New Year’s Day, Year A

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering and Opening (10 minutes). In groups of two or three, have participants complete the following sentence: “What are you hopeful for this coming year?”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Read: Matthew 2:1-12.

Read over the Wesley Covenant Prayer (and any other aspects of the Wesley Covenant Service in bold) in the Invitation section of the service at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/book-of-worship/covenant-renewal-service.
How many “wise men” does Matthew say visited the holy family? [He doesn’t say! There are three gifts that are named, but Matthew does not say how many wise men there were!]
What might the significance be of “wise men from the East” being some of the first to worship (pay him homage in 2:11) Jesus? What might this foreshadow? [This foreshadows the inclusion of Gentiles (non-Jews) into the covenant people.]
January 6 is recognized as the Day of Epiphany. What does it mean to have an epiphany? How do the “wise men” experience an epiphany (or epiphanies) in this story?
How might we experience an epiphany in keeping a covenant?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End by praying the following or a similar prayer:

God who surprises us, help us to be surprised by an encounter with you. Keep us attentive to your presence as we go about our week. Help us live to keep our covenant with you and our church family. Amen.