DIGGING DEEPER

The Hero’s Arrival:

The Abyss and Atonement

Big idea: Jesus was born to die…to rise…to reign.

• Luke 1:79
• Luke 1:30-33
• Matthew 1:20-21
• Luke 1:51-55
• Luke 2:10-12
• Luke 2:33-35
• Genesis 3:15

“Christmas reminds us that God often gives us enough light to trust, but not enough to explain everything. It’s only later, in looking back, that it will make more sense.”

ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS

Challenge: explore the way of Jesus – where dying leads to living – and let it transform your life and your world.

Some changes when you embrace the Christian story—where Jesus doesn’t just inspire us but stands in our place:

1. You stop minimizing evil…and stop being crushed by it.
2. Your worth is no longer fragile.
3. Justice no longer turns into revenge.
4. Mercy becomes possible—even when it’s costly.
5. Suffering gains meaning without being glorified.
6. Your future is secure, even when life feels unstable.
7. Your life takes on greater significance as part of a bigger rescue story
   
   

To what extent would you enjoy your favorite Christmas movie if it ended early before the crisis was resolved or if it started at the happy ending? 

React to the idea that Jesus was born to reign with justice and mercy, but the path there was through suffering and death. What resonates or makes you uneasy?

Re-read some key passages in the birth accounts of Jesus in the Bible to explore why Jesus was born, noting the emphasis on positive outcomes with only hints of suffering and death. Why do you think it is framed this way?



• Luke 1:79
• Luke 1:30-33
• Matthew 1:20-21
• Luke 1:51-55
• Luke 2:10-12
• Luke 2:33-35

How would you explain the way the Christian message about Jesus offers a better perspective than popular Christmas songs on our broken world and hope for change now and eternally?

Which of these changes are you most wanting in your life as you end this year?

1. You stop minimizing evil…and stop being crushed by it.
2. Your worth is no longer fragile.
3. Justice no longer turns into revenge.
4. Mercy becomes possible—even when it’s costly.
5. Suffering gains meaning without being glorified.
6. Your future is secure, even when life feels unstable.
7. Your life takes on greater significance as part of a bigger rescue story.

Looking for questions based on a past sermon?