This swap series will help us to finish out the year with an attitude of worship! Jesus is the Reason for the Holiday Season, so let’s keep our hearts and minds on Him this Christmas! Read the recommended Bible passages and the Christmasy blurb below. Send your partner a letter or notecard answering the questions at the end of this post.

Bible passages to read and reflect on this week:

Micah 5:2

Luke 2:1-6

The Prophet Micah foretold that the Messiah would be born, not in Jerusalem, but in small, humble Bethlehem. It must have been hard for people to believe, but it happened exactly the way God said it would. Mary and Joseph didn’t know how everything would work out. They knew she would give birth to the Son of God, and that they would name him Jesus., but the angel hadn’t told them how a very pregnant Mary would travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They didn’t know that the delivery room would be a stable or that the cradle would be a manger. But Joseph and Mary believed in God, so they stepped out in faith and trusted Him. We like to prepare for what’s coming next. We don’t like being caught off guard, especially when something that seems so unlikely—like a Savior being born in Bethlehem—actually comes to pass. But God asks us to step out in faith and trust Him. So while we may not be able to prepare for the future, we can prepare our hearts to follow God wherever He may lead us.

Do you think Mary and Joseph had any doubts or fears as they traveled to Bethlehem?

Is it easy or hard for you to set aside your own plans and trust that God will provide?

Where might God be asking you to step out in faith this Christmas season?