Advent planning guide

Advent Studies for Small Groups

Advent is four Sundays. Very few book studies are that short, so this page does two things: it names the studies whose subject really belongs to Advent — the coming of Christ, waiting, hope — and it shows each one’s session count, so you can tell at a glance what will finish by Christmas Eve and what will carry your group into January.

10 studies below. Catalog facts last updated .

How these studies were chosen

These were chosen for subject first: the incarnation, waiting, longing, and the promise Advent looks forward to. Because the season is short, the session count sits on every card — a longer study is not a worse study, it just needs a November start or a January finish.

This is editorial judgment plus catalog facts — nothing here is ordered by sales, downloads, or ratings, and no title is claimed to be better than another. Read Week 1 of any guide free and decide for your own group.

The Return of the Prodigal Son

by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Schedule
6 sessions
Full guide
46 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Six sessions on the homecoming Rembrandt painted, and on a father who runs out to meet someone. Advent is the season for that movement, and Nouwen keeps the reader inside the scene rather than above it.

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  1. 1.Prologue — A Painting That Would Not Let Go
  2. 2.Part One — The Younger Son (Chapters 1–3)
  3. 3.Part Two — The Elder Son (Chapters 4–6)
  4. 4.Part Three — The Father (Chapters 7–9)
  5. 5.Epilogue — Living the Homecoming
  6. 6.Review & Reflection — The Whole Journey
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The Prodigal God

by Timothy Keller

Schedule
8 sessions
Full guide
63 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Eight sessions on Luke 15 — the son who left, the son who stayed, and a father who throws a feast for the one who came home. A group that starts in early November finishes in the week of Christmas.

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  1. 1.Introduction — The Parable
  2. 2.Chapter 1 — The Two Lost Sons
  3. 3.Chapter 2 — The Elder Brother
  4. 4.Chapter 3 — Redefining Sin
  5. 5.Chapter 4 — Redefining Lostness
  6. 6.Chapter 5 — The True Elder Brother
  7. 7.Chapter 6 — Redefining Hope
  8. 8.Review & Reflection
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The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness

by Timothy J. Keller

Schedule
5 sessions
Full guide
39 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Five sessions — close to the length of Advent itself. Keller’s subject is the self that has finally stopped keeping score of itself, which lands differently in a month that asks a great deal of everyone.

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  1. 1.Introduction — The Problem with the Empty Self
  2. 2.Chapter 1 — The Ego Problem
  3. 3.Chapter 2 — The Solution
  4. 4.Chapter 3 — Gospel-Humility
  5. 5.Review & Reflection — The Freedom You've Been Offered
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The Weight of Glory

by C.S. Lewis

Schedule
10 sessions
Full guide
71 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Ten sessions of Lewis’s wartime addresses, opening with the title essay on longing for something not yet seen — the exact emotion Advent is built on. The rest carries a group past Christmas into January.

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  1. 1."The Weight of Glory"
  2. 2."Learning in War-Time"
  3. 3."Why I Am Not a Pacifist"
  4. 4."Transposition"
  5. 5."Is Theology Poetry?"
  6. 6."The Inner Ring"
  7. 7."Membership"
  8. 8."On Forgiveness"
  9. 9."A Slip of the Tongue"
  10. 10.Review & Reflection
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Seamless

by Angie Smith

Schedule
8 sessions
Full guide
64 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Eight sessions tracing Scripture from creation to the church, with the sixth arriving at the Gospels. Advent is the natural time to ask what the whole story had been moving toward.

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  1. 1.Session 1 — The Beginning
  2. 2.Session 2 — The Patriarchs
  3. 3.Session 3 — Moses and the Law
  4. 4.Session 4 — The Promised Land and the Kingdom
  5. 5.Session 5 — The Prophets and the Exile
  6. 6.Session 6 — The Gospels
  7. 7.Session 7 — The Church and the End of Time
  8. 8.Review & Reflection
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A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

by Eugene H. Peterson

Schedule
14 sessions
Full guide
100 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Fourteen sessions in the Songs of Ascents, the psalms pilgrims sang walking up to Jerusalem for the feast. Advent is the church’s version of that walk, and the second session opens, fittingly, on repentance.

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  1. 1.Preface & Introduction — Discipleship in a World of Shortcuts
  2. 2.Chapter 1 — Repentance (Psalm 120)
  3. 3.Chapter 2 — Help (Psalm 121)
  4. 4.Chapter 3 — Joy (Psalm 122)
  5. 5.Chapter 4 — Mercy (Psalm 123)
  6. 6.Chapter 5 — Perseverance (Psalm 124)
  7. 7.Chapter 6 — Holiness (Psalm 125)
  8. 8.Chapter 7 — Work (Psalm 126)
  9. 9.Chapter 8 — Happiness (Psalm 127)
  10. 10.Chapter 9 — Humility (Psalm 131)
  11. 11.Chapter 10 — Community (Psalms 128–130 & 132–133)
  12. 12.Chapter 11 — Blessing (Psalm 134)
  13. 13.Chapter 12 — Hope (A Concluding Chapter)
  14. 14.Review & Reflection — Looking Back, Walking Forward
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You'll Get Through This

by Max Lucado

Schedule
13 sessions
Full guide
92 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Thirteen sessions in Genesis 37–50 with Joseph, who waited in a pit, a house, and a prison before any of it made sense. Advent is a season about waiting, and this is the story that takes waiting seriously.

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  1. 1.Introduction — You'll Get Through This
  2. 2.Chapter 1 — The Pit
  3. 3.Chapter 2 — Alone but Not Forgotten
  4. 4.Chapter 3 — Finding God Faithful
  5. 5.Chapter 4 — Thinking About Your Thoughts
  6. 6.Chapter 5 — What to Do With Your Disappointments
  7. 7.Chapter 6 — God Fights for You
  8. 8.Chapter 7 — Sidetracked by Bitterness
  9. 9.Chapter 8 — Believe in God's Timing
  10. 10.Chapter 9 — Dealing with Those Who Have Wronged You
  11. 11.Chapter 10 — God's Got This
  12. 12.Chapter 11 — You'll Get Through This
  13. 13.Review & Reflection
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The Jesus I Never Knew

by Philip Yancey

Schedule
14 sessions
Full guide
102 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Fourteen sessions, the second of them “Birth: The Visited Planet” — Yancey on the nativity with the sentiment stripped out. It keeps going through Holy Week and the resurrection, so a group that begins in Advent has a year’s arc in front of it.

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  1. 1.Introduction — "The Jesus I Thought I Knew"
  2. 2.Part One, Chapter 1 — "Birth: The Visited Planet"
  3. 3.Part One, Chapter 2 — "Background: Jewish Roots and Soil"
  4. 4.Part One, Chapter 3 — "Temptation: Showdown in the Desert"
  5. 5.Part One, Chapter 4 — "Profile: What Would Jesus Have Looked Like?"
  6. 6.Part Two, Chapter 5 — "The Beatitudes: Lucky Are the Unlucky"
  7. 7.Part Two, Chapter 6 — "The Sermon: A Whole New World"
  8. 8.Part Two, Chapter 7 — "Miracles: Snapshots of the Supernatural"
  9. 9.Part Two, Chapter 8 — "Message: A Sermon of Offense"
  10. 10.Part Two, Chapter 9 — "Deliverer: One Who Didn't Meet Expectations"
  11. 11.Part Three, Chapter 10 — "Holy Week: Countdown to Death"
  12. 12.Part Three, Chapter 11 — "Resurrection: A Morning Beyond Belief"
  13. 13.Part Three, Chapter 12 — "Ascension: A Long Farewell"
  14. 14.Review & Reflection
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The Good and Beautiful God

by James Bryan Smith

Schedule
13 sessions
Full guide
92 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Thirteen sessions that each replace a false story about God with one Jesus tells — God is good, gracious, self-sacrificing, present. Longer than Advent, but it asks the season’s question and carries a group well into the new year.

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  1. 1.Introduction — Changing Our Narratives About God
  2. 2.Chapter 1 — God Is Good
  3. 3.Chapter 2 — God Is Trustworthy
  4. 4.Chapter 3 — God Is Grand (and Knows My Name)
  5. 5.Chapter 4 — God Is Holy
  6. 6.Chapter 5 — God Is Gracious
  7. 7.Chapter 6 — God Is Love
  8. 8.Chapter 7 — God Is Self-Sacrificing
  9. 9.Chapter 8 — God Is Forgiving
  10. 10.Chapter 9 — God Is Present
  11. 11.Chapter 10 — God Is Joyful
  12. 12.Chapter 11 — Living in the Kingdom of God
  13. 13.Review & Reflection — Looking Back, Moving Forward
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The Promise of Heaven

by David Jeremiah

Schedule
11 sessions
Full guide
88 discussion questions

Why it works for Advent: Eleven sessions on what Scripture actually says about eternity, questions about reunions and children included. Advent looks in two directions; this study stays with the coming that is still promised.

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  1. 1.Introduction — There Has to Be More Than This
  2. 2.Chapters 1–4 — The Reality and Certainty of Heaven
  3. 3.Chapters 5–8 — What Heaven Will Be Like
  4. 4.Chapters 9–12 — Our Resurrection Bodies and Identity in Heaven
  5. 5.Chapters 13–16 — Relationships in Heaven: Will We Know Each Other?
  6. 6.Chapters 17–19 — Hard Questions: Children, Suicide, and Those Who Never Heard
  7. 7.Chapters 20–22 — Rewards, Judgment, and the Bema Seat
  8. 8.Chapters 23–25 — Angels, the Cloud of Witnesses, and Our Loved Ones in Heaven Now
  9. 9.Chapters 26–28 — Heaven and the Way We Live Now
  10. 10.Chapters 29–31 — The New Jerusalem, the Final Word, and the Invitation
  11. 11.Review & Reflection — What Heaven Has Changed
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