ADVENT KAIROS RETREAT
Talk One: WHAT IS ADVENT
Talk Two: The Hebrew Prophets and Advent
Talk Three: The Annunciation and Incarnation
Talk Four: The Birth of John the Baptist
Talk Five: The Magnificat
Talk Six: The Journey to Bethlehem
Talk Seven: How We Observe Advent
Talk One:WHAT IS ADVENT
Scripture: Romans 13: 11-12
Opening Prayer: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last Day, when He shall come in His glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to eternal life, through Him who lives and reigns forever with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.Amen.
Intro: There is a big contrast between how society prepares for Christmas and how the early Christians did.
- contrast between our buying presents and being busy with preparations for all kinds of parties and gatherings
- with the ancient Christians who called the period before Christmas ADVENT, a time of turning toward God in spiritual preparation
I. WHAT IS ADVENT
- a season of four weeks prior to Christmas
- Themes of drawing near to God in prayer, study, and service to others
- An attitude of denying ourselves and waiting in expectancy
- The colors purple for royalty and repentance and blue for hope
- The hope for fulfillment of God's promise
- Emphasis on the stories of Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, the births of John the Baptist and Jesus.
- The theme of " coming of Christ"- the first as a babe, as a savior, as the lamb of God; the second as the Lion of Judah, the king of kings, the LORD.
CONCLUSION: Share your experience of observing Advent.
CLOSING PRAYER: O Holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us today, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today. May we always look for your visitation in our world. Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTION: What has Advent meant to you?
Talk Two: The Hebrew Prophets and Advent
Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7
Opening Prayer: Merciful God, You sent Your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may celebrate aright the commemoration of the nativity, and may await with joy the coming in glory of Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Introduction: What is prophecy?
- Both. A spiritual gift and a ministry in the Body of Christ.
- It is speaking forth a message from God, usually for encouragement and comfort, sometimes for warning, sometimes for guidance.
- Prophecy has multiple layers of meaning, for the time in which it was given and for the time in which it is read, as the Bible speaks to us where we are.
- The Hebrew Bible contains Major Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and twelve Minor Prophets, the difference being only in the length of the written prophecy. In addition there are unwritten prophets. There are prophecies in the Christian Bible as well, given by Mary,mother of Jesus, Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, and even Jesus Himself.
I. Prophecies of the First Coming of Christ
- the birth of Christ to a virgin
- the birth taking place at Bethlehem
- Christ's family being from Nazareth
- the appearance of the star in the East
- the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh
- the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt
- the slaughter of innocent boys at Bethlehem
II. Importance of the prophecies
- Idea of the fullness of time (Kairos)
- God's plan for redemption
- Trustworthiness of the Word of God
Conclusion: Share about your personal encounter with prophecies about Jesus
Closing Prayer: Lord, help us to come to Your Word with open hearts that Your Word may shape our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Discussion Question: Recall the prophecies about the coming of Christ.
Talk Three: The Annunciation and Incarnation
Scripture: Luke 1: 26-38
Opening Prayer: Eternal God, by the birth of Jesus Christ, You gave Yourself to the world. Grant that, being born in our hearts, He may save us from all our sins, and restore within us the image and likeness of our Creator, to whom be everlasting praise and glory, world without end.Amen.
Introduction: Advent has one major theme, a great mystery, of how God became a human being. In theology, we call this the INCARNATION, or as John wrote, "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
I. God made the announcement through the archangel messenger, Gabriel, to Mary of Nazareth, a young virgin of the family of David, espoused to Joseph also of the family of David. The angel came to a poor woman in a obscure village of a captive people to proclaim that God was keeping His promise in a wonderful way. God gave an offer to Mary to become the mother of the Messiah through a miracle in which God the Son in the Holy Trinity would become a holy embryo in Mary's womb. As song said, "a wonder strange and wild, a mother made and redeemed by her own Child."
II. The Incarnation means a number of things:
- God entered our world
- God experienced what it means to be human, but without sin
- God honored the body by taking it on Himself
- God became fully man as well as fully God
- God came to demonstrate a holy way of living
- God became man that man could be redeemed by God
- God became the Second Adam who fully obeyed
- God is Immanuel, God with us.
Conclusion: Share what the Incarnation of Christ has meant in your life.
Closing prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for coming to be with us and live as one of us and for saving us from sin and destruction. Amen.
Discussion: What does the incarnation of Jesus mean to you?
Talk Four: The Birth of John the Baptist
Scripture: Isaiah 40: 3-5
Prayer: O Lord Jesus Christ, who at Your first coming sent Your messengers to prepare Your way: Grant that Your servants may also prepare Your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at Your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in Your sight, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Introduction: Advent is called a penitential season, which is a time of getting our lives right with God, of repentance, of seeking to draw close to God. One of themes of Advent comes out of Luke's Gospel, which is the story of the birth of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.
I. John's coming was predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures
- Malachi's prediction of one coming in the spirit and prophetic anointing of Elijah, " to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers."
- Isaiah's prediction of one coming to "prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight in the desert a highway for our God."
II.The birth of John the Baptist was miraculous
- Announced by the archangel messenger Gabriel
- Birth to a childless aged couple
- Zechariah, the father, lost his ability to speak during the pregnancy
- At the birth of the baby, Zechariah's mouth was open and he began to prophesy.
- John was Jesus' cousin and their mothers were closely related
III. The Ministry of John the Baptist was calling people to turn away from sin and turn to God and to be baptized as a sign of repentance
- John baptized Jesus
- John said Jesus must increase and John must decrease
- John was executed by Herod Antipas
Conclusion: How is God working in your life to prepare His Way in you?
Closing Prayer: Lord, search my life and help me remove anything that separates me from You. In Jesus' Name.Amen.
Discussion: How is the Lord preparing His way in your life?
Talk Five: The Magnificat
Scripture: Luke 1: 46-55
Prayer: O Lord, raise up Your power and come among us and with Your great power help us; that though our sins and weaknesses hinder us to run the race You set before us, Your bountiful grace may quickly help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with You and the Holy Spirit live and reign forever. Amen.
Introduction: The Magnificat is a prophetic word from Mary the mother of Jesus, given after the greeting she received from her cousin Elizabeth.
I. Magnify means to make great, the prophecy is an offering of praise to God and has been the inspiration for many works of music and poetry.
- God knows about the trials of the downtrodden
- God is mighty to save
- God shows mercy to those who reverence Him
- God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble
- God exalts the humble but brings down the powerful
- God shows mercy to His people
Conclusion: What has been your experience with praising God?
Closing Prayer: Lord, we join with Your mother in worshipping You. You are great and greatly to be praised. In Your Name we pray. Amen.
Discussion: What does praising God mean to you?
Talk Six: The Journey to Bethlehem
Scripture: Luke 2: 1-7
Prayer: Visit Your family, O God. Give us love, joy, and Your peace. purify our thoughts, words, and deeds, so that when Jesus Christ comes , He will find a place preferred for His coming.Amen.
Introduction: The story of Christmas has a journey, of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from the region of Galilee in the north of Israel to the region of Judah,south of Jerusalem. This was a difficult journey at best, made even harder by happening in the last period of Mary's pregnancy. This journey is celebrated in the Hispanic Christian service of Las Posadas which acts out the Holy Family facing the problem of no room in the inn and finding shelter in a stable for Jesus's birth.
I. Meanings of the Journey:
- God is sovereignly in control. The prophecy said that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, and God even used a pagan emperor's census degree to ensure this would happen.
- God comes to the poor and outcast. The birth of Jesus was in a stable, announced first to shepherds.
- Despite all the hardships and hassles believers face, God's will for and through them will be done.
- Sometimes Jesus can get crowded out of our lives. There was no room for Him in the inns of Bethlehem.
- Life is a journey. God travels with us and brings us Home.
Conclusion: Share what the journey to Bethlehem means for you.
Prayer: Be near me,Lord Jesus, I ask You to stay close by me forever and love me I pray.Bless all Your dear children with Your tender care and take us to heaven to live with You there. Amen.
Discussion: What does the journey to Bethlehem mean to you?
Talk Seven: How We Observe Advent
Scripture: Isaiah 9: 2-7
Prayer: Send, O God, into the darkness of this troubled world the Light of Your Son. Let the star of Your hope touch the minds of all people with the bright beams of mercy and truth; and so direct our steps that we may walk in the way revealed to us, as the shepherds of Bethlehem walked with joy to the manger where He dwelled who now and ever reigns in our hearts, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: Advent is the first season of the Christian Year, a season of light, a penitential season in which we examine ourselves to prepare the way of the Lord in our lives. There are certain ways we can observe a holy Advent that brings us close to God.
- We can take extra time to pray, to read Scripture, to meditate on the special stories about the birth of Jesus.
- We can use the Christmas carols to help us remember what this season is about.
- We can find ways of blessing other people
- We can look for the ways God is working in our midst.
- We can resist the pull of the world to get into the rat race of buying, partying, and looking for material things.
- One practice is called the Examen, which is just taking a look at the direction of your life: your consolations, where you felt closest to God, your desolations, where you felt furthest from God and ask God to help you in your weaknesses.
Conclusion: How do you plan to observe Advent and what are your goals?
Prayer: What can I give Him, poor as I am; If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb; If I were a wise man I would do my part; Yet what can I give Him? Give my heart.
Discussion: How do you plan to observe Advent?
Advent 1 or 2 Day Retreat Outline