Week One: Son of David, Son of Abraham.

• Talk about your best memory of your grandparents (or some older relative).  What is a positive thing (tradition, character trait, etc.)  that has been passed to you from previous generations of your family?
• Why do you think some people are so proud of their family's heritage?  Why do you think some people aren't as proud of it?
• As a group, read Matthew 1:1-17.  Which names in this list stand out?  What are some of the stories that come to mind as you think about these people?
• Which of the characters in this list had a questionable past?  Talk about the darker side of some of these people.  Most of us aren't willing to talk about the "dirty laundry" in our family's past.  Why do you thnk God wanted these people included in this list?
• Read Genesis 12:1-3.  How is Jesus the fulfillment of this promise?
• The list of names in Matthew 1 begins with Abraham.  Look at how many generations passed before God fulfilled his promise to Abraham.  How does this list of names illustrate God's faithfulness?
• Why is it so hard to wait on God sometimes?  When have you been forced to be patient because circumstances weren't what you wanted?  How did God work?  or are you still waiting?
• What is an issue in your life right now that you need patience in dealing with?  How can the group help or pray for you in this?

Week Two: A Kingdom of Peace

• Talk about how you find (or would like to find) five minutes of peace during the day.
• What are the things in your life that keep you from being at peace?  How many of these "peace-breakers" can you eliminate or modify?  Which ones do you just need to deal with?
• How does our desire to protect ourselves keep us from having peace?  How does our desire to achieve and gain more keep us from having peace?  Is it wrong to protect ourselves or to strive for achievement and gain?  Why or why not?
• Read Psalm 4:8.  Why is peaceful sleep so difficult to come by sometimes?  What difference does it make that the LORD is our source of safety?
• Read John 14:25-27.  As Jesus prepares to leave his disciples, He promises to leave them with peace.  The peace He promised is based on the gift of the Holy Spirit and the promise of a future He is preparing.  How does the presence of the Holy Spirit bring peace?  What ways have you discovered which allow you to experience the Spirit's peace?  How does the promise of a future with Jesus contribute to peace in our lives right now?
• Read Romans 5:1-3.  Have a few people in the group rephrase verse one in their own words.  What does it mean to "be at peace with God"?  What does it mean to be "justified"?  Why do we need to be justified in order to have peace with God?
• How can your understanding of your relationship with God help bring peace to the areas of your life you talked about earlier?  What do you need to do this week to allow the God of peace to bring hope into your life (Rom.15:13)?
• How can the group help you or pray for you in this area?

Week Three: Signs of the Messiah

• Talk about a time in your life when you were looking for a sign?  Did you receive it?  What was it?  Did it point to what you were looking for?
• Do you think it's okay to ask God to show you a sign?  Why or why not?  Was Gideon right or wrong (Judges 6:36-40)?  Was Moses right or wrong (Exodus 4:1-9)?  Why or why not?
• Turning water to wine was Jesus' first miracle.  Read John 2:1-11.  How did this miracle "reveal his glory?"  Why do you think this miracle caused the disciples to put their faith in him?
• Read Matthew 11:20-24.  Why do you think these cities did not respond to Jesus' miracles?  Talk about people you have known who seem to be completely closed to the Gospel.  What causes people to reach this point?  How should Christians pray for and interact with these kinds of people?
• Read John 10:22-33.  Jesus' miracles confirmed that He was the Messiah, but not everyone recognized that.  His miracles were not simply to make sick people better, but also to reveal Himself to everyone.  Like Jesus' contemporaries, sometimes we're so busy looking for specific miracles, we miss what God is trying to tell us.  How does God try to get our attention today?  What message does He want to communicate to you?
• What are you looking for from God? (a miracle? a sign? direction?)  Spend some time as a group praying for each other, and talking about how God may have already revealed Himself.

Week Four: The New Covenant; Communion

The following study guide is adapted from the Serendipity Bible for Small Groups.  This study and others like it are always available for free in the Cove before or after Sunday gatherings.

• When you were growing up, what were meal-times like? What one vivid memory do you have about each family member at that time?
• Read Luke 22:7-23.  For a Jewish person, what was the significance of Passover (read Exodus 12:1-13,21-28)?
• Besides a normal desire for friendship, why do you think Jesus "eagerly desired" to share this particular Passover feast with the disciples?  How will the Passover be finally "fulfilled" in the Kingdom of God?
• What is significant about Jesus' words regarding the passover bread and passover wine?  What "new meaning" did Jesus create for these symbols?
• Read Jeremiah 31:31-33.  How would you describe the "new covenant" brought about by Jesus?
• What does sharing in Communion or the Lord's Supper mean to you?
• Through the Passover and the Christ's death, God brought people freedom.  What do you need freedom from?
• How can our group help you and pray for you as you struggle with this issue?