Opening Questions
Would you like to live in a place where you have lived in the past? Where, why or why not?
As you look over your life can you see where God has uniquely lead you to one place or another? What were the circumstances that you can see now but looked very different in that moment?
What is the part of the Christmas story that you think gets the least amount of attention?
Can you tell about a time when a small decision had an extremely large impact later on?
Bible reading and study: Have someone read Matthew 2:
Looking carefully at verses 19-23 discuss the following questions.
How specific was the angel's instructions regarding where Joseph was to take his family?
What might have been some of the places to which Joseph could have taken Mary and Jesus?
Why did Joseph specifically avoid returning to Bethlehem or Judea?
What do you know about Archelaus?
You can learn more here: https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1729-archelaus
What would have been the advantages and disadvantages of settling in Nazareth?
(Don’t forget the advantage of Nazareth being somewhat off the beaten path. Why might this be important?)
Life Applications
Many times we have a hard time seeing what God is doing in our lives in the moment. But we can often see His divine care, protection, and guidance in past events in our lives.
When can you point to God’s providential or specific direction that has helped you follow Him or serve Him more faithfully? Having freedom is a huge responsibility. What does this mean for the seemingly small decisions we make every day?
Life is not made up of unrelated events but rather a string of events. Each moment is effected by the ones before and each is impacting the ones to follow. That being said, any moment or decision, no matter how seemingly small, has the potential to shape the whole of our life for good or bad.
What are some of the things we can do to make sure each decision draws us closer to God in the days and years to come?
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