Adult
• 5 Sessions of Learner’s Materials
• 5 Sessions of Teaching Materials
• Handouts
1. Mark 13:24-37
2. Mark 1:1-8
3. John 1:6-8, 19-29
4. Luke 1:26-38
5. Luke 2:22-40
Whatever our individual circumstances are, during Advent we all hope for a baby to enter our lives. Whether young, old, male, female, single or married, we long for new life. Some of us have heard the Advent stories so often that we wonder how the old words can bring any fresh experience this year. This unit uses the metaphor of expecting a baby as a lens through which to study the passages on Christ’s coming. Just as parents-to-be prepare for childbirth by staying alert and watching for certain signs and signals, Christians prepare their lives for new life with God by intently watching for ways that God is working in the world, then recognizing and joining that work. In session 1 we look at Mark 13, in which Jesus tells us to pay attention so we will not miss our part in God’s story. We think about what it means to spend our lives watching for God.
When parents prepare for a baby, cleaning becomes an issue. In session 2 we focus on the cleansing we need to do to prepare for Christ’s coming into our lives. Through John the Baptist’s message of repentance and the people’s response of baptism in Mark 1, we think about how to respond to his message this Advent season.
As they wait for a baby’s birth, parents try out potential names. The gift of a name expresses identity and establishes a relationship.During Advent we are invited to identify who Christ is in our lives. We open ourselves to the possibilities of a new relationship with the One who is coming. The first chapter of John, the focus of session 3, helps us consider the question of how we name our relationship to Christ.
In session 4, as we read Mary’s story in Luke 1, we discuss the challenge of letting Christ enter our lives in surprising new ways. When do we let fears affect our faith, and when does our faith overcome our fear? Mary’s courage inspires our willingness to open ourselves to God. After the baby’s birth, parents realize that they have begun a neverending journey of learning and change. The final session in this unit asks if we have permitted Christ’s birth to rearrange our lives. How has Christmas changed our priorities? If we prepare for Advent as carefully as parents prepare for the birth of a child, we will experience Christmas anew.
by Carol Davis Younger
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