A light in the

darkness

the real story of Christmas

T he Christmas season is a significant time in the life of the church. It’s an
opportunity for Christians to remember God’s promise to send One who
would overcome sin and death forever. God promised a Savior, and He kept that
promise perfectly.

To mark our progression through this season, we will be lighting the five candles of
the Advent season. This symbol is borrowed from the emphasis throughout
Scripture of Jesus Christ being the Light of the World (Matt. 4:16; John 1:4-9; 8:12).
Each week, a new candle is lit in anticipation of Christmas Eve. The last candle,
called the Christ Candle, is lit on Christmas Eve to represent Jesus’ first advent.
Through this theme of ever-increasing light penetrating the darkness, we see a
picture of the gospel.

Even if you know the story of Christmas well, don’t rush past what God has for you
in this season. For many, this may be the first time to consider all that God is saying
through the birth of His Son. For others, it will be an opportunity to rediscover the
way God intimately works in the details of life for His glory and the good of man. For
all of us, may this season be one marked by joy, hope, expectation, remembrance, and
worship.

This is the real story of Christmas. The Light in the darkness has come!
 Contents

Week 1: The Light: Son of the Most High.......................................1

Week 2: The Light: Joy to the World................................................5

Week 3: The Light: To Those in Darkness......................................9

Week 4: The Light: Born in a Manger............................................13

Week 5: The Light: Christ the Lord................................................17

Family activities and content on page 15 taken from

Advent The Village Church © 2017 The Village Church
2101 Justin Road, Flower Mound, Texas.
 Week
One

1
 The Light: Son of
the Most High
Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s
name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O
favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29But she was greatly
troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of
greeting this might be. 30And the angel said to her, “Do not be
afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus.

2
 Notes:
32He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him
the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign
over the house of Jacob forever, and of his
kingdom there will be no end.

34And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be,

since I am a virgin?” 35And the angel answered
her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called “holy-
- the Son of God. 36And behold, your relative
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son,
and this is the sixth month with her who was
called barren. 37For nothing will be
impossible with God.” 38And Mary said,
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to
me according to your word.” And the angel
departed from her.

“Therefore the child to be born will

be called holy- the Son of God. ”

3
3
Hymn:

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,
verse 2
late in time behold him come,
by Charles Wesley in 1739 offspring of the Virgin’s womb:
veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th’incarnate Deity,
pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus, our Immanuel.
Questions:
1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

Family activities:
1) Pray for yourself and those around you, asking God to open your eyes and
heart to what He has for you this Advent season.

2) Create a nativity scene to use throughout the Advent season. If you would
like to make this activity last the entire season, consider creating just the
stable, animals and Mary and Joseph this week. Add to the nativity seen each
week.

4
 2 The Light :
Week

Joy to the World

Luke 1:39-56
5
 [ "My soul magnifies the
Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my savior." [
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town
in Judah, 40and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41And
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42and she exclaimed with a loud cry,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43And
why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my
womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a
fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”
6
 Notes: Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exatled those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and

returned to her home.

7
Hymn:
“Joy to the World” Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
verse 1 Let earth receive her King!
by Isaac Watts in 1719 Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n and nature sing,
and heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

Questions:
1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

Family activity:
Consider a way your family can serve in the community during the Advent
season. Here are a few ideas:
• Adopt an angel and shop for them together
• Take dinner to someone you know who is lonely or in need
• Make Christmas cards and tell someone the Gospel

8
9

The Light:
To Those in Darkness
Luke 1: 57-80
57Now the time came for Elizabeth to
give birth, and she bore a son. 58And
her neighbors and relatives heard that
the Lord had shown great mercy to her,
and they rejoiced with her. 59And on the
eighth day they came to circumcise the
child. And they would have called him
Zechariah after his father, 60but his
mother answered, “No; he shall be called
John.” 61And they said to her, “None
of your relatives is called by this name.”
62And they made signs to his father,
inquiring what he wanted him to be
called.
Week 3
63And he asked for a writing tablet
and wrote, “His name is John.” And
they all wondered. 64And imme-
diately his mouth was opened and
his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
blessing God. 65And fear came on
all their neighbors. And all these
things were talked about through
all the hill country of Judea, 66and
all who heard them laid them up in
their hearts, saying, “What then will
this child be?” For the hand of the
Lord was with him.
10
 67And his father Zechariah was filled
with the Holy Spirit and prophesied,
saying,
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemd his
people
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation
for us in the house of his servant
David,
70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy
prophets from of old,
71 that we should be saved from our
enemies and from the hand of all who
hate us;
72 to show the mercy promised to our
fathers and to remember his holy
covenant,
73 the oath that he swore to our father
Abraham, to grant us
74 that we, being delivered from the
hand of our enemies, might serve him
without fear;
75 in holiness and righteousness before
him all our days.
11
76 And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Most High; for you will
go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to his
people in the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our
God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us
from on high
79 to give light to those who sit in
darkess and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became
strong in spirit, and he was in the
wilderness until the day of his public
appearance to Israel.
Notes:

Hymn:

“O come, O come Immanuel” O come, O Bright and Morning Star,

verse 6 and bring us comfort from afar!

Dispel the shadows of the night
by John Mason Neale in 1851
and turn our darkness into light.

Questions:

1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

12
 The light:
manger
Born in a Manger
Week 4 | Luke 2: 1-7

I
n those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that
all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first
registration when Quirinius was governe of Syria. 3 And all
went to be registered, each to his own town. 4And Joseph also
went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to
the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of
the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his
betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the
time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her
firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

13
14
 J esus was the perfect fulfillment of all that was spoken through the
prophets about the Messiah. Below is a list of some of the Messianic
prophecies fulfilled in Jesus’ coming. They serve as a reminder of God’s
perfect faithfulness to do all that He has promised.

OT Prophecy NT Fulfillment

The Son of God Psalm 2:7 Matthew 3:17; Luke 1:32, 35

The seed of woman Genesis 3:15 Galatians 4:4

The seed of Abraham Genesis 17:7; 22:18 Matthew 1:1; Galatians 3:16

The tribe of Judah Genesis 49:10 Luke 3:33; Revelation 5:5

The seed of David Psalm 132:11; Isaiah 9:6 Acts 13:23; Romans 1:3

Born in Bethlehem Micah 5:2 Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4-6

Born of a virgin Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:22-23

Called Immanuel Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:22-23

Children of Bethlehem slain Jeremiah 31:15 Matthew 2:16-18

Being called out of Egypt Hosea 11:1 Matthew 2:15

Being anointed with the Spirit Isaiah 11:2; 42:1; 61:1 Matthew 3:16; John 3:34

Being a Prophet likened to Moses Deuteronomy 18:15-18 Acts 3:20-22; John 6:14

A Priest in the order of Melchizedek Psalm 110:4 Hebrews 5:5-6

Public entry into ministry Isaiah 61:1-2 Luke 4:16-21, 43

Ministry beginning in Galilee Isaiah 9:1-2 Matthew 4:12-16, 23

Entering publicly into Jerusalem Zechariah 9:9 Matthew 21:1-5

A Shepherd for God’s people Ezekiel 34:1-31 John 10:1-18

15
Hymn:
O little town of Bethlehem,
“O Little Town of Bethlehem”
how still we see thee lie!
verse 1 Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
by Phillips Brooks 1868 the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
Questions:
1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

Family activities:
1) In prayer, thank God for His goodness in sending a Savior. Confess places
where your confidence in His faithfulness is weak and ask Him for increased
trust, belief and hope.

2) Create a set of ornaments that show the Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’
birth and their fulfillments in the New Testament.

16
Week 5
 The Light :
Christ the Lord
Luke 2:8-20
8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping
watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled
with great fear. 10And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord.12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in
swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

18
 Notes: 15When the angels went away from them
into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has made known to us.”
16And they went with haste and found
Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a
manger.
17And when they saw it, they made
known the saying that had been told
them concerning this child. 18And all
who heard it wondered at what the shep-
herds told them. 19But Mary treasured
up all these things, pondering them in
her heart. 20And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all they
had heard and seen, as it had been told
them.

For unto you is born this day in

the city of David, a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord.
19
Hymn:
O little town of Bethlehem,
Angels
how still we seewethee
have
lie!heard on high,
“Angels We Have Heard on High”
Above sweetly
thy deepsinging o’er the plains,
and dreamless sleep
verse 1 andstars
the silent the go
mountains
by. in reply

by James Chadwick 1862 Yet in thy

echoing their joyous
dark streets shineth strains:
Gloria, in
the everlasting excelsis Deo!
light;
Gloria,
the hopes and in excelsis
fears of all Deo!
the years
Questions:
Questions: are met in thee tonight.
1. What does this text teach about God?
1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?
3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

Family activities:
Family activity:
1) In prayer, praise God for loving the weak, despised and lowly and showing
them His glory. Thank Him for the person or means He used to share the
gospel with you, and ask Him for the boldness and faith to do the same.

2) Continue making your nativity set. This week, create the shepherds and
angel pieces and add them to the set.

20
 “Silent Night” verse 3 by Joseph Mohr 1818

Silent night! Holy night!

Son of God, love’s pure light
radiant beams from Thy holy
face
with the dawn of redeeming
grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!

21
 JOHN 8:12

AGAIN JESUS SPOKE TO THEM, SAYING,

“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD.
WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT
WALK IN DARNKESS, BUT WILL HAVE
THE LIGHT OF LIFE.”

QUESTIONS:

1. What does this text teach about God?

2. What does this text teach about Man?

3. What does this text teach about the relationship between God and Man?

22