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Zephaniah 3.14-20; Isaiah 12.2-6 (Canticle); Philippians 4.4-7; Luke 3.7-18

Explore and respond

Adult & All Age

Explore and respond

Ways to engage different ages, spiritual styles and learning preferences

Ideas for a sermon or interactive talk

See also Thought for the week to read out in place of a sermon; and 'The week in focus', linking the readings to the news.

  • What then should we do, to be signs of good news to the people who are today’s equivalents of those we read about in Zephaniah and, in particular, those who long for the safety of home or indeed to be safe in the homes they are in? How might we partner with God in dealing with the forces of oppression? And how could we gather those who feel outcast, and create a festival with them so they know themselves to be rejoiced over?

  • In Advent 2020, in the middle of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a post appeared on Facebook saying that Christmas that year was not about getting what you want but being content with what you have. At the heart of John the Baptist’s message is a call to contentment. What might this look like today, especially when the might of commercial advertising plays on a sense of discontent that will only be assuaged by purchasing the product or service being promoted? If the planet is to survive, those of us who have plenty will have to be content not just with what we have but with less. Might being seen to live in this way be an important way of being good news in our time?

  • In the Gospel reading, John asks people to show their faith by behaving well in their own context: the tax collector should collect only the correct amount; the soldier must not extort. In our own workplaces, are our colleagues able to discern we are followers of ‘The Way’ by our actions? How so? If not, why not?

  • Through Paul’s words to the Philippians we are asked to be known by our gentleness. That doesn’t mean we are to be known as Christians by our willingness to be doormats. It means our faith must be visible every day, not just on Sundays. We must be kind and gentle every day of the week, living out our faith in authenticity. In the Gospel reading, John suggests that this is different for each person, depending on who you are and your circumstances. So, what might that gentleness look like in our everyday lives, out there in the real world and away from church ‘niceness’?

  • In the Gospel reading, John talks of the axe lying at the root of every tree, ready to cut down any that are not fruitful. This metaphor crops up a few times in the New Testament (e.g. John 15.2, Mark 11.12-14). Where in our own lives are we fruitful? Where might we need to prune?

 

Thought for the week:

Read out in place of a sermon if you wish.

‘What then, should we do?’ This phrase appears three times in the Gospel reading. For each of the people who ask, the answer is different, because it is a contextual question. What we should do depends on who we are, what we spend our days doing, and what our responsibilities may be. For example:

  • the tax collector should collect only the correct amount of tax; 
  • the soldier should do his duty but must not extort. 

There are many other examples in Luke’s Gospel – it is a recurring question.

But, though the specifics will and should vary, the response that is called for is always down to earth and practical, and usually centres on the generous sharing of resources. And underlying it is a call for an ethic and an attitude of contentment, a call to be content with ‘enough’ – one good coat, enough food, the legitimate amount of tax revenue and sufficient wages. And we shouldn’t delude ourselves – ‘enough’ may be less than we are used to having! 

For each of us, then, what we should do to reflect Christ’s presence in our lives will be different. It’s easy to think we do our bit because we raise money for whichever charity is our personal or church’s focus, but Jesus’ challenge here goes deeper than that. It is personal and individual. He says that it is not enough to pay taxes, or give to church or charity. The action must be matched by personal authenticity. Generosity is more than a few generous acts, it is a way of living. 

What then should we do? How might we bear good fruit? With whom might we share our coat? In our workplaces, in our daily encounters whatever their context, are those we share time with able to discern that we are followers of ‘The Way’ by our actions? How so? And if not, why not?

 

All age act of worship Session

Active worship

Discuss

What then should we do?

  • The phrase above suggests there are choices to be made in following Christ. Some are more obvious: for example, we choose whether or not to be a follower of Jesus, or to be baptized. But those ‘first’ choices have consequences and lead to other choices. Some of those who came to John for baptism don’t appear to have fully understood what they were choosing to do and some of its consequences for their everyday living.
  • Invite people to recall and share, first in pairs and then in a larger group: first, choices they may have made without fully understanding either the nature of the choice or the consequences; second, choices or consequences they are faced with in their daily lives because they follow Jesus – e.g. workplace practices that seem contrary to Gospel values.
    W A

 

A Biblical analogy

Find a contemporary equivalent of John’s threshing floor.

  • Display, or give out copies of, images of winnowing forks, threshing floors, granaries and chaff (do an internet search and choose your favourites).
  • In pairs, discuss what a modern – and, depending on your context, urban – equivalent of these things might be. In other words, what metaphor using modern tools and situations might convey the same meaning as John’s words in Luke 3.17? Then rewrite verse 17 using your new-found images.
  • Invite people to share their rewritten verse.
    W

 

A reflective activity

Think about how others see you.

  • Give out pale-coloured blank or pretty postcards and pens. You can get pretty cards from many places, for example: The Postcard Store.
  • There are various fruits that we regularly link with Christmas – for example, satsumas and dates. Invite people to draw on one half of the paper/card, as best they can, a piece of fruit that they link with Christmas.
  • Then, on the other half, write or draw something to represent the ‘fruit’ by which people know them in their workplace, school, college, or wherever they spend a significant amount of their time, e.g., kindness or reliability – but don’t offer too many suggestions; encourage people to come up with their own.
  • Invite people to take their cards home and, from now until Candlemas (Presentation of Christ, 2 February), use them from time to time to reflect on the ‘fruit’ by which they are known. Add any new ‘fruit’ to the card as appropriate. (At or near Candlemas, get everyone to bring the cards back to church and invite feedback.)
    W E S A

 

A simple worship activity

Make a commitment to change one thing.

  • Bill Gates, who is not a Christian, gives away millions every year, supporting various causes across the globe. So, if a known non-Christian can live by John’s exhortation to ‘give his second coat’, how might we do something similar? Read out Luke 3.10-14.
  • Invite people to reflect on how they, individually, might live out John’s call. Specifically, what one thing could they do, or do differently? It may be something quite small in the scheme of things, context is of course everything, but choose one achievable thing! Allow a few minutes for this and play gentle background music.
  • Give out ‘covenant cards’ and pens. Ask people to write into the space on the card what it is they have decided to do. Encourage them to show it to a trusted friend who will hold them accountable to their promise.
  • Invite everyone to say together the words on the cards above the space, then to speak the words they have written aloud or read them silently to themselves. When everyone has completed that, say together the words under the space. All say, Amen.
    W E A

 

 

Activity sheet

 

 New drama: The Advent seekers

 

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Children & Youth

Explore and respond

Activities marked with an asterisk  next to the activity title are in addition to the resources in the Ready to go sessions. Suggested timings for these activities are also shown. NB The inclusion of additional activities varies from week to week.

 

 VERY YOUNG CHILDREN

Very young childrens Session

Relay race

Play and explore signs of good news

Divide the children into teams and have a relay race, passing on a ‘thumbs up’ to the next person in each team.

 

Make a heart

Create and share a sign of good news

Make salt dough hearts (see recipe below) which can be left to dry, and then shared with other members of the congregation as a sign of good news that they can use to decorate their Christmas trees.

Play dough recipe

(see also gluten-free play dough recipe)

Ingredients: 150g plain flour, 75g salt, 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar, 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, a few drops of food colouring, 300ml water in a jug.

Method: Sieve the flour, salt and cream of tartar together into a saucepan. Add the oil and food colouring to the water and add this slowly to the dry ingredients, stirring over a low heat. Mix until it forms a mass. Take the resulting play dough out of the saucepan and knead for a couple of minutes. This will keep in an airtight container for a week.

 

Very young childrens Session

 

FOR CHILDREN

Childrens Session

Hot seat          W E A

Find out how someone lives as a sign of good news

You will need: pens and paper.

  • Invite one of the young people or young adults to talk to the children about being a Christian in their everyday lives.
  • Help the children to decide on one question each they would like to ask about how they can be a sign of good news, i.e. how they show God’s love to others in work/school. Encourage the children to write down their question, and then, one at a time, to ask it.

 

Good news timetable          E A

Think about how we can be good news to others

You will need: paper, pens, stickers.

  • Encourage the children to think about being a sign of good news in their everyday lives. Help them to think about the way they treat others, the things they do and the words they say.
  • Ask them to draw a timetable of their normal week, marking out each day and writing in where they will be and what they will be doing.
  • Provide different coloured pens or stickers and ask the children to mark four different points during the week where they could be a sign of good news. Challenge them to take these home and be God’s good news this week.

 

Sing

Preview song, then buy online and download.

We can do good, Fischy Music

Find more suggestions on the Hymns, songs & music page.

 

Talk together and talk to God

Use these questions to discuss the Bible passage and then bring your thoughts together by praying to God.

 

Talk together

  • Can you think of a time when someone told you to change the way you behave? How did that feel?
  • How do you think the people felt when John answered their questions?
  • How can you make the things you do a sign of the good news?

 

Very young childrens Session

Talk to God: What should I do?          E S A

Pray about taking the good news everywhere

You will need: signs that read 'school', 'home', 'church', 'park', 'sports', 'afterschool clubs'.

  • Place the signs around the room and say that you are all going to walk round the room, stopping in each place to pray.
  • Walk to each sign in turn. Stop and pray: ‘When I am at XXX, help me to be a sign of the good news. What should I do?’ Pause for a moment, allowing the children to pray quietly.

 

Very young childrens Session
Childrens Session

Activity sheet

 

Advent collection          10 mins E A

A practical way of being good news

You will need: boxes or bags, glue, stickers, other craft items, information on local charities.

  • Encourage the group to think about how they can be good news at this time of year. Talk together about the different needs in your community, e.g. food banks, charity shops or local initiatives.
  • After you have chosen one of these to support, ask the question, ‘What should we do?’, to decide how best to support the charity.
  • Provide everyone with paper bags or boxes and craft items to decorate them with. Invite everyone to take the box or bag home to collect in, and then bring it back in the coming weeks so all the items collected can be donated together.

 

FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

Young people Session

Show me a sign          10 mins W E

Look at how signs convey meaning

You will need: printed signs.

  • Print out around 12 signs, e.g. road signs and other instruction or warnings.
  • Work as a group to see how many everyone can recognise or guess at. Ask: How many of these have they seen in use? Could any meaning be made clearer?

 

Collage of coats          10 mins E S A

Count the cost of giving

You will need: magazines/newspapers, scissors, glue, paper, pens.

  • John tells people who have two coats to give one away. In that time, coats were valued and most people only had one. Invite the young people to look through the newspapers and magazines to look for pictures of items they would like to have or that they already have and value.

play music Play the track, ‘Love God Love People’, Danny Gokey feat. Michael W. Smith on Haven’t Seen It Yet, during this activity.

  • Encourage the young people to make a collage from these images, adding words about what other things they could give away as a sign of the good news, i.e. not material things.

 

What does God say?          5 mins E S

Experience listening as a form of prayer

  • Invite the young people to spend some time praying quietly with the emphasis on listening to God.

play music Play the track, ‘Good News’, Mandisa on Out Of The Dark (Deluxe Edition), as they do this.

  • Ask them to reflect in the light of what has been explored today, whether God is saying something to them about the way they value possessions or money.

 

Check-inConnecting faith with everyday, real-life issues

 

 Good advertisement          10 mins W

Think about the character of John the Baptist

You will need: pens and paper.

  • Ask: If John the Baptist was running a campaign about getting ready for Jesus, what slogans might he use to encourage people to change their everyday lives to be ready to meet Jesus?
  • Invite everyone to come up with their own slogan as a response to the question, ‘What should we do?’, e.g. repent and be honest.

 

 New drama: The Advent seekers

 

Spiritual styles abbreviations
W Word E Emotion S Symbol A Action
Read our Spiritual Styles articles
See less
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