Talk It Over – Carols, “I Heard the Bells”

Isaiah 11:1-3 – A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Lamentations 1:1-4
Isaiah 9:6-7
Luke 2:13-14

Looking back over the last year, what have been the highlights? The disappointments? The missed opportunities?
Are there any parts of life where you have settled for less or accepted living in a routine? What area of life might God want to bring renewed strength and life that may not be obvious at first?
The song “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. With a life filled with tragedy and loss, he penned this poem as a way of processing the starkness of his own life with the good news shared in Luke 2. Where in your own life have you been able to hold on to the good news of Jesus in the midst of hardship, tragedy, or confusion?
Isaiah 11:1 points is a verse that points to Jesus and speaks to God’s ability to bring new life and restoration out of situations we might see as dead and finished. What are of your life can you think of that might be described as a “stump” that is in need of a “shoot” right now?
When you think about the story of Christmas that we see in Luke 2, where do you see the most hope? What about the birth Jesus gives you a sense that God has done, and is continuing to do things, beyond our imagination in order to offer us hope, joy, and new life?

Identify one area of your life that you really want to see God move in during this season. Share that area or need with someone you trust and spend a few minutes praying, asking God to bring new life from what might otherwise seem like a dead end. Pray these words, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come.”
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