Week 5: Christmas Invitations: Invited to Go a Different Way – Matthew 2:1-12
The Magi were given an invitation come and see the newborn king and then invited to go a “different way”. Where is God asking you to go “a different way” in this new year?
LIVE OAK CONNECTION POINT:
It is not too late to start the Bible Recap! Start when you want or catch up to Live Oak (we begin Day 8 on January 4th). This will set you on a course to read the entire Bible in 2026!
DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
- What were some highlights of your Christmas holidays?When do you normally take down Christmas decorations?
- Several days in to 2026…how is it going? How is the start of the new year going so far?
- What are some of your hopes and goals for 2026?
READ: Matthew 2:1-12
Spend some time SOAPing this passage. You can either spend time SOAPing individually and documenting for a several minutes and then spend time sharing with each -OR- SOAP in real time with each other. Either way make as many observations as you can.
OBSERVATIONS: What are the things that stand out to you about this passage? How would you summarize this passage in one sentence? What does this passage tell me about who God is? What does this passage tell me about who I am?
- Who were the Magi?
- What lessons can we learn from the Magi being invited to see Jesus?
- Multiple times throughout this passage we are told that the Magi were seeking the Messiah to “worship” Him. Doug said that “the WISE thing to do is always to WORSHIP God.” Why is worship the wise thing to do?
- How can and will you worship God intentionally in 2026?
- Matthew 2:12 tells us that they worshiped Him but then they were warned in a dream to return another route…a different way than they had planned. The big question for this week in the series is: Where is God inviting you to go a different way in 2026?
- Herod asked the chief priests and teachers of the law about what the Scriptures say about where the Messiah would be born and they answered correctly, Bethlehem. Doug said that a takeaway lesson from that for us is, “It is possible to know the Scriptures and NOT know Jesus.” Doug went on to say, “But it’s difficult to know Jesus and NOT know the Scriptures.” All the Bible tells us of who God is and we need to engage with Scripture to know Him more and more. How has engaging with God’s Word helped you know Jesus better?
- How will you be engaging Scripture in 2026?
- What else stood out from this week’s sermon?
APPLICATION:
What is your big takeaway from this passage and this week’s sermon? Be specific.
NEXT STEPS:
Everyone has a next step to apply what we’ve learned. What’s your next step? Be specific.
*** 3 SERVICES (8:30am/10am/ 11:30am):
>What service will you be ATTENDING starting January 11, 2026?
>If you already serve on Sundays, what service will you be SERVING starting January 11?
>If you are not already serving on Sundays, would you pray about serving on Sundays to allow us to create a service for us to make room for more?
MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight”
PRAYER: Encourage your group to pray this prayer often in 2026 and use to close your group time
A 2026 Prayer for MORE: Ephesians 3:14-21
“Heavenly Father, Help me to engage with you MORE. Work in me to make me MORE like you. Use me to help MORE people know you. Make my story about your glory! Amen.”
Scripture References:
Matthew 2:1-12; Micah 5:2-4; Daniel 5:11; John 14:6; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 3:5-6