How To Use This Book? Part Two: With A Small Group
Photo credit: Kassie Moore Photography
If you want to make reading through God Is Coming a communal affair, either with a church small group, an extended family, or a group of neighbors, I’d love to offer a few suggestions. As always, I’d love to hear the creative ways you are using God Is Coming this year!
Read on your own or together. You can, of course, read individually or as a family before coming together to enjoy the book together. Or, the readings are brief enough that if you will see each other weekly or bi-weekly, you could arrange to read the poems aloud together, with a different person reading each poem. There are pros and cons to each approach. Reading one poem a day allows a little more space to ponder each day’s reading. But reading them in a group allows for the larger “story arch” to shine through, and the themes may jump out even stronger in this way.
Divide by Parts. In other words, if you want to have a small group or a Zoom gathering with extended family, consider reading through one part at a time (again, either on your own or together). As you focus on a part, soak in the theme. The first part is about the process of God making the Earth and everything in it (including, of course, us humans). The second is about God’s promises or his covenant to save his people. Focusing on one part together will allow you to discuss a theme and depth.
Stop and discuss. If you want to make the most of a communal experience of God Is Coming, I highly recommend that you stop and discuss the readings together. There are a few different approaches that can work. You can read or focus on one poem at a time and simply ask the group “What did you notice?” or “What words or ideas stand out to you?” This simple noticing can lead to further questions: “Why did this stand out to you?” “Why do you think this was included in the poem?” “What Truth does it point to that is significant to the gospel story?” This simple noticing, responding, and discussing can bear rich fruit.
Consider focusing on the “refrain.” You will notice that each part ends with a repeated refrain. If you don’t have time or energy to dive into the wording of each poem, you can simply dwell on the simple last stanza. For example, the first part ends with the lines: “Do you sometimes feel lonely and sometimes feel sad? / Do you wonder how good things so often go bad? / Don’t worry, dear children, and please do not fear, GOD IS COMING, and He is almost here!” If you are with a group with whom you feel safe to be vulnerable, you may want to take time to share honestly how each person has struggled lately with loneliness, fear, sadness, and anxiety. Then discuss how the truth of the gospel speaks directly into these feelings and experiences. The first part tells the story of God’s power and love expressed in the mighty act of creation as well as the deep tragedy of the fall. If we believe that God is who he says He is and His plans cannot be thwarted then all of the good things that seem to go bad will be undone. It doesn’t mean that we can’t feel sad or scared or anxious. But it does mean we can rest in His omnipotence and care.
Utilize the Appendix as you have time. If you are reading a group of poems at once, please don’t feel the need to read every scripture and every question. However, if you are discussing the book as a group, consider assigning one person or one family at each discussion to pick their favorite verse from the particular days you plan to read and read it aloud and pick their favorite questions (maybe only 2-4) to discuss together. For example, if you are discussing Part I, you may choose to read Jeremiah 32:17 aloud (“Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”) and you may choose the following questions: “If God didn’t ‘need’ to make the earth or make humans, why do you think He did it?”, “Why did God say ‘It is good’ about the things He made?”, and “Why do you think Adam and Eve listened to the snake?” These are simply suggestions. You can use the appendix as much or as little as you like.
A one time discussion. If you aren’t going to be discussing regularly but you want to read the book individually and perhaps discuss with extended family on Christmas eve or another such occasion, here are some further ideas for you. I suggest you focus on theme. I have several favorite themes you can look for as you read and then discuss together. First, I loved watching the theme of shepherds and lambs unfold throughout the book. There is the shepherd David, the shepherds who are told of Jesus’s birth by a host of angels, and of course Christ himself as shepherd. There is the lamb as sacrifice and offering and of course Jesus as the Lamb of God. But the biggest theme is the one found in the title. “God Is Coming” is meant to convey that God is relentlessly and unwaveringly redeeming his people. His plan, as told in Scripture and touched on in each of these poems, is unstoppable. And the same heartbeat of “God Is Coming” is still true today. We both celebrate that He came and wait with the same confident anticipation that He is still coming. What does this mean to you? What does it mean that we can trust just as confidently in the final New Heaven and New Earth as we can in the birth of our Savior? If you are reading independently (or together, for that matter) but only having one or two discussions, you may want to encourage the reader to search for a theme that spoke to him/her and bring it to the “table” for discussion.
Once again, please let me know how you utilize this little book. My prayer is that it speaks both hope and truth in the same way as the gospel itself does. May it lead you gently to rich discussion and deep hope as you wander your way towards Christmas and beyond.