Wonderland (Part 2): Wonderless

TO START

This week, we are in part 2 of a 5-part series called Wonderland, a series that invites us to explore and receive the good news that God has made a home with humanity in a way that is unfamiliar and unexpected. Our hope is that as this God comes to us in a wonder-filled way, we might just be filled with wonder as we prepare for and anticipate God's arrival. 

  • What’s your favorite holiday tradition that you, your family or your friends do every single Christmas season (i.e. one that truly brings wonder no matter how many times you do it)?

TO DISCUSS

We find ourselves in the midst of a story that is not filled with predictable, controlled variables, not a story happening inside a snowglobe but a story of Jesus’s birth that is at the intersection of beauty and chaos.

Read Matthew 2:1-8

  • What signs of control does Herod display in receiving the news that a King has arrived?

Read Matthew 2:9-12

  • Have you ever had a moment of wonder like this? A moment of wonder where you were filled with joy knowing and believing that God is real? Maybe a moment of wonder when you knew that God was in control and it gave you peace or assurance?

In the sermon, Zane asked the question, “How do you recognize the One Who Rules and will one day return?” and the answer starts with naming the problem of sin in our life and finding ways to release us from our control in that. We invite y’all to consider the following questions together (give group members the option to choose 1 out of the 3 to answer):

  • What do you go to great lengths to protect (i.e. reputation at work, being a parent, your family’s legacy, etc.)? Are there weaknesses you spent a lot of time trying to overcompensate as you live day to day?

  • What do you go to great lengths to make sure you never lose (i.e. financial security, certain beliefs or politics, body type, etc.)? And what is costing you by trying to possess these things?

  • What do you go to the greatest lengths to prove to yourself and everyone around you?

TO CLOSE

Ask God to enable your group members to find release from the things that entice us into trying to take control of every little thing in our lives knowing that it will also enable us to wonder with God again. 

Lord, we turn to you in this season

And we pray that you would birth joy, healing, blessing & hope in us. 

Let something wonderful begin in us – something surprising and holy

Something that enables us to let go,

Something that invites us to wonder with you again. 

Amen. 

Matt DeLano