The Compass

A Daily Personal Reflection & Small Group Discussion Guide

by John Hay, Jr.
Senior Pastor, West Morris Street Free Methodist Church

Series: Advent 2005 - "The Acceptable Time"
Week's focus: "A Time for Faith"
Scriptures: Matthew 1:18-25
Week of: December 4, 2005

TRACKING THE WORD IN WORSHIP
Advent principles from the Word for daily living

These are notes from Exploring the Word in Morning Worship; message points are CAPITALIZED.

1. Faith is a believing RESPONSE to God's revelation and PROMISES. Matthew 1:20-25

2. Faith TRANSFORMS fear and doubt into a life-giving SONG. Luke 1:45-55

3. Active faith brings the FUTURE into the present and REDEEMS the past. Matthew 1:21-23

READ, REFLECT, RESPOND
Take the next step--explore and apply the Word in personal devotions or in a small group with others this week

1. Try to describe "active faith." What do you think makes active faith distinctive from religion? What examples can you give of "active faith?" Is this something you desire or strive for?

2. Read Matthew 1:18-21. What kind of a person is Joseph? What makes him the kind of person God could trust with a great challenge? In what specific ways does the angel of the Lord encourage and challenge him through the dream? Ask God to make you the kind of person in whom he could invest great responsibility and promise.

3. Read Matthew 1:22-23 and Isaiah 7:14. What is the past prophecy that is fulfilled in this story? What does "Immanuel" mean? What do you think this meaning is important for Joseph and for others?

4. Read Matthew 1:24-25. This part of the story reflects Joseph's response to all that he was experiencing. What does Joseph decide to do in light of his dream? How did he follow through? What has been the result of this one person's timely response in active faith? Are you ready to respond with active faith the Word of God?

5. Read Luke 1:26-56. What strikes you as interesting or impressive about Mary's reaction to the angel's visit and words? As you read "Mary's Song" (also known as "The Magnificat"), try to imagine what God is able to do through the active faith of Mary. Are you ready to respond with active faith to the Word of God?

MARKINGS LEFT BY PREVIOUS TRAVELERS
Selected quotes on active faith as a response to God's revelation

PROMSIES, PROMISES. "Our God is the great maker of promises. His Word, the Bible, is quite simply a collection of the promises He has made to us. In the beginning God told Adam and Eve, I will send someone who will crush the head of the serpent. A promise. Most of the other promises in the Bible-if you look at them closely-are variations on that same theme. They concern Jesus, who would come to be known as the "Promised One." The Bible tells us that when the Promised One finally came, the Lord poured all of Himself into Him." -- Michael Card in Immanuel: Reflections on the Life of Christ

HIDDEN HOLINESS. "By examining as closely and as candidly as I could the life that had come to seem to me in many ways a kind of trap or dead-end street, I discovered that it really wasn't that at all. I discovered that if you really keep your eye peeled to it and your ears open, if you really pay attention to it, even such a limited and limiting life as the one I was living on Rupert Mountain opened up onto extraordinary vistas. Taking your children to school and kissing your wife good-bye. Eating lunch with a friend. Trying to do a decent day's work. Hearing the rain patter against the window. There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize him or not to recognize him, but all the more fascinatingly because of that, all the more compellingly and hauntingly. Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace." -- Frederick Buechner, Now and Then: A Memoir of Vocation

RESPONSES & OPPORTUNITIES TO ENGAGE
Want to explore The Compass with others? Have questions?

If you'd like to connect with others who are working weekly with The Compass, e-mail me or call the church office (317.632.8311)

If you have questions about Scriptures or some of the questions, or just want to share what your are discovering through The Compass, you are welcome to e-mail me.

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