Message Big Idea:

We, as the church, are to be carriers of God’s hope. We have an incredible opportunity to bring his hope to everyone!

Scripture:

Matthew 2:1-12, Luke 2:8-20, Genesis 12:1-4

Icebreaker and Opening Thought

1. What movie, book, or TV show best illustrates what hope means to you?
2. God wants us to be a distributor of hope to the whole world. Hope is hard to quantify or illustrate, and it is so necessary for our lives during the Christmas season and every other day of the year. Hope isn’t always easy to hold onto. Have there been times in your life when hope seemed scarce? How did you hold onto hope?

Bible Discussion 

3. Read Genesis 12:1-4. What is God giving to Abram?
4. Read Matthew 2:1-12. What stood out to you or struck you?
5. Compare the calling of Abram to Matthew 2. What similarities do you notice? What differences?

Life Application

6. When thinking about the “big C Church” across the globe, in what ways have you seen the church be a distributor of hope?
7. Read the quote from Rob Bell and discuss how we, the church, have done a good job of being a distributor of hope to all people? Where do we have some work to do?“If the gospel isn’t good news for everybody, then it isn’t good news for anybody.” -Rob Bell
8. What are some ways that being a distributor of hope for the people in your life is exciting? What are some ways that it feels daunting?

Challenge

Over the next couple of weeks, as the holiday daze wears off, think about ways you could be a distributor of hope for your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. In many ways, 2020 was a challenging year for everyone – we could all use a little more hope in our lives! Find 3-4 ways you could spread that hope and pray that God can use you to spread hope to those in your circle.