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INTRODUCTION

When I’m given the silent treatment, it makes me question whether that person really cares about me at all.

TENSION

Have you ever felt like you were getting the silent treatment from God?

We all hope that if we talk to God about a problem, a doubt, or a fear, that God should respond to us … almost immediately.

Many of people in the Bible felt that way about God too. And actually, they show up in the very first Christmas story.

TRUTH

The Bible is split into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. But at the time of the first Christmas, only the Old Testament had been written.

After the last book of the Old Testament, God went silent for 400 years.

Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, begins with a list of names familiar to the Jewish people, but at the end of that list some new names start appearing.

Adding new names to that list was unexpected, yet the message was clear: “You thought the story was over, but it’s not.”

Even when it seemed like God was silent for 400 years, He was working. His silence did not equal His absence.

APPLICATION

What if you believed that even when God is silent, He’s up to something? And, what if you started to open your eyes to the unexpected ways God is working around you?

Not getting what we want doesn’t mean God is absent or that He doesn’t care. It means He is working.

LANDING

Christmas is all about the unexpected news that God is with you even when it doesn’t seem so.

BOTTOM LINE:

Even when God is silent, He’s up to something.

GOAL OF SMALL GROUP:

To help students understand that even when it seems like God is silent,

He is right beside them, working through their difficult circumstances.

INTRODUCTION

You guys have heard of the silent treatment, right? When someone decides they’re going to ignore you as a form of punishment? Maybe your brother gave you the silent treatment once when you broke his cellphone screen. Or maybe you got it from your parents when you “forgot” to do the dishes for the seventeenth time. Or maybe you were given the silent treatment from a friend after you made them so mad they just couldn’t even talk to you.

It’s not very fun to get the silent treatment, is it? It’s confusing. It’s annoying. It can even be really hurtful. Why is that?

Well, for one thing, when someone’s not willing to speak to you, how can you possibly fix what’s wrong? What if you’re not even sure what you did wrong? I don’t know about you, but if someone is mad or upset with me, I would rather them get in my face and scream at me than give me the silent treatment. Because when I’m given the silent treatment, it makes me question whether that person really cares about me at all.

TENSION

Let me ask you another question: have you ever felt like you were getting the silent treatment from God? Maybe you prayed for something and it never happened so you feel like God ignored you. Maybe you found yourself in a difficult situation at home for a long period of time, and it felt like God was a million miles away. Maybe someone you love was hurt or sick, and you would love to know why God allowed it to happen, but all you seem to get back from Him is silence. Maybe it seems like God is paying attention to everyone else but you.

I remember as a kid getting a bad haircut. Like, really bad. Bad enough that I wondered if I could even show my face at school. And I remember feeling so insecure that I prayed God would make my hair grow. Fast.

Well, as you might have guessed, it didn’t happen. And it sounds ridiculous now, but at the time I remember thinking that I wasn’t asking for all that much—surely God could make my hair grow?

Then, when I got older, I wanted God’s involvement in other areas. Like when it came to having a date for Homecoming, or getting into the right college, or dealing with a bad breakup. I would pray and ask God to step in and it felt like my prayers were pointless. It seemed like all I got in return was the silent treatment.

Whether we realize it or not, we all believe that if we talk to God about a problem, a doubt, or a fear, that God should respond to us … almost immediately. If God is real and if God cares, then God should always come through for us, right? If we are in trouble, or if someone around us is in trouble, then God should swoop in and save us. God should heal whoever is sick. God should help us make the team. God should repair our parents’ marriage. But instead, it feels like all we get is the silent treatment. And when you feel like you’re getting silence from God, it can make you question if God really cares for you at all.

If you’ve ever felt that way, I’ve got some great news—you are not alone. In fact, lots of people have felt that way. And many of them are in the Bible. Many of them, actually, show up in the very first Christmas story.

TRUTH

For most of us, the Christmas season brings happy things to mind. Like presents, vacation from school, hot chocolate, twinkling lights, and shopping. But the first Christmas was nothing like that. There was no anticipation of hope or happiness or presents like we have today. Actually, at this time a couple thousand years ago, a lot people felt like God had let them down.

How do we know this? Well, the Bible is split into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. But at the time of the first Christmas, only the Old Testament had been written. The Old Testament tells us the story of how God spoke to the world through the Jewish people long ago, before Christianity was even a thing.

And if you look at the Old Testament, you’ll see the Jewish people were used to hearing from God. He spoke to them often through prophets and miracles and sometimes even a voice they could hear. The Jewish people took all of these stories and experiences they had with God and wrote them down in what we know as the Old Testament.

But here’s the thing—after Malachi was finished, the last book of the Old Testament, God went silent. Today, all we have to do is turn the page and start reading the New Testament. We rarely think about how from the last word in Malachi, to the first word in Matthew, there is a gap of several hundred years. But that was the reality. There were no more prophets, or miracles, or messages from Him for 400 years. That’s a long time! These years are known as the “400 years of silence” because God was, it seemed, giving the whole world the silent treatment.

Now, imagine what life must have been like for the Jews at this time. Imagine what they were thinking. “Where is God? Why has He stopped talking to us? Is He mad? Has He left us? Was He even real to begin with?” Ever had thoughts like that?

After 400 years of silence, the New Testament tells us what happened.

Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, begins with a list of names. [Communicator note: Either show the list on screen or begin reading Matthew 1:1-17, highlighting names that your students might recognize.]

Okay, you’re probably wondering, “What is this list of weird names? Please, make it stop.” But imagine you’re Jewish, reading this for the first time. This is a list of names they know very well because they’re names they grew up hearing in the Old Testament. So, while we might read this

list and think, “Who are all these people,” the Jews would have read this list and recognized each and every one. That is, right up until the end. Because suddenly, some new names start appearing.

And Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. (Matthew 1:16 NIV)

Joseph? Mary? Jesus? The Messiah? (Messiah, by the way, means Savior, Rescuer, or Deliverer.)

In other words, to the Jews, the message would have been clear: “You thought the story was over, but it’s not. You thought God was done talking, but He’s still speaking. This time, through Jesus. The Messiah. He’s here to save the whole world.”

Suddenly, this boring list of names means a whole lot more. It contains big news. Big unexpected news. All those years when God was silent, He was crafting the family tree of Jesus. He was setting the stage for the event that would, literally, divide our timeline and change everything.

God may have been silent, but God wasn’t absent. He was working the whole time, preparing the way for Jesus.

See, even when it seemed like God was silent for 400 years, He was working. Even when it seemed like God was absent, He was there. Even when God was silent, He was up to something.

Years after Jesus’ birth, the apostle Paul picked up on this same theme when he wrote to the early church:

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son (Galatians 4:4 NIV).

Did you catch what Paul said? “But when the time had fully come.” See, God had a plan all along. He hadn’t forgotten about His people, He was just waiting for the time—the time He had decided would be the perfect time. The time when He had everything ready for them. His silence does not equal His absence. In fact, it’s the opposite.

APPLICATION

Just like the people we’ve talked about today, we’ve all wondered at some point if God is really there, haven’t we? If He’s forgotten about us because He’s so quiet?

But what about this – what if you decided to believe that God is with you, that He hasn’t forgotten about you, even in the midst of difficult circumstances? What if you believed that, even if God seems silent, He is really working? That He is paying attention to you? What if you believed that even when God is silent, He’s up to something … something to benefit you?

Remember when I told you there were times when I wondered where God was? Like that really bad breakup I went through? I was looking for God to do something to fix it. And when I was praying to God, I was praying that fixing it would include us getting back together.

But you probably know how that ended. Still dumped. And it felt like, in the middle of all the drama, that God was quiet. Because he hadn’t answered like I wanted Him to. But as time went on, I started to view the situation differently. I started seeing all the ways my life improved because God didn’t answer my prayers the way I’d asked.

Because I got dumped, I had more time to invest in friendships that have been so important to me over the years. I was also able to make decisions about the future that I wouldn’t have had the courage to make if I’d stayed in that relationship. When I look back, I can see that God was working. It just wasn’t how I expected.

What if you started to open your eyes to the unexpected ways God is working around you? What if you began to believe He was working, always working, even if you couldn’t see it yet?

Maybe it’s in your family. Maybe you need to look for God in unexpected ways. Maybe your parents aren’t getting back together, but there’s a little more peace in the house. It isn’t perfect, but when you start to notice how calm things are, you know God is with you—He isn’t silent.

Maybe it’s at school. Maybe He isn’t going to change your “D” in Biology to an “A”, but He’s teaching you how to ask for help, to get more committed to studying. It’s an unexpected way of working, but you can still see Him.

Maybe it’s with your friends. Maybe you don’t have the instant best friend you wanted, but God is working because you’re stretching yourself and stepping out and meeting new people. It’s unexpected, but it’s evidence that God is working.

Not getting what we want doesn’t mean God is absent or that He doesn’t care. And not hearing from Him doesn’t mean He’s walked away from us. It means God is up to something. And if we can’t see it now, chances are we’ll be able to see it when we look back. It may not be what we anticipated, but God is working in unexpected ways.

LANDING

As you head out today, that’s what I hope you remember Christmas is all about. It’s about God unexpectedly sending His Son into the world after so many years of silence when people thought God had forgotten about them. It’s about how He had been preparing the way for Jesus all along. It’s about God declaring once and for all that He is with you. That He is paying attention. That He is never ignoring you. Even when God is silent, He’s up to something.

Imagine how your life would change if you really believed, regardless of what you see with your eyes, that there is a God who is with you. Because that’s what Christmas is all about: the unexpected news that God is with you. Always.

[TRANSITION TO SMALL GROUPS]

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UNEXPECTED | SESSION ONE | SILENT TREATMENT

SCRIPTURE:

Matthew 1:16

Galatians 4:4

BOTTOM LINE:

Even when God is silent,

He’s up to something.

UNEXPTECTED | SESSION ONE | SILENT TREATMENT

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