Session 3: The Wonder of His Plan
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Session Goals
Every session has a point—what each participant should walk away from the discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.
Main Idea: We can have confidence in God’s plan for us because Scripture reveals his continued faithfulness.
Head Change: To know that God keeps his promises.
Heart Change: To feel hopeful for Christ’s promised return.
Life Change: To trust God in our seasons of waiting.
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When it comes to buying Christmas presents, are you a planner or do you just wing it?
Some people live for their Christmas list. They shop all year long to ensure they don’t miss anyone. Other people shop last-minute, online and in stores, days or even hours before Christmas.
When it comes to God and his gift of salvation, God didn’t wing it. His plan was far from last-minute—it was years in the making. In this session, Jarrett will explore how God’s plan for us was from the beginning.
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Before viewing the session, here are a few important things to look for in Jarrett’s teaching. As you watch, pay attention to how he answers the following questions.
What is the Bible’s first prophecy about the coming savior?
Genesis 3:15
According to Jarrett, what is Christmas a reminder of?
God Keeps His Promises
Watch Session 3: The Wonder of His Plan (13 minutes).
Review
This series focuses on regaining the wonder of Christmas. In this session, we looked at God’s plan for his people.
Jarrett pointed out that, similar to how we make plans for Christmas, God has a detailed plan to rescue his people.
What encouraged you the most from Jarrett’s teaching about God’s plan, and why?
Read Genesis 3:15. When Adam and Eve sinned, brokenness entered the world. Yet even as God gave consequences for their disobedience, he still offered hope. Jarrett said, “Right at the moment of humanity’s greatest failure, God announce[d] his rescue plan.” Like Adam and Eve, we experience the consequences of our sins, but we also have forgiveness in Christ and hope in God’s plan that he will restore us.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
What questions do you wrestle with when you think about sin and restoration? What brokenness do you look forward to God redeeming?
The weight of sin that can be carried on our backs even without our knowing it.
Jarrett mentioned multiple passages that contain both promises and prophecies that predicted a coming Messiah. Scholars believe there are roughly 300 prophecies fulfilled through Christ’s birth. Let’s take a moment to look at four of the prophecies he mentioned.
Through Abraham’s offspring, the nations of the world would be blessed.
Promise in the Old Testament: Genesis 12:1–3
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
New Testament Fulfillment: Galatians 3:8–9
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
David’s throne would be established forever.
Promise in the Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:12–13, 16, 25–26
25 And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.
26 And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.
New Testament Fulfillment: Luke 1:32–33
32 He 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,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
The savior would be born in Bethlehem.
Old Testament prophecy: Micah 5:2
2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Fulfillment in New Testament: Matthew 2:1; Luke 2:4, 10–11
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
4 And 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,
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The savior would come from a virgin birth.
Old Testament prophecy: Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Fulfillment in New Testament: Matthew 1:22–23
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
What do these passages teach us about God’s plan? What do these prophecies and their fulfillment teach us about God’s character?
These passages teach us cotinuity
fulfilled promise
organized God
Planning God
Loving God
A God of Design and Order
not a God of chaos and dissent
A careful deliberate God
Read Luke 2:8–12. God fulfilled his promise at a moment when Israel was under Roman rule. Many Jews were hoping the Messiah would rescue them from their oppression, but instead, Jesus came as a baby and later died on a cross. Often, what we expect God to do is different from his plan.
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
When has God’s plan looked different than what you expected? How did you respond? How might trust in God’s plan help you when you are disappointed?
Read Luke 2:13–16. After hearing the angels’ good news, the shepherds wanted to see Jesus for themselves. And when they saw Jesus, they shared the good news with others. As Christians, we can share the wonder of God’s plan with others as well.
13 And 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!”
15 When 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.”
16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
Do you find yourself eager to share the good news with others? Why, or why not? With whom could you share the good news of God’s plan this Christmas?
Often times fear overcomes when trying to share with others. The fear of rejection can be strong and can be overwhelming at times.
Read Acts 1:11. Christmas not only reminds us about God’s promise to send his Son as a baby, but it also points us to Christ’s promised return. When we face hardship, we can remember that Christ will come again and make “all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
How might framing your difficult circumstances in light of Christ’s return change the way you endure hardship? How might it impact when and how you share the gospel?
Jarrett gave two applications for how we respond to the wonder of God’s plan. First, we should trust God’s timing. Read Galatians 4:4. God chose the perfect time for Christ to come into the world. However, in our circumstances, we may question God’s timing.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
When has God’s timing seemed perfect in your situation? When has it felt like God was late to answer your prayer? How so?
Secondly, Jarrett challenged us to stand on God’s promises. Read Romans 8:1, Hebrews 13:5, and Matthew 11:28.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Which of these promises encourages you? For what reasons? What other promises from Scripture help you trust God’s plan?
Bible Exploration
Jarrett mentioned God’s promise to bless the nations of the earth through Abraham’s offspring. But like many of God’s promises, waiting was involved. Let’s look at how Abraham (who, prior to God renaming him, was known as Abram) trusted God’s timing and stood on God’s promise.
Read Genesis 12:1–3. Abraham trusted God’s plan and left his family and everything he knew. All he had was the promise that in him “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (v. 3). God may not ask us to leave our home and our family to follow his commands, but he might ask us to give up something or act in a way that feels odd or uncomfortable to us.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
When have you trusted God even though you didn’t know the outcome? Which of God’s promises do you stand on when you are uncertain of what may happen next?
Read Genesis 15:1–6. When the Lord appeared to Abraham in a vision, Abraham was honest with God. He held up God’s promise of many descendants against his current reality—he had no children—and God responded with a renewed promise. In our lives, what we believe God has promised may be dissonant with what we experience in our current circumstances. But we can trust God to provide while still being honest with him about our circumstances.
1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.”
5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Is it easy for you to be honest with God? Why, or why not? In what ways does Abraham’s example encourage you to be vulnerable with God in your circumstances?
Read Genesis 16:1–4. God promised Abraham a child, but he and Sarah chose to conceive a child through Hagar. When God’s timeline doesn’t line up with ours, it can be tempting to rush or manipulate the situation. But we need to trust God’s timing and stand on his promises.
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
3 So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.
4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.
When have you been tempted to rush God’s plan? How’d it go? When have you been glad you waited on God’s timing? For what reasons?
Read Genesis 21:1–7. Twenty-five years after God promised Abraham a child, Isaac was born. While Abraham wavered in his confidence that God would give him a child, God kept reminding Abraham of his promise and gave him a son.
1 The Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did to Sarah as he had promised.
2 And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him.
3 Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore him, Isaac.
4 And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him.
5 Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
6 And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”
7 And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”
In what ways are you encouraged by Abraham’s story? When has God answered a prayer you’ve been believing him for? What prayers are you still waiting for him to answer?
Read Hebrews 11:8–12. The author of Hebrews wrote about Abraham’s faith to encourage Christians not to give up in their difficulties. We have the examples of the people of faith found throughout the Bible and those in our own lives who stood on the promises of God and trusted God’s timing.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
What story from the Bible encourages you in times of waiting? Who in your life influenced you because of their faith in God’s plan? How do both help you to keep going as you wait on God?
Last Word
While our timeline may look different than God’s, we can trust him to keep his promises. In our seasons of waiting, we can follow the examples of believers who have gone before us—like Abraham—who trusted God’s timing and stood on his promises. As you celebrate the birth of Christ this season, trust God because of his faithfulness in the past and look ahead to his promised return.
Deeper Walk
Read: Read Hebrews 11. Pay attention to all the people who placed their faith in God and trusted his promises. In what ways do these stories of faith encourage you as you trust God?
Write: Take time to write a note to someone you know who is in a season of waiting. Use Scripture passages from this session to remind them that God has a plan.
Pray: Pray, thanking God that he keeps his promises and trust him for his ultimate return. Ask the Lord to help you remain faithful as you wait.
Memorize: Commit Hebrews 11:1 to memory: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
