Fellowship Group Notes – 12/13 Dec – Matthew 2 – Wise Men Seek Jesus
From v1 notice the differences between what is often portrayed as the “Christmas Story” in school plays and on Christmas cards today and what actually happened … how old was Jesus when the wise men visited? … How many wise men were there? … And where was Jesus at this point? (v11)
v2 - How had the wise men been guided to Jesus? (Note: Daniel 5v11 – The Jews, and Daniel in particular would have also no doubt shared the story of the coming king whilst in Babylonian captivity (“the east”) added to that many Jews stayed in Babylon and didn’t return to Israel) How does Jesus choose to reveal himself to people today?
Three different reactions to Jesus Christ: 
-	Herod v3, 7-8, 12 – what was Herod’s reaction? And why? Was he right in making these assumptions? (See John 18v36). Did Herod really want to go and worship Jesus? If not, what did he want to do? (see v16) Why did Herod react in this way?
-	The Religious Leaders v4-6 – what did they find out about Jesus? From where? What would you have expected their reaction to be in light of this information? What was their reaction? (ie. do we hear that they went to search for Jesus themselves? Note: Jerusalem was only 5 miles down the road from Bethlehem!) 
-	Wise Men v9-11 – How did the wise men react when they saw Jesus? What does this tell us about who Jesus is? What’s the significance of the three gifts they bought Jesus?
Thinking about these three different reactions: do we still see people reacting to Jesus in similar ways today? Discuss. How do we share the gospel when people have such reactions towards Jesus? 
What is our own reaction to Jesus? Is he King of our lives … and what does it truly mean for Jesus to be King over our lives? Do we view Jesus like a monarch who reigns but doesn’t rule? Discuss.
Read Matthew 25v31-40 … How do these verses suggest that we can show King Jesus that we love him? In what ways could we display that love in a practical way this Christmas?
Prayer Points:
Up and coming Christmas Events – Sat 15 – Carol Singing in Anglia Square (with NCBC). 
Fri 21 – AIM Christmas Party. Sun 23 – Christmas Family Service (AM), Carol Service (PM). 
 gmr