LOOKING BACK
Family Time (15 mins)

• Vision of Advent: Advent means “coming.” During the season of Advent (The 4 Sundays before Christmas day), the people of God take time to remember and reflect on the first coming of Jesus through His incarnation, and at the same time to wait with expectation & hope for His second coming.
• Connection Question: What is one Advent/Christmas tradition you/your family has or would like to start?
• Announcements (see bottom of this doc)
• Check-Ins: life updates, praise reports, etc.

LOOKING UP
Worship (-15 mins)

• Names by Elevation Worship & Maverick City 
• Wonderful Counselor by Antioch Waco
• O Come O Come Emmanuel by Chris Tomlin

Bible Reflection (30 mins)
We will read and reflect on a couple scriptural passages using the Lectio Divina (slow/sacred reading) method today. 
Passage: Isaiah 9:6-7, Matthew 1:22-23
Before you begin, explain to your lifegroup how the following time will look like:

1. You will start with a time of quiet and prayer.
2. You or have someone from your group read the following passages slowly a couple times over, with a brief break in between.
3. As people listen, pay attention either to a particular word, phrase, or image or a particular name of Jesus mentioned that stands out to them.
4. After that, people will have 5-8 mins to pray and reflect over that word/verse/image or name of Jesus. Questions they can ask:

• Holy Spirit, why does that word/verse/image or name of Jesus stand out to me? What do you want to say to me today?
• In what ways do I need this word/verse/image or name of Jesus to manifest itself in my life during this Advent season?
• Or just sit quietly with that word/verse/image or name of Jesus, keep saying it in their hearts slowly and let it go from their heads to their hearts to touch them.

5. People then will have 5-8 mins to journal what they receive.
6. Read the passages one more time and then close the time with a short prayer of thanks.
7. Share in large or small groups what touched them or what they received. Pray for one another that the word will continue to unfold and do its work of transformation in them through the Advent season.

Now, let’s begin! Steps of Lectio Divina:

1. Ask everyone to close their eyes and be quiet for a minute or two. You can use a short prayer phrase like, “Jesus, we love You” or “Thank you, Jesus” to help them focus if they find their minds wanders during the time of silence.
2. Close with a short prayer, welcoming Holy Spirit’s presence in your midst.
3. Read the following passages slowly once. Ask people to pay attention to the word/verse/image or name of Jesus that stands out to them:

Isaiah 9:6-7:  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
Matthew 1:22-23: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means ‘God with us’).”

4. Pause for a moment. Then read the passages above again slowly a second time.
5. In quiet, pray with and reflect on the word/verse/image or name of Jesus that was highlighted during the time of reading and listening. (5-8 mins)
6. Time for journaling (5-8 mins)
7. Read the passages one more time slowly, then close with a short prayer.
8. Stay as a big group or get into small groups to share. Pray for one another.
9. Final question: Is there someone outside of Lifegroup I can encourage with the truth I receive today?

ANNOUNCEMENTS (5 mins)
Christmas Potluck Gatherings! (throughout December)
Celebrate Christmas with others at Epicentre at Christmas potlucks, hosted by different people in our church. It’s an opportunity to make some new friends, and practice hospitality! We have 4 host homes in Glendale, Pasadena, Alhambra, and Arcadia. Go to epicentre.org/events or sign up at the Connection Center on Sunday.

Pasadena Homeless Count (Jan 23-24)
Pasadena Partnership is an organization devoted to ending homelessness in Pasadena by holistically serving the 500+ unhoused people of our city. We invite you to volunteer with the "Pasadena Homeless Count" on Jan. 23 & 24 to do surveys with our unhoused neighbors. This data helps get needed funding and resources for long-term support and solutions. Go to pasadenapartnership.org and click “Homeless Count” to sign up!

Glove Drive (now till Jan 7)
We are also collecting as many pairs of gloves as we can to give to them! Help us reach our goal of collecting 400 pairs of gloves, which we're collecting on Sundays now till Jan. 7th!

HOPE Kids (for parents of kids 5th and younger) - December 15th, 6-7:30pm
Parents, you and your kiddos are invited to join us for HOPE Kids, a special space for kids to have fun, hear God's voice, and worship with one another.
There will be dinner, games and more! RSVP for dinner. 

To learn more about all of these events, head to epicentre.org/events!