Sunday, November 30

Read: Matthew 1:1-17

Monday, December 1

Read: Matthew 1:18-25

Tuesday, December 2

Read: Matthew 2:1-12

Wednesday, December 3

Read: Micah 5:1-5a

Thursday, December 4

Read: Isaiah 7:10-14

Friday, December 5

Read: Psalm 89:1-4, 19-29

Saturday, December 6

Read: Matthew 2:13-23

Sunday, December 7

Read: Mark 1:1-8

Monday, December 8

Read: Mark 1:9-11

Tuesday, December 9

Read: Isaiah 40:1-11

Wednesday, December 10

Read: Malachi 3:1-4

Thursday, December 11

Read: Romans 1:1-7

Friday, December 12

Read: Acts 10:34-43

Saturday, December 13

Read: Psalm 96

Sunday, December 14

Read: Luke 1:26-38

Monday, December 15

Read: Luke 1:39-56

Tuesday, December 16

Read: Luke 2:1-7

Wednesday, December 17

Read: Luke 2:8-20

Thursday, December 18

Read: Isaiah 9:2-7

Friday, December 19

Read: Philippians 2:5-11

Saturday, December 20

Read: Psalm 113

Sunday, December 21

Read: John 1:1-5

Monday, December 22

Read: John 1:6-13

Tuesday, December 23

Read: John 1:14-18

Wednesday, December 24

Read: Matthew 1:22-23

Thursday, December 25

Read: Luke 2:1-20

Friday, December 26

Read: Hebrews 1:1-4

Saturday, December 27

Read: Colossians 1:15-20

Sunday, December 28

Read: Matthew 28:16-20

Monday, December 29

Read: John 15:1-11

Tuesday, December 30

Read: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

Wednesday, December 31

Read: Philippians 3:12-14

Thursday, January 1

Read: Lamentations 3:22-25

Friday, January 2

Read: Ephesians 3:14-21

Saturday, January 3

Read: Revelation 21:1-5

Read Together: Matthew 1:18–25; 2:1–12

Connect

• What is one Christmas tradition that helps you feel closer to God or to others?
• Share a time when you saw a promise kept that strengthened your trust.
• How does the anticipation of Christmas mirror waiting on God’s promises in your life?
• What’s one word that describes what you hope God will do in you this Advent season?

Explore the Passage

• How does Matthew connect Jesus’ birth to Old Testament prophecy?
• Why is it important that Jesus is presented as the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel?
• What do the Magi’s actions teach us about recognizing and responding to the true King?
• How do Joseph’s obedience and faith model trust in God’s plan?
• What do these passages teach us about God’s sovereignty over history and human plans?

Live It Out

• Where have you seen God fulfill His promises in your own life?
• How can you live with greater confidence in God’s faithfulness this Advent season?
• What promise from Scripture do you need to cling to right now?
• What step of obedience might God be inviting you to take, even if it doesn’t make sense yet?

Encourage & Pray

• Spend time thanking God for His promises kept in Jesus.
• Pray that your group would trust God’s timing and respond with worship like the Magi.
• Encourage one another by sharing a story of God’s faithfulness from this past year.

Read Together: Mark 1:1–11

Connect

• When you hear the phrase “good news,” what comes to mind?
• Share about a time when you sensed God calling you to act instead of wait.
• What’s one way you’ve experienced God’s power or presence recently?
• What do you think people in your life most need to hear as “good news” this season?

Explore the Passage

• Why does Mark begin his Gospel without a birth narrative?
• What does it reveal about who Jesus is that Mark opens with “The beginning of the good news”?
• How does John the Baptist prepare the way for Jesus—and how can we do the same today?
• What stands out to you about Jesus’ baptism and the Father’s voice from heaven?
• How do you see the Holy Spirit at work in this passage?

Live It Out

• How can Advent be a time of active faith rather than passive waiting?
• Identify one way you can prepare the way for Jesus in your home, workplace, or community this week.
• What might “repentance” look like for you in this season of preparation?
• How can you tangibly share or embody the Good News in a weary world?

Encourage & Pray

• Take communion or quiet time to thank God for sending Jesus.
• Pray for boldness to share the Good News through your words and actions.
• Encourage one another with ways you’ve seen faith in motion within your group.
• Pray for fresh strength to live as witnesses of Christ’s power and hope.

Read Together: Luke 1:26–38; 2:1–20

Connect

• What’s one thing that brings you joy at Christmas?
• Have you ever felt overlooked or unseen? How did God meet you there?
• What part of the Christmas story connects most deeply to your own experience?
• What does humility mean to you in the context of Christmas?

Explore the Passage

• What stands out to you about Mary’s response to God’s plan?
• Why do you think God chose shepherds—the overlooked and ordinary—to receive the announcement?
• How does Luke’s story reveal God’s heart for the humble?
• What can we learn from the angels’ message of peace and joy?
• How do these passages show that God’s kingdom overturns human expectations?

Live It Out

• What would it look like for your group to reflect humility and openness to God’s work this season?
• Find a practical way to share joy with someone who might feel forgotten this Christmas.
• Who in your community needs to be reminded that they matter to God?
• How can you make more space for God to use you in unexpected ways?

Encourage & Pray

• Pray for hearts like Mary’s—willing, trusting, and humble.
• Ask God to use your group to bring hope to those who need it most.
• Encourage each other by naming where you’ve seen God’s grace at work in small ways.
• Pray for your church family to embody Christ’s humility in all things.

Read Together: John 1:1–14

Connect

• What part of the Christmas story most reminds you that God is near?
• Where have you seen “light” push back “darkness” in your life recently?
• What is one way you’ve experienced God’s presence this month?
• How would you describe the “light” of Christ in your own words?

Explore the Passage

• What does it mean that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us”?
• How does John’s version of Christmas expand your understanding beyond the manger scene?
• What does it mean that Jesus is both fully God and fully human—and why does that matter?
• How does John’s focus on light and darkness speak to our world today?
• What does this passage reveal about God’s desire to be known personally?

Live It Out

• How can you reflect the light of Christ in your relationships and routines this week?
• What practices could help you stay centered on Christ’s presence beyond Christmas?
• Where do you sense God inviting you to bring His light into dark places?
• How can you intentionally celebrate Emmanuel—God with us—every day?

Encourage & Pray

• Spend time in worship or silence, thanking God for coming near in Jesus.
• Pray that your group would carry His light into every corner of their lives.
• Encourage one another with a word or verse that has brought you hope this Advent.
• Pray for your community to see and respond to the light of Christ.

Fasting is fasting from food. The following are options of ways to fast from food.

Complete Fast

This fast involves consuming only liquids, typically water, with the option to include light juices.

Meal Removal Fast

This fast entails skipping one or two meals a day and refraining from snacking during the fasting period.

Partial Fast

Also referred to as the “Jewish Fast,” this practice involves abstaining from all food during the morning and afternoon. It can be observed during specific hours, such as 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, or from sunrise to sunset.

Selective Fast

In this fast, specific foods are excluded from your diet. For example, the “Daniel Fast” involves eliminating meat, sweets, and bread, while consuming water, juice, fruits, and vegetables.

*In addition to fasting food or if you have a medical issue that prevents you from fasting, you might choose to stop using social media or watching television (or remove something else) for the duration of the fast and then if you choose to bring it back, do so carefully in healthy doses at the conclusion of the fast.

Prayer is communicating with God. Listening and speaking.

Below are ideas of ways to pray. We encourage you not to over-complicate it. Be honest. Be real. Be you.

Adore God - Focus upon praise of God for who He is—His character, attributes, and majesty—without asking for anything. Sing a song and/or express love and reverence in personal words.

Confession - Acknowledge sin and ask for God’s forgiveness and cleansing. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Thanksgiving - Express gratitude to God for His blessings, provisions, and faithfulness. Keep a gratitude journal or pray through a list of blessings.

Supplication (Petition) - Brings personal needs, desires, or concerns before God, seeking His guidance or intervention. Pray for healing, provision, or wisdom.

Intercession - Pray on behalf of others, ask God to work in the lives of others. Praying for family, friends, leaders, or global concerns.

Meditative Prayer - Focus on quiet reflection, a Scripture passage, listen to God and deepen understanding of who God is. Try Lectio Divina, a practice of reading and meditating on a Bible passage.

Corporate Prayer - Pray with others in a group setting, such as church, small groups, or prayer meetings. Taking turns praying aloud.

Lament - Express grief, sorrow, or frustration to God while seeking His comfort and hope. Read and pray through the Psalms of lament, such as Psalm 13.

Blessing or Benediction - Pray for God’s favor, guidance, or protection over oneself or others. “The Lord bless you and keep you…” (Numbers 6:24-26)

Spiritual Warfare Prayer - Pray against spiritual opposition, declaring God’s power and protection. Use the armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-18.

Breath Prayer - A short, repeated prayer focused on a phrase or Scripture while aligning with breathing. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Sundays

Before Services (sanctuary) The sanctuary is set aside for prayer 8:15-8:25 am and 10:10-10:20 am. Pray individually or with another in this quiet space.

After Services (front sides of altar) There are prayer ministers available and ready to pray with and for you.

Wednesdays (6:30-7:30pm, Room 101) - This weekly prayer group of men and women meet to read the Word and pray together for each other, the church, the community, and the world.

Thursdays (3rd Thursdays, 9:30-11am, Shirley Works Home) - This ladies prayer group meets to encourage and pray together.

Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel

Every Thought Captive by Kyle Idleman

A Meal with Jesus – Tim Chester

The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World – Rosaria Butterfield

The Simplest Way to Change the World: Biblical Hospitality as a Way of Life – Dustin Willis

The Meaning of Marriage – Timothy & Kathy Keller

Love & Respect – Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

You and Me Forever – Francis & Lisa Chan

The 5 Love Languages – Gary Chapman

Boundaries in Marriage – Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend

The Love Dare – Alex & Stephen Kendrick

Intended for Pleasure – Ed Wheat

Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage – Lee Strobel

Sheet Music – Kevin Lehman

Care & Counseling

Stephen Ministries at Family Bible Church

DesertStreams

Christian Counseling Center of Battle Creek

Response Care Center (Gracespring Church)

DivorceCare

Articles

7 Steps to Prayer and Fasting by Bill Bright

Your Personal Guide to Fasting and Prayer by Bill Bright

Fasting

Fasting – Scot McKnight

Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough – Elmer L Towns

God’s Chosen Fast – Arthur Wallis

Prayer

Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home – Richard Foster

How to Pray – Pete Grieg

How to Pray A Guide for Young Explorers – Pete Grieg & Gemma Hunt

A Praying Life – Paul A Miller

Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools – Tyler Staton