30 Nov
2025

Weeping and Great Mourning

Passage: Matthew 2

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

—The Book of Common Prayer

OUTLINE:

  1. The Rage of Herod
  2. The Rage in our Hearts

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 

As you consider the line from Joy to the World that invites, “Let every heart prepare him room,” consider how you are entering into this Advent season. How are you anticipating this season? How can you prepare room in your heart for God? What is rivaling God for your attention?

Read Matthew 2:1-18. What does this passage show you about God’s character and about being his follower? What challenges, encourages, or sparks questions for you in this passage?

Jesus was born into enemy-occupied territory. Christiana Cleveland, a Christian Psychologist, who teaches at Duke University wrote, “Advent isn’t a holiday party. It doesn’t pressure us to conjure up a hopeful face, ring bells, and dismiss the foulest realities we face. Advent isn’t about our best world, it’s about our worst world. I think we eat the chocolate and put on the pageants because we don’t want to face the worst.” In what ways does Matthew 2 show the fallen, sinful nature of the world Jesus came to save? How does Advent help us face the worst?

In the darkness surrounding Jesus’s birth, God comes in flesh and blood to give himself for the salvation of all those who trust in him. In what ways does the truth of the incarnation breaking into the darkness give you hope in the midst of the trouble or darkness we face today?

What are the different responses to Jesus in this passage? How do these responses help us to understand the various responses we might experience in sharing the gospel of Jesus with others? Who is someone you can pray for and seek to share with the good news of God Immanuel “with us” this Advent season?

What from this passage and this discussion is something you want to put into practice or be more aware of this week or praise God for?

 

PRAYER

Share with your group how they can be praying for you: what is weighing on you from this past week? What are you praising God for from this past week?

Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”