Prepare the Way for the Lord Leader Guide: Advent and the Message of John the Baptist

By Adam Hamilton

Prepare to receive Christ this Advent with the message of John the Baptist and best-selling author and pastor Adam Hamilton in Prepare the Way for the Lord.

For centuries, Christians have turned to the story and message of John the Baptist in the weeks leading up to Christmas. In Prepare the Way for the Lord: Advent and the Message of John the Baptist, best-selling author and pastor Adam Hamilton explores the Advent themes of John’s life and ministry, and how John calls all followers of Jesus to prepare our hearts for his coming.

In each of the Gospels, the story of Jesus is intertwined with that of his cousin John, the one whom the prophets foretold would come to “prepare the way of the Lord.” When we hear the message of John the Baptist, it makes us and our world ready to receive Christ.

Chapter topics include:
1. A People Prepared for the Lord
2. God Is Gracious
3. The Fruit of Repentance
4. Witnesses Testifying to the Light

The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the four-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Sep 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781791023522

Adam Hamilton

Adam Hamilton is the founding pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. Started in 1990 with four people, the church has grown to become the largest United Methodist Church in the United States with over 18,000 members. The church is well known for connecting with agnostics, skeptics, and spiritual seekers. In 2012, it was recognized as the most influential mainline church in America, and Hamilton was asked by the White House to deliver the sermon at the Obama inaugural prayer service. Hamilton, whose theological training includes an undergraduate degree from Oral Roberts University and a graduate degree from Southern Methodist University where he was honored for his work in social ethics, is the author of nineteen books. He has been married to his wife, LaVon, for thirty-one years and has two adult daughters.

Book preview

PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD LEADER GUIDE

PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE LORD

ADVENT AND THE MESSAGE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

978-1-7910-2348-5 Hardcover

978-1-7910-2349-2 eBook

978-1-7910-235-08 Large Print

DVD

978-1-7910-2353-9

Leader Guide

978-1-7910-2351-5

978-1-7910-2352-2 eBook

Download a free children’s leader guide and youth study at AdamHamilton.com/PrepareTheWay

Also by Adam Hamilton

24 Hours That Changed the World

Christianity and World Religions

Christianity’s Family Tree

Confronting the Controversies

Creed

Enough

Faithful

Final Words from the Cross

Forgiveness

Half Truths

Incarnation

John

Leading Beond the Walls

Living Unafraid

Love to Stay

Making Sense of the Bible

Moses

Not a Silent Night

Revival

Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White

Simon Peter

Speaking Well

The Call

The Journey

The Lord’s Prayer

The Walk

The Way

Unfraid

When Christians Get It Wrong

Words of Life

Why?

For more information, visit AdamHamilton.com.

Prepare the Way for the Lord

Advent and the Message of John the Baptist Leader Guide

Copyright © 2022 Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act, the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Rights and Permissions, The United Methodist Publishing House, 810 12th Avenue South, Nashville TN 37203 or emailed to [e-mail].

978-1-7910-2351-5

Scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by the Common English Bible. All rights reserved. Used by permission. http://www.CommonEnglishBible.com.

Cover Image: Piero della Francesca (1415-1492), The Baptism of Christ, after 1437, egg on poplar, 167 × 116 cm, National Gallery, London, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/piero-della-francesca-the-baptism-of-christ. John’s baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan is the pivotal moment when the lives of Jesus and his cousin John intersect. The scene is bathed in light from above, with light, pastel colors, and shadows that create depth. Italian Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca is known for his use of geometry and perspective, which he uses here to highlight the figure of Jesus.

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

Introduction

Adapting for Virtual Small Groups

1. The Annunciation: God Has Heard Your Prayers

2. Pregnancy, Birth, Circumcision, and Zechariah’s Prophecy

3. John’s Ministry and Preaching

4. Witnesses, Testifying to the Light

INTRODUCTION

In his book Prepare the Way for the Lord, Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, invites readers to consider the birth, life, ministry, death, and continuing significance of John the Baptist. As Hamilton explains, like a herald sent in antiquity to announce the visit of royalty, John the Baptist was sent to announce the coming of Jesus Christ, as recounted in all four New Testament Gospels.

The season of Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas, is the Christian liturgical season characterized by preparation for Christ’s coming: his first coming as an infant, his second coming at the end of time, and his coming here and now through his Spirit into the world and into believers’ hearts. As such, traditional Advent readings, such as those in the Revised Common Lectionary, feature John the Baptist prominently. No other figure in scripture, writes Hamilton, is more closely associated with this idea of preparation, of making people ready for the coming of Christ, than John the Baptist.

This Leader Guide is for adults leading groups in a congregational setting who are studying Prepare the Way for the Lord. While it is ideally suited as an Advent study, it can be used, with minor adaptations, at other times of year as well. Leaders will want to read Prepare the Way for the Lord in order to lead this study most effectively. They should also encourage participants to read Hamilton’s book, although participants may also get value out of the