they would love leading you to God’s perfect gift!

When God made the greatest announcement to the world, who did he choose to tell first? He didn’t choose the rich, he didn’t choose the highest religious men. He chose shepherds. One reason I believe God choose the shepherds was to show that God doesn’t require anything from us. He wants us to come as we are to praise, adore and worship him. The shepherds had nothing, but they fully embraced the good news and hurried to find Jesus and worship Him. Then they “returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen.” (Luke 2:20)


Questions for further thought:
1. Has your amazement for Christmas dimmed?

2. If so, what could be some reasons that it has dimmed?  


Challenge: This Christmas, plan to do one thing that will cultivate amazement in your heart.