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Week 4 Sermon Questions For Groups

December 22, 2019

Why do we have no room for Jesus? 

Introduction:

Luke 2:7 (ESV) says, “there was no place for them in the inn.” These are chilling words. The question we have to ask ourselves is this: is Luke 2:7 also true of us during the year and especially at Christmas time? We know that the reason for the season is to celebrate Christ’s birth and we say that this is what we want to do. Yet, we get so busy with decorating, fixing broken lights, buying presents and going to parties.  We add all these things to our normal schedules making them full reducing the room left for Jesus.  

Something To Talk About:

There was no room for Jesus in the inn at Bethlehem. It was not anyone’s fault. There was nobody to blame. Such is not the case today. There is someone to blame if there is no room in our lives, in our minds, in our homes, and in our hearts for Jesus. We are to blame. So what are some of the things that prevent us from having room for Him:   

  1. We don’t pay attention: Sometimes we are not paying attention so we’re not aware when Jesus shows up in our lives. It’s just like radio waves and TV waves. Right now, radio and broadcast TV waves are going through the place where you are sitting right now. If we have a tuner we get a picture on the TV. We can’t see them but that doesn’t mean they are not there. So much of the time we’re not tuned in, we’re not paying attention to Jesus being in and around us. The problem wasn’t that there wasn’t room in the inn. The problem is it was already booked. There was no vacancy. Other guests had occupied it. It was there, but it wasn’t available. This is a parallel to our hearts. We were made by God and for God. What happens is we fill our lives with other things, we invite other guests in, we rent our heart out to other things, and as a result, we pay so much attention to those things we don’t pay attention to God.   
  2. We crowd our lives with other things: They may be good things, but good things can get in the way of God being in our lives. And when we fill our lives with stuff, we don’t have any room or any time or any thought for God. Our hearts aren’t available. We’ve overbooked our life, so all or parts of our life are not available to God. God wants to use us, but we can’t put anything more in because our hearts are already crammed full of stuff. We crowd Jesus when nonessentials displace essentials. When we’re busy, what’s the first thing that we often eliminate? Reading the Bible, prayer, or going to church. I know you have things you need to do. I encourage you to go and do those things but find ways to make room for Jesus. Slow down and listen to the Lord and stay in close fellowship with Him. Don’t let all the busyness of the season crowd Him out of your life.
  3. We don’t think we need to make room for God: Many people wonder whether they really need to make room for Jesus. After all “I have it under control. I am doing fine on my own.” Psalm 10:4 says, “In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” The truth is we need to make room for God so that he can mold us to be more like Him. So, how do we make room for God? By the time we spend with Him. Time spent in worship and prayer, praise and adoration! Yes, finding “time” can seem like a sacrifice in the midst of our busy lives, but by making time each day for God, we are allowing Him to fill, redeem, restore, and heal our lives and our hearts. We weren’t made to be disconnected from God. Make room for Jesus this Christmas.  

Discussion Questions:

  1. What’s your favorite “unexpected” detail in the Christmas story? What is interesting to you about the fact there was no room in the inn? 
  2. With no room in the inn, what do you think Mary and Joseph might have felt? Do you think someone might have made room if they had known more about the child Mary was carrying?
  3. Have there been times in your own life, when you knew God’s plans, but circumstances seemed to be in conflict with that plan?
  4. In what ways do we make room for Jesus? Have there been times in your own life when you failed to make room for him?
  5. Sometimes we wonder if God is paying attention, but how often do we consider how God views our ability to pay attention to Him? How can we pay more attention to what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in our lives?
  6. Is it possible to crowd God out? Why or why not? How do we recover when our own feelings and our circumstances crowd out our faith in Him?
  7. Do you need God to show up in your life? Do you need a reminder that He knows your heart and your situation? Why not make a bit of space in your schedule and ask Him to speak into your life? 
  8. Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus. ~Neal A. Maxwell. Agree or disagree and why? 
  9. How can you remove the clutter and distractions and make room for God? 
  10. What does make space for God to fill mean to you? Whenever we make a little room in our day, and in our hearts for God, He can fill us with exactly what we need. So how can we today, simply make room for God for whatever you need most, and allow him to fill that space?
  11. What did you learn about God through the message? What questions do you still have concerning the message?

Take one thing home with you:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2. 

Making room for Jesus is often about renewal. Romans 12 refers to it as conformity. Everything that is exposed to the elements long enough will eventually conform to what surrounds it and that certainly applies to Christmas. This is why Paul was adamantly expressing the importance of renewal. Pick whichever word you prefer: restore, return, renew, revive. The walk with Christ is one of renewal — one filled with a constant need to “revive.” By pressing in, pursuing God, and “reapplying” ourselves, the Holy Spirit will begin to revive our hearts, revive our minds, revive our souls, and naturally we make room for God. Psalm 119:25 reads, “I lie in the dust; revive me by your word.” If we want to make room for God it starts with revival in our hearts.