Note to the Teacher

The focus for this week is presence. Often, we think of someone being present with us in the good moments, and we forget that presence amid brokenness is just as important in instilling joy and hope in our lives. The icebreaker will allow students to focus on their priorities and reflect on their wants and needs. The discussion will allow youth to understand what it means to have God’s presence in our lives, in both the joy and the brokenness. The activity will allow students to think about their long-term goals and how God will be present with them through all of it.

1. Icebreaker: Letter to Santa (10 minutes)

Optional: If doing the photo-a-day activity with the countdown chains, share some of the photos that people have taken.

Option 1: High-Tech

Create a mentimeter (mentimeter.com) with the following questions:

What do you want for Christmas? - Word Cloud
Why do you want this item? - Poll. Open-ended
How will getting this affect your life? - Poll, open-ended

Share the results of the mentimeter as you go.

Option 2: Low-Tech

As children, we made wish lists for Santa of the gifts we wanted for Christmas. This activity allowed us to sit for minutes or hours and think about what we wanted and how excited we would be if we were going to get it.

Have the youth take a few minutes to write an old-fashioned letter to Santa (or their parents) about what they want for Christmas, why they want it, and how they think it will change their lives.

2. Read Scripture (5 minutes)

Our gospel lesson begins in a way we don’t expect. John the Baptist, who is passionate about his faith, tells the people that they are not listening or feeling God’s presence in their lives. He says they are not doing what God is asking of them.

Read Luke 3:7-18.

3. Discussion (15 minutes)

What does presence mean to you? Using your definition, how is God present in your life?

John says that sometimes we lose sight of God’s presence in our lives. Sometimes, something goes wrong, so we feel lost, separated, and broken. His question for us is, “What then should we do? If we can’t feel God’s presence, what should we do?”

How do we ensure that we share the message of Advent, of our faith, that God is present in our lives and that joy is found in that presence?

4. Activity and Discussion (20 minutes)

Lots of people talk about creating a life list or bucket list of things they want to accomplish and ways they want to be present for themselves, others, and the world.

Invite students to create their bucket lists with at least ten items on them. Have students reflect on how the items on the list will allow them to be present.

Have students share items on their bucket lists as time permits.

Close in your typical manner. Consider taking the students' joys and concerns and asking for a volunteer to close in prayer.

Total time 50 minutes