GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Saturday, December 18

Personal Application: Let’s “worship fully” every week. First Presbyterian Church invites you to worship fully on December 24 at 7:30 pm or 9:30 pm. And let’s do our part to help others worship fully, too. Everyone can take part in the Christmas Eve offering.

Family Activity: The Scriptures are filled with people singing. As a family, write your own song of praise and thanksgiving to God this Advent. Begin by choosing the tune of a hymn or praise song familiar to your whole family. You might try using a favorite Christmas carol!

Next, list everything your family is thankful for as well as phrases of praise and worship to God. Group together those that rhyme or have similar sounds. Now, work in your words of worship to the familiar tune. Feel free to use some of the original words from the song you’ve chosen in combination with your own. Use this song as a prayer, an opening for your family time, or share it with others as a witness to God’s faithfulness!

Prayer: Dear God, there is so much wonderful Christmas music. But sometimes I get sick of hearing it, especially when it turns into Muzak to use as a backdrop for more shopping. Plant your song in my heart this Advent, and then help me keep it alive. Help me to sing your praise as honestly and joyfully in February and June and August as I do during the Christmas season. Amen.

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Friday, December 17

Matthew 26:26-30; Psalm 118:13-29 

At the end of a Passover Seder, Jesus led the first “Lord’s Supper.” Then they “sang a hymn.” Most probably, they sang Psalm 118, the usual final hymn of the Passover hallel. If so, then just before his crucifixion, Jesus sang of the stone the builders rejected that became the cornerstone. He sang, “I will not die, but live” (verse 17).

• Sometimes we picture the Last Supper as a grim time with everyone, including Jesus, downcast and depressed. How does the idea of Jesus and the disciples singing a hymn of praise alter your perceptions of the tone of that evening? How do songs of praise fit into the serious, challenging times of life? 

• How ironic for Jesus to sing “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD”—the very words he’d heard five days before at the Triumphal Entry. Do some prayerful imagining. What do you think was in Jesus’ heart as he sang the psalm’s final words: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever”?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Thursday, December 16

Colossians 3:12-17 

On Tuesday we could picture a glad crowd of worshippers singing Psalm 98 at Solomon’s beautiful Temple. Today we read words to what was probably a house church in Colossae (modern day Turkey). They may have had as few as 15 or 20 people worshipping in a hostile city. But they, too, sang psalms of praise, with hearts grateful to God.

• “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” (v. 16). In what ways do the various “right-brain” expressions (music, visual arts, poetry, dance, etc.) add richness to your Christian life? Which art forms most enrich your worship during Advent? 

• What does “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (verse 17) mean to you? How can you, e.g., find a parking spot, relate to your boss, or return a purchase “in the name of the Lord Jesus”? What steps have you found helpful to keep yourself aware of this in your everyday activities?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Wednesday, December 15

Zephaniah 3:14-20 

At the very end of Zephaniah’s short prophecy came these beautiful words of promise. God would gather the exiles and bring them home—judgment would not be God’s final word to the people of Judah. Deliverance would give them a reason to sing (verse 14). But they would not be singing alone—God would rejoice over THEM with singing (verse 17)!

• Do you picture God as taking great delight in you? What experiences or influences in your life have led you to picture God’s attitude toward you the way that you do? In what ways does Zephaniah’s portrait of God give you a reason to “upgrade” your inner picture of God’s attitude toward you? 

• In verse 19 we read, “I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame.” In what settings or relationships in your life have you most often felt feelings of shame? Thank God (in song, if you wish!) for the promise of deliverance and redemption from all the painful kinds of shame you’ve suffered.

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Tuesday, December 14

Psalm 98:1-9

This psalm practically bubbles over with joy and praise. The psalmist wasn’t satisfied to limit the praise to people. Let’s have the rivers clap their hands; let’s have the mountains and the sea join in the singing! Imagine how the hearts of early Christians must have soared as they sang “a new song,” one praising God for making salvation known in Jesus.

• “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things,” says verse 1. In what ways can God’s people (who are not immune from disappointments and tragedies) sing a song like that with integrity? What are the “marvelous things” in your life for which you can honestly praise God? 

• You may have learned that God’s judgment is a scary thing. For this psalmist, it’s not! Verse 9 begins, “Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.” What reasons does the psalmist give for seeing God’s judgment as cause for singing?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Monday, December 13

Isaiah 12:2-6

This week we’ll read passages that show God’s people singing. Note, it’s not about skill—we won’t find verses saying, “Sing (if you have a good voice).” It’s not limited to any one day or season. And the Bible doesn’t urge us to sing because we love music, but because we love God and God loves us. Let’s join in the Advent Conspiracy’s call to “worship fully.”

• Today’s New International Version translates verse 2 as “the Lord is my strength and my defense.” A footnote says that it could be “my strength and my song,” a reading many other translations choose. How can songs (and, more broadly) gratitude and praise be a strength and defense in your life? Do you tap into that strength? 

• Isaiah states the reason for praise right at the start of this passage: “I will trust and not be afraid.” In what areas of life do you find it natural to trust in God and avoid fear? What fears do you feel that you can ask God to help you with today? What steps help you build that trust, even in the tough parts of life?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Saturday, December 11

Our Advent focus invites us to spend less and give more. Plan to feel the joy of that.

Suggested Activity: Choose a festive container to hold loose change and bills. (Talk about some ways your family can spend less and give more.). Consider eating at home one extra night per week instead of eating out. Maybe you could turn your heat down or turn your lights out when you leave a room. Include the entire family in each effort. Place the money you save into your container. Celebrate that you are spending less on yourselves to give more to others and to Jesus. Give it to one of our communities helping agencies or bring your money to a Christmas Eve service and share it as your offering. Give thanks to God for being able to give.

Prayer: God, in many ways this recession has prepared my heart better for Christmas than the previous years of excess and wealth. I find myself relying more and more on you for sustenance instead of on stuff and money. God, as you have provided for me, help me to reflect on how I, as part of the body of Christ, might be a blessing to others who are struggling this Christmas. Help me to emphasize your presence in this world and in their lives. Amen.

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Friday, December 10

Isaiah 61:1-3

John the Baptist knew Isaiah’s prophecies. So did Jesus - the one John identified as the Lamb of God. In January, we’ll read the gospel of Luke. In Luke 4 we will find that Jesus used this passage from Isaiah as the text for a sermon he preached in his hometown synagogue. I came, Jesus said, to bring good news to the poor.

• Isaiah portrays an upside-down world. In the world we know, the poor get very little good news, the brokenhearted usually stay sad, and captors seldom set their captives and prisoners free. What power did Isaiah count on to reverse the known order of things? How appealing does Isaiah’s world sound to you? 

• We know Jesus found his sense of calling, his “personal mission statement,” in this passage. To what extent do you, as Christ’s follower, also sense that these verses are speaking to you about your purpose in life? How has God equipped you to be actively involved in helping to bring about the changed world of Isaiah’s vision?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Thursday, December 9

John 1:19-34 

The Gospel of John tells many parts of Jesus’ story in a different way than Matthew’s. They agree, however, that John’s preaching and baptizing carried out the words of Isaiah 40. This gospel gives us a clearer view of the deep humility with which this prophet worked to prepare the way for Jesus.

• John clearly saw Jesus as the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament sacrifices were about. What does the image of Jesus as “the Lamb of God” tell you about the primary reason that he came? How can you use this Advent season to prepare your heart to receive “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world?” 

• In his day (and, some scholars think, for decades after) some of John’s followers disliked Jesus’ impact. “Everyone is going to HIM,” they said. John’s reply was amazing from one so dynamic: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). How does John’s model of honoring Jesus above his own “success” speak to your heart?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Wednesday, December 8

Matthew 3:1-12

The Judean wilderness is harsh and bleak. The people who created the famous Dead Sea Scrolls lived in this wilderness. From this rugged land came the rugged, blunt prophet John. He heralded the Messiah’s nearness, and baptized those who repented. Bear in mind: “repent” means, not toxic self-hatred, but a moral choice to turn around and live a new way.

• Matthew gives a very concise summary of John’s preaching in verse 2. What are the key parts of the message? What is there about that message that would draw many people from the relative comfort of Jerusalem into the wilderness to listen and be baptized? In what ways do we need to hear John’s message today? 

• In verses 9-10, John challenged those who thought their ethnic or religious heritage alone made them close to God. How can family tradition or church affiliation take the place of a living personal union with God? Do religious as well as non-religious people need to hear and heed John’s call to repent?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Tuesday, December 7

Malachi 3:1-10 

Like Isaiah, Malachi (who wrote some 400 years later), foretold a herald who would prepare the way for the Messiah. But Malachi also expressed a deep spiritual concern. God was calling for a major change in the way God’s people did their business. If they weren’t willing to change, to live God’s way, then who could abide the Messiah’s presence?

• The prophets were key players in God’s Advent Conspiracy. They often made people uneasy, because they pointed beyond our usual ways to God’s better way. Are there any parts of verses 2-5 that make you uncomfortable? Ask God to show you any of your ways that may need to change in the light of the Messiah’s coming. 

• Malachi chose bold language to describe the fiscal ways of his day. “You are robbing God,” he told his hearers. “Test God. Be faithful, and see if you’re not blessed.” In what variety of ways might God “bless” those who faithfully act as stewards of what God gives them? How do these verses speak to your heart during Advent 2010?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Monday, December 6

Isaiah 40:1-5 

Ancient roads had many more bumps and hills than modern American highways. So, when a king was going to travel, work parties would level the highest and lowest spots on the road he was using. Based on that custom, Isaiah portrayed the work of the forerunner God would send to prepare people spiritually for the Messiah.

• The first section of Isaiah contains many tough messages of judgment. In this passage, the tone shifts. After the pain of exile in Babylon, God says, “Comfort my people.” In this way, Isaiah reminds us that grace is always God’s last word. In which part(s) of your life do you most need to hear God speak tenderly to you right now? 

• On Wednesday and Thursday, we’ll read in the gospels that Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist, fulfilled Isaiah’s words. Yet John and Jesus were poor peasants, in no way part of Israel’s elite. How did Isaiah’s image of a king coming to town help people in Jesus’ day (as well as us) to grasp Jesus’ royal identity as ruler of all creation?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Saturday, December 4

Personal Application: Our culture has planted this equation in us: “Spending money = love.” So an invitation to “spend less” feels jarring and unloving. But the equation is false. We can spend many things besides money on others—energy, time, creativity, and so on. Spending money on unneeded “stuff” is not love; it’s just spending. Think through specific plans as to how you can spend less, yet love more, this Advent season.

Family Activity: Spend some time talking about birthdays. Ask each family member to share memories of decorations, food, people, gifts and party locations at past family birthday celebrations. Ask each person what feelings their birthday brings, and why they feel that way. Now Jesus’ birthday is coming – celebrate! Create a list or draw a picture showing the gifts, decorations, and food Jesus might like for His birthday. Who would Jesus like to have at His birthday party? Keep that list or drawing up in your home as you prepare for Christmas. Ask yourselves if the ways you are celebrating will honor Jesus and make Him happy. Ask God to help your family focus on Jesus and His birth as you prepare and celebrate this Christmas.

Prayer: O Lord, the prophets whispered (and sometimes shouted) about the ways that you would change our world. Today, committed to being a Christ-follower, I realize that you’re calling me to be that change. Live in me, and guide me in the inner changes that will allow me to genuinely live as your hands and feet and your voice in this hurting world. Amen.

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Friday, December 3

Isaiah 40:8-11 

Handel made inspiring musical use of these verses in his Messiah. But, even without the music, it was an inspiring message Isaiah gave to Israel. Suffering, struggle, injustice and night were not endless. Their God was coming, and with God’s arrival would come the good news of God’s reign. The mighty shepherd would tenderly carry the lambs in his arms.

• Can you think of stories in which Jesus (“the Good Shepherd”) carried the struggling and weak in his arms? (If you’re not sure, try John 8:1-11, Matthew 19:13-14 for starters.) In what parts of your life do you especially long for a caring shepherd to carry you in his arms? 

• What can this Advent season give you the chance to “lift up your voice” and to say to those you know, “Here is your God”? Think through what a conscious worshipful choice to honor Christmas as Jesus would look like. What questions and opportunities to share might that create?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Thursday, December 2

Isaiah 11:1-9

Like Jeremiah, Isaiah looked forward to a day when a righteous branch would spring from David’s line. (Jesse was David’s father—see 1 Samuel 16, 17.) Isaiah uses startling, vivid images to show us the serene nature of this Davidic ruler’s kingdom. Think of lions lying down with lambs, or children playing near cobras!

• What parts of verses 2-5 came true during Jesus’ earthly ministry? Are there parts of the promise that are true of his eternal reign but that were not clear when he was on earth? In what ways does the multi-layered nature of these prophecies make them harder to trust? In what ways does it strengthen your faith in their divine origin? 

• Isaiah says that God’s “branch from David’s line” will “give decisions for the poor of the earth” with justice. What obstacles (attitudes, resources, or other) make it hard for the poor to get justice in today’s world? In what ways can you help to make the world we live in look more like the Kingdom of God?

GPS - Grow, Pray, Study Weekly Guide: Wednesday, December 1

Ezekiel 34:17-24 

In yesterday’s passage, Ezekiel said God would replace the shepherds who abused his “flock”, the people of Israel. In today’s verses, he went on to say that he would not let the “fat” members of the flock bully and exploit weaker ones. The good shepherd would value justice, rather than excess or exploitation.

• At times, we excuse excess spending with the logic that “it’s my money, so I only hurt myself if I blow it.” Consider how you could “spend less” this Advent. What inner fears or rewards most often drive you to spend more than you can afford, or than someone else needs? How can Ezekiel help you rethink those inner drivers? 

• “My flock will no longer be plundered,” God says. “I will place over them one shepherd.” How does it affect your outlook to see God as the “one shepherd” caring about the entire human family, rather than just individuals here and there? How can you be God’s hands to help bring about greater well-being for all people?