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THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE : LUKE 2:4–7
PREPARATION
This session is based around the counter-cultural spiritual discipline of simplicity. You might want to read the relevant chapter of Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, or alternatively the simplified version in my book The Beautiful Disciplines. For the activities you will need a projector / laptop or physical images for the want vs need activity, printed copies of Luke 5:15–16 for each person, pens, paper and candles (optional).
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
10 mins
Sit the group in a circle, and explain that you’re going to play a Christmas version of the classic ‘alphabet game’. The first person should think of something that they would buy at Christmas beginning with the letter ‘A’ (eg angel), then say: ‘I went to do my Christmas shopping and I bought an [item].’ The second person then repeats this, but adds a second item beginning with ‘B’. This continues as you move around the circle, with the later group members having to remember more and more items.
KEY POINT
Christmas has become synonymous with buying loads of stuff. Some people save all year for the festive period, while others end up in a lot of debt each January. But Christmas is about much more than buying stuff – so what could we be focusing on instead?
WANT VS. NEED
5 mins
Display a number of images or objects representing various things that humans either need or think they do. These might include: a house, car, games console, phone, food, pet, school books. Get everyone sat on the floor, show the first item, then ask those who think they ‘need’ it in order to live a full life, to stand up. Those who don’t think this is needed – and just something people ‘want’ - remain seated. Repeat for each image or object, and make sure you ask a couple of young people to explain their answers each time.
KEY POINT
Christmas is a time when we tend to get very confused what we want and what we need. For thousands of years, Christians have been practicing the spiritual discipline of simplicity in order to know the difference – and that’s still something open to us today.
PRACTICING SIMPLICITY – A CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE
FEWER PRESENTS
10 mins
Get into small groups, and give out pens and paper. To begin, ask everyone in the groups to spend 30 seconds explaining what a typical Christmas looks like in their family. What do they do, who do they spend time with, and what do they love and hate about the day?
Now invite them to do one of two things while they talk – either make a list of all their possessions which they can think of, especially those which are significant to them, or draw their bedrooms and label those possessions on that picture. Once they’ve done that, ask: what could you part with on that list? What could you give or throw away ? As they consider this, drill a little deeper: what could they part with which might actually be a healthy thing?
LESS PRESSURE
10 mins
Remaining in those groups, ask the young people to consider a second question: what could you do less? Christmas is a time when our busyness often reaches crazy levels, and we realise that we just don’t have time to fit everything in. This time, ask them to write a list of everything they do and every responsibility they have, from attending school, church and youth group to being part of a sports team, watching television and interacting online.
Now ask them to write a number next to each item on the list, indicating how many hours each week they think they spend doing that thing. If they do something while doing something else (eg being on their phone and being at youth group) they should count the time twice. If they add those numbers up, they will probably realise that they’ve listed more hours that there actually are in a week! So, looking again at the list, they should consider that question: what could they do less of, in order to make life more balanced, and create room for the things that matter?
MORE PRESENCE
10 mins
Bring the whole group back together. With New Year’s Eve looming, the end of the year is a perfect time to ask a different kind of question: what could I do more of, if I created space in other areas? Read and hand out copies of Luke 5:15–16 to the group, explaining that when Jesus got busy, he recharged his batteries by withdrawing to a quiet place and spending time with God. That’s not the only way to feed your soul though – God has made us all differently, and that includes the way in which we rest and recharge. Ask everyone to find some space, and to ask God in quiet for his help in understanding themselves: how they truly rest, and what they should be doing more of in order to enable that.
HUMBLE CHRISTMAS
5 mins
Get the group together for a final thought. Dim the lights – light candles if you can, and ask everyone to close their eyes. You’re going to read a small excerpt from the Christmas story, in which Jesus’ earthly family is forced to embrace simplicity. As you read, invite the group to use their imaginations to picture the reality of the story – what it really meant and looked like for Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Read Luke 2:4-7 through slowly, two or three times. Then finish with a prayer, thanking Jesus for his inspirational humility, and asking him to foster the same heart in us. You might want to ask one final question: how could Christmas look different for you this year?
