Questions for Reflection - "The Dawn"
Isaiah 60:1–3; Luke 1:68–79
- Why do you put up Christmas lights?
- What associations do you make with darkness and night?
- Read the two texts. What did "darkness" refer to? Note that Isaiah preached in a time before the return of the exiles to Judah from the Diaspora. Zechariah lived in the day of Herod under Roman occupation.
- Spend some time thinking about the statement, "Loneliness is contagious." Talk about the temptations to pull away, and how you deal with this in yourself and in others.
- How does the message of Christmas (Jesus as the Dawn) help address the problem of loneliness and lostness?
- Talk about your experiences watching the sun rise. What does the sun's light do?
- Who do you know needs to feel the warmth of the "rising Son"?
For further reading:
Richard Stearns. The Hole in Our Gospel. Thomas Nelson. 2009
Prayer of Confession
Dear God with us,
You promised you would come. You kept that promise. This we know with our heads. But we confess that sometimes we prefer to hide from you. We would rather be alone. We know this helps no one. Forgive our giving in to fear. Meet us again by your Holy Spirit even as we pray in this silence in Jesus' name.
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Westminster Presbyterian Church |