America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. Spend Less.  What a concept!  How many times have you bought gifts out of obligation and then wondered why you had spent all that money?  Maybe money that you didn't have: to be part of a group: because it was expected: because you wanted to.

What if you bought ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas?  What would that extra time and money mean to you?  Your family?  Your community?  If you need some ideas for relational giving, head to Rethinking Christmas today.

Read James 5:1-8 and then answer these questions.

1.  What is James speaking against?  What's at the heart of this "different" Advent message?

2.  In what ways have you experienced the truth of this passage in your own life?  Do you have an experience of something losing its luster?

Read the famous Magnificat, Mary's song~~Luke 1:46-55

1.  How does this song inform our Advent ethics?

2.  What echoes do you hear in this song (think OT, Jesus' ministry, etc)?

Post any thoughts or comments below that you have after this exercise.  We'd love to get a dialogue going this season!